Lunapads Review & $50 GC Give Away! ~ CLOSED

I would love to jump right in to this post, but I will first preface it with this disclaimer. This post is not at all for the faint of heart and squeamish. From this point on I will talk freely about lady parts (last time this post I call it that, seriously) periods, and flow. If any of this bothers you, I gently and kindly encourage you to get over yourself. But if that's not possible, consider yourself warned.

For a long time now, I have loved the company Lunapads, although, I am only recently a customer! When I first read this soundbite on their website, my heart was so warmed and I could tell I stumbled upon a company that has its values in the right place, "Our Pads4Girls program seeks to address an often-overlooked problem that hundreds of millions of girls and women in developing nations face: missing school or work for several days every month because they lack adequate means to manage their periods. Providing girls with sustainable menstrual supplies is a simple yet highly effective way to give them a chance for a better future." I further researched the company and the ladies behind it and I just kept falling more and more in love with what I was finding out. So, why did it take me so long to become a customer? I don't like pads. I never have. I thought I never would. When I first got my period I was using pads but never liked the bulky ones, and then when the "ultra thin chemical cocktail pads" came out I tried them. They were... better, but I still hated how wet I felt all day. I switched to tampons. It's been years since I've used them, but things like this still horrify me and make me wonder why I ever did that to my body!!

As much as I hate to admit it now, because I know better, I liked tampons. They were comfortable, and kept me dry. About a year into trying to conceive my naturopath encouraged me to consider switching to natural products since disposable menstrual products are so chemical laden. I looked into cloth pads, and this was when I had discovered Lunapads, but I just wasn't ready to make the leap yet. I stumbled upon the Diva Cup. I thought for sure, this is the answer! I bought it thinking "Hey, I'll try it." The first month on the Diva Cup was... interesting. Long story short, it leaked a tiny bit for my oh.so.heavy periods, and even more troubling still... it got stuck. I was in the bathroom for 20 minutes trying to get it out, cursing the fact that of course it isn't leaking now, and where the hell is the cord I'm supposed to pull this thing out with?!! Luckily, I will promise those who are considering tuning out right about now, it was the only time it happened, and since then the Diva Cup has replaced my love of tampons by far. The Diva Cup works on suction to stay in palce, and actually sits much lower in the vagina than tampons (also something good to know when trying to conceive). Since that one little bump, I've learned that to take it out you simply have to break the suction seal it will come out no problem. There is also a neat feature on the side of the Diva Cup where there are small measurement markers which, if you've been trying to conceive for any length of time, this is very handy to know. Countless times I've been asked how much I bleed by doctors and I always looked at them like they had two heads. Now, on the Diva Cup, I can answer that question.

Prior to starting our IVF Cycle my Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) asked me how I felt about switching to pads, and for a brief second I was considering switching doctors. I just though, there's no way. I can't do it. I knew there was no way I was going to go back to disposables. I've long since wanted to cloth diaper, and if I'm going to put soft comfy fabric on my baby's bum there's no reason I have to suffer through sticky wet plastic stuck to my nether regions. Not to mention the aforementioned chemical cocktail. So, I reached out to the lovely ladies of Lunapads. When I received my Lunapads Sampler Pack in the mail I was thinking "I freakin' better get pregnant from this IVF because I am not using cloth pads for more than one period!" Little did I know a love affair was blossoming. Right away I was floored at how gorgeous the prints were!! I thought they looked great, but as I ran the soft fleece through my fingers I thought there is no way these pads are going to hold up to my ubber heavy period. By "ubber heavy" I mean, when I was using tampons I was soaking through 1 super plus tampon in less than an hour. A symptom of my endometriosis, I know now. But they are h.e.a.v.y! The day my flow started, I put the pad on and went about my business. About two hours later I went to the bathroom and was thinking my period hadn't yet started. Much to my dismay, not only had it started, I needed to change the fleece liner! I was shocked at not only how absorbent the pad was, but at how dry I felt!!

I instantly was giddy. I can honestly say, my last period, I actually enjoyed because every time I went to the washroom I was in shock at the fact that I still didn't feel wet and the fleece was holding up to the flow!! The first and heaviest day of my period, I did have the pad, the winged liner and the regular liner all on together, and was just in love with how dry I felt. I definitely have a new respect for fleece!! In the sampler pack, I also received a cloth panty liner. Now, especially going through IVF I am very thankful for this panty liner!! I haven't used my Diva Cup since my RE asked me to switch to pads, however I would love to use the panty liner as a back up for the few times my Diva Cup did leak.

The one thing that had always concerned me about reusable menstrual products is what the heck do you do when you're out and about in public? What I really love about the pads the best is that because they have snaps on the wings, they also fold up really discreetly. Not to mention, they are really nice and compact and fit great in my purse. This still didn't answer my problem of what am I going to do when I have to change the pad in public?

For the longest time every time I thought about changing cloth pads in public, I kept thinking "Why does no one make a small wet bag? And wouldn't it be great if I could get one with two compartments for clean and dirty pads!" Little did I know, someone does make such a bag. Don't get me wrong, I love my cloth Lunapads and cannot wait to use them again post partum but I'm a little bit infatuated with my Moon Pad Bag in Dandy Damask. It's so flippin' pretty no one would ever guess its contents!! Just recently I received lovely complements on how pretty my "hand bag" was when coming out of a washroom at a coffee shop.

Upon using and falling in love with my Sampler Pack, I also received the Heavy Flow Starter Kit which offers more pads and pad inserts than the Sampler Pack. While I haven't yet gotten to use this pack, I'm sure it'll be a blessing in those post partum days since it does include two super long maxi pads, as well as two regular maxi pads one with wings and one without. I really love that with the insert feature on this pad you can simply change the absorbent liner without needing to change the pad base.

BUY IT HERE!!!

OR Better Yet, Win It! Your chance of a $50 LunaPads Gift Certificate!!

Contest Opens April 9th at 9:00 am Pacific Standard Time (Seattle) and Closes April 30th at 6pm.

You will receive an entry for each of the following you complete, however the first is the only mandatory entry.

"Like" Up Down & Natural on facebook - Leave a comment on this post saying "I like Up, Down & Natural on Facebook." with your name as it appears on Facebook. (First name and last initial is fine if you wish for privacy reasons.)
Visit the Lunapads Website - Come back here and and comment with what product you'll spend your $50 Gift Certificate on.
Follow Up Down & Natural - Follow my blog via email. (Enter your email on the top right side of this page just above the Search bar.) Be sure to verify your subscription in the email you receive after signing up, or your subscription will not begin. Leave a comment on this post saying "I Follow Up, Down & Natural blog" with the email that you follow with.
Share the link - Post the link for This Giveaway on Facebook, being sure to tag @Up Down And Natural. Please leave a comment saying "I shared this contest on Facebook." with your name as it appears on Facebook.
Invite Friends - Suggest Up, Down & Natural's facebook page to friends, clicking the invite friends button or by sending them a message, or writing on their wall. Leave a comment on this post saying "I suggested Up, Down & Natural to friends on Facebook." with your name as it appears on Facebook.
Follow LunaPads on Facebook - Leave a comment on this post saying "I like Lunapads on Facebook." with your name as it appears on Facebook. (First name and last initial is fine if you wish for privacy reasons.)
Follow Up, Down & Natural on Twitter- Follow @UpDownNatural and leave a comment on this post saying "I follow @UpDownNatural on twitter" with your Twitter Username.
Follow LunaPads on Twitter - Follow @LunaPads and leave a comment on this post saying "I follow @UpDownNatural on twitter" with your Twitter Username.
Tweet It Out - Tweet this contest. You can use this tweet. Check out this #ClothPad #GiveAway from @UpDownNatural and @LunaPads for a $50 GC!! Comment on this post saying "I Tweeted this contest." with your Twitter Username.