MommyCon came to Seattle...and I went!

Get your ticket for Mommy Con 2016 early! They always sell out, and here's a $5 code to get you started!

For the last few years my blogging bestie, That Mama Gretchen, and I have been pining away for a conference that we can attend together and to piggyback a mom's night out on. It's not easy, you know, when you've got two mamas who are on alternating years for pregnancies and birthing babies! But the fates aligned; MommyCon was coming to Seattle and even though Gretchen was in the final stages of her pregnancy with Baby #3 and I had not yet taken a night away from Ruby, we did it. We did it!

We split a hotel room at Motif, where the conference was to be held the following morning. After battling Friday evening Seattle traffic we checked and quickly made our way down to Frolick for an evening snack and a drink for me. There's something about a friendship that allows you to pick up and catch up with each other's lives, without missing a beat, even though it's been almost a year since we last saw each other in person. Well, keeping up with each other's blogs and social media kind of helps that.

Neither of us knew what to expect from MommyCon, even though we had heard great reviews. We stayed up late, talking about woven wraps, birth stories (one of our favorite repeat conversations), blogging life and real life. It was well after 1am before I shut my eyes and I couldn't wait for the following morning.

So what can I say about MommyCon? I was completely unprepared for exactly how great of a day that I would have. All of the vendors - spot on. I loved chatting with each business and met some people I had chatted with online and met new favorites. The brands ranged from cloth diapers, breast feeding support, babywearing, mama cloth, natural products for children and mama and so much more.

Between checking out the booths I attended several great talks - Cloth Diapering led by Jennifer Labit (owner of Cotton Babies), Wrapping 101, Co-sleeping and Beyond (so my life right now), Sex After Baby and Boobs and Bottles (both by Jessica Martin-Weber, AKA The Leaky Boob). I was so thankful that they were spaced out throughout the day because if I had to choose between any of those I'm sure my heart would have broken. Each of the vendors were so helpful and not pushy at all, which just makes everything so much better. I also was the lucky winner of a Cassiope Woven wrap that was a MommyCon exclusive - more about that later - but the excitement of their scavenger hunt was a fun addition to the day.

MommyCon is more than just a conference; it was a rejuvenation of what it means to be a mama. There were so many examples of a mother there, whether they breastfeed, bottlefeed, wore their baby in a soft structured carrier, wrapped them methodically, pushed them in a stroller or what was covering their bottom. It didn't matter if she had spikey rainbow hair or wore her business casual suit to attend. We were all there for the same reason - to gain community in this great journey of life and to better ourselves. For the first time in a very long time I was in a room with hundreds of other women and rather than worrying about the Mommy Wars, we all came together as we are.

Get $5 off your 2016 ticket by using promocode PierogieMama16!

Did you go to any of the MommyCon conferences?

Tell me about your favorite part!

Don't miss That Mama Gretchen's 7 favorite things about MommyCon post too!

Disclosure: I attended MommyCon Seattle 2015 as a media member and received a complimentary ticket. But seriously, I am so glad that I went and I plan on going any other time that this awesome event comes to my local area. And you should too!

Why cloth pads are the bomb & review of Öko Creations Cloth Pads

I've been a "mama cloth"/ "R.U.M.P.S" / "cloth pad" user for almost two years - and it all started when I dove into this for my postpartum with Ruby. Talk about jumping into the deep end!

Since that time I've had about 9 cycles and I'm so glad that I've made the complete switch to reusable menstrual products. I'm a cloth diapering mom, so it made sense to also make a change for myself. Periods, menstruation or "Aunt Flo" aren't really topics of conversation that we usually have in our culture but let's just unveil that stigma for a second and talk about a few really key points on why cloth pads are the bomb.

1. Your period overall will be better. Many women report that by switching to cloth pads that their cramps aren't as painful and their periods are lighter and shorter. I can personally attest to that! Mine used to last about 9 days prior to switching to cloth and now I average about 5 days. One might call me a conspiracy theorist, but part of me wonders if all those extra chemicals in disposable products affect the menstrual cycle to last longer because that means you need more of their products and they get more money. Even disregarding that, cloth is a beneficial alternative because you are now removing that chemical contact with your body. Montsano stays out of my vagina.

2. Cloth pads are way prettier than disposables!  I actually look forward to my period because I get to look at the pretty patterns. I know that parents get hit with the "fluffy bug" when it comes to prints and cloth diapers...but seriously, I was not prepared for the level of excitement when I saw unicorn print pads. It's a little empowering, isn't it? Instead of the blah pads from the store you get to choose what you like and it kind of represents you. You might quickly find yourself re-evaluating the hum drum boringness of another cycle to thinking about the great social impact it has on you and all of mankind. But I digress, that is a very deep topic for another day!

3. You will save boat loads of money. In this day and age, women menstruate for about 40 years or more. Think about your average cost of disposable products per month. Cloth pads can be an "expensive" start, just like cloth diapers or most other reusable alternatives, but the long term financial benefits outweigh greatly. Take this: you spend $8 on disposables per month, which comes out to $3840 (without any breaks for pregnancy, postpartum, etc) in your fertile lifetime. Instead, you purchase a starter stash of 8 pads (for a conservative 2 day stash) and you have an investment of $80 that will last you many years.

4. You're being earth friendly. Pads, tampons and disposable diapers take 500-800 years to decompose. As mentioned in Reason #3, your stash will easily last you 3-5 years. Meanwhile, you are no longer adding a disposable impact on our Earth. The process of creating disposable products is also very damaging to our environment.

So now that I've gotten you on the cloth pad band wagon, let me introduce these lovelies to you.

 Öko Creations won my heart last fall with the ever adorable snail hat and I was so excited to get to try cloth menstrual pads out. I've become a bit of a pad addict due to my current endeavor and found it serendipitous that my cycle started the day after I prepped these.

Like other Öko Creations products the material and build quality was excellent.  Öko Creations is a family owned and run business with deep roots in eco-ethics in the textiles they choose and actions within their workshop. This is a business who not only cares about my lady-business but the impact of their work too.

The topper and core are an organic cotton and hemp blend, meaning they are extremely dense and absorbent. The feeling of the natural fibers is soft and helps you feel dry. You don't have the issue of 'compression leaking' like you might with other core choices. Like many cloth pads, it includes a hidden waterproof layer to prevent leaking; but it's not PUL like most. In fact, it is the first pad that I am aware of to use a breathable waterproof layer that is best related to Saran-wrap. The result is a very trim pad with high absorption efficiency.  The wings that snap together under your underwear to prevent shifting. Even though they are trim, I have zero problem using them overnight. These have quickly become a favorite!

 

You can buy them online and follow on facebook instagram pinterest

 

Disclosure: I received complimentary product in exchange for my honest review.

No other compensation was provided.

The Pad Project: Update on Operation Christmas Child

A few weeks ago I shared about The Pad Project; a service project that a friend and I dreamed up to sew cloth menstrual pads to send to girls in developing countries.

Our first goal was to send pads over via Operation Christmas Child, a project funded by The Samaritan Purse. My MOPS group has participated in Operation Christmas Child for two years. This year we have 12 tables of about 10 women each and individual tables chose a boy or girl in a certain age group to prepare a box for. The shoe boxes are filled gifts and items for children are sent all around the world. Kelsey and I saw this as a perfect first vehicle in getting our pads over to parts of the world where girls would need them. The Samaritan Purse allows menstrual products for the 10-14 age group for girls so we asked each table to let us know if they are selecting a girl in that age group. We initially anticipated 8 boxes for girls in that age group, so our hope was to give a minimum of 4 pads per box, with the great hope of giving them up to 8.

Through the awesome donations of material, snaps, PUL, time and prayers we had 88 pads, 40 boosters (thinner wingless pads that can be placed on top of the pad for additional absorbancy), a small PUL clutch that holds 3 used pads at a time, a few bars of soap AND 3-4 pairs of underwear per box ready this morning!

Another great surprise and blessing was...8 additional boxes were ready to get more pads! There were enough extra donated items (such as pencils, sewing kits, coloring books, hair brushes) that filled 8 additional boxes for the girls 10-14 age group. So The Pad Project has an additional goal of making 40-50 more pads to fill those new boxes before the shipping deadline on November 16th.

The Pad Project: Sewing Cloth Pads for Girls in Developing Countries

About 3 weeks ago I pitched a crazy dream to a friend. "Let's sew cloth pads for girls in developing countries." Without missing a beat, she excitedly jumped on board and we started a project that has awed me in the power of God's work.

As a young girl starting your period is the rite of passage. In the US we don't really make a big deal out of it, it's typically discussed between a mother and daughter and later maybe her friends. There is no outside marker to show this physical change, though this girl may feel a time of pride or even confusion. But her life goes on as normal - she will continue to go to school, try to work through the discomfort at sports practice and learn how to live with this on a monthly basis.

 

In other parts of the world this same rite of passage can be mean the end of your educational career. She is unable to have it discreetly because of a lack of sanitary products. She may become very ill because her lack of options in materials that she can use or how she's able to wash them. Her culture may require her to be physically secluded because of the fear of evil spirits. Even in developed nations she may not be allowed in the kitchen or to touch her father. The typical response is exclusion. 

 

I can't imagine being in a world where a completely natural and NECESSARY biological function to mankind removes me from what I want or need to do. 

 

This idea has been bouncing around in my head for several months. I know that I live in a highly privileged world where I worry for very little, especially my period. I have been consciously searching for ways where I can use this privilege to make a change. It was recently reignited when I read the stories about Flo, a handheld washing, drying and carrying device for cloth pads and Kiran Ghandi who ran a marathon while "free bleeding." My journey began by applying the desire for a world where everyone is equally valued to something very small and simple- giving some girls pads so that they can continue on their lives without being hindered by unreasonable fears. It doesn't matter to me whether I change four girls lives or 40. Each one deserves this very basic dignity.

I can't wait to dive further into this topic of education, health and sanitation and sociological response to menstruation. It makes sense - I have a degree in Sociology. This is the stuff I would have spent hours devouring while in college and especially now, as the mother of two daughters, I see clearly why this is an important topic for me to discover and share with anyone who will listen.

 

Why cloth pads, you might ask. Disposables are surely easy for us to come by and donate. In our culture using cloth versus disposables is usually a matter of choice. Think about it this way - how much does a pad cost in The United States? Pennies. Disposable items are very cheap for us. In other countries it's the exact opposite. It is a luxury to throw something away after using it once. A luxury that most of the world does not have.  Providing a girl with a set of disposable pads will help her for a matter of hours. Cloth pads, on the other hand, have a lifespan of years.

My friend, Kelsey, and I brought this concept to several like-minded women and our idea has spread like wildfire. A large part of our project goals was to use as much material available to us that is simply laying around the house. Items like fabric remnants from previous projects, worn out bed sheets and receiving blankets that were waiting for a someday baby. Quickly several women came forward with yards and yards of their fabric stashes, purchased KAM snaps and several have donated their time to help us put these together. Many recognize the need and importance of this project and they are eager to step forward to help make this happen. I can't believe how blessed we have been.

A common question is "where will they go?" We are currently working to complete our first goal in providing a set of 8 pads per girl in our MOPS group participation in Operation Christmas Child, which is 64 pads total. With the help of others, we are also striving to include a bar of soap, a set of underwear and a wet bag per stash too. Operation Christmas Child will be our primary vehicle in sending this first shipment but we want to continue beyond that. We have several contacts in various organizations and missions, and we are working on narrowing down where we feel they would best go.

In this picture you'll see our little "booster" pads included too. We made these thinner boosters to lay on top of the pad to add for extra absorbency on heavier days.

And that's kind of what has been on my heart and mind for the last month! xoxo