cloth pads/shortening my period?

[vespersongs]

Anyone have any advice for someone starting to use cloth pads and/or diva cup? How many do you need? Better companies? Make them yourself? Can you use the cup if you've had children?

Also, anyone have any success with shortening your period naturally? Mine lasts an entire 7 days and is fairly heavy.

Thanks!

[Piglet68]

I have no idea how to change the length of your period. I will say mine has varied at different times of life. I got much more regular after having children, for example.

I use LunaPads, which I love b/c they are great pads and I love the company. But if I could sew I could easily make my own I'm sure. I use a Diva for the first 2 - 3 days with cloth backups (which I rarely ever need but somehow I just feel better with them, lol) and then cloth only the rest of the week. If you go to the Lunapads website there is tons of info there. They have starter kits and combo Diva/pad kits.

[rhiOrion]

You can use the Diva Cup if you've had children, you're just supposed to get the bigger size.

My period didn't really get shorter with the cup, but it did get lighter. Tampons make it heavier.

I don't think I can ever go back to tampons. I hate them. But I also hate pads. I love my diva cup. Unfortunately I have read mixed things about whether or not I can use it with an IUD, so I might be looking into some cloth pad options soon, too (unless the mirena gets rid of my period...that would be cool )

[TTC]

Is there a benefit of using a cloth pad vs. a traditional disposable one and are they re-usable? Do you actually wash them after each use? Sorry I'm out of the loop on this.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by TTC

Is there a benefit of using a cloth pad vs. a traditional disposable one and are they re-usable? Do you actually wash them after each use? Sorry I'm out of the loop on this.

Yes, there are many benefits! And I would argue that the "traditional" pads are the cloth ones, not disposables. Yes, you would wash them after each use. I would suggest starting a new thread about this as I think your question will get lost here.