#pot nbd' but there's enough of a size difference between the two pots that i feel annoyed by it

[fingertipsmp3]

Guess whose home office is finally (pretty much) set up how she wants it 🎉

[alltheselights]

Hey Emma, I saw on your Twitter that you had an incident with your diva cup (I'm sorry I can't help but laugh but also glad nothing more serious happened). I was just wondering whether you would be comfortable sharing your experience with it? I've been considering investing in a menstrual cup but there's so many options. Have you tried diff brands or encountered any issues with using one?? No pressure to respond ofc xx

Hahaha no worries! What’s worse about this diva cup incident is that this is actually the second time it’s happened.....the first time, I remembered I was boiling it after all the water had evaporated so it was kinda melted to the pot a little, but it wasn’t TOO long after. This time was ridiculous and I can’t believe something serious didn’t happen. It had basically turned partially to ash. 😬

Okay, period TMI stuff under the read more!

Those incidents aside, my experience overall with using them has been pretty good! I was really resistant at first, but eventually I bought a Diva Cup because I was tired of paying for so many tampons (and pads, though I use those more rarely) and that was the brand that a friend of mine was using. It comes with a tiny lil fabric bag to store it in and I believe it has two different sizes, one for people who haven’t given birth and one for people who have. I’ve never tried any other brand, but I’m not opposed to it. I don’t have any real reason to switch, but I assume most brands probably work similarly.

I generally use the diva cup for as much of my period as I can, but sometimes I start to get irritated after a while (I don’t think this is the norm, but my body tends to be very sensitive), so if I find that happening, I will generally switch back to using tampons for the remainder of my period. I also generally won’t use it if my period is heavy enough that I would need to empty it at work or somewhere else with public restrooms just because I prefer to rinse it off fully when I empty it before reinserting, but in a pinch, you definitely could just dump it out in the toilet and clean the edges with toilet paper without ever leaving the stall, so it’s not a huge concern. I also generally only need to empty it more frequently than once every eight hours or so on the first couple of days of my period when it’s heaviest. Generally speaking, I’m able to wear it safely and without leakage for longer than pads or tampons.

I would definitely recommend practicing putting it in and testing it while you’re at home and awake (with a pad/panty liner just in case) just to make sure that you aren’t experiencing any leaks that you’ll wake up to or have to deal with when you’re in public. I also still like to have extra tampons or pads around when I can just in case.

If you’re nervous about trying it, I would be like me and try a kind of hybrid model, even if it’s only until you’re fully comfortable using a cup. I use the cup probably 75-85 percent of the time, but I keep other supplies around just in case I ever feel uncomfortable or am headed somewhere that I don’t feel fully comfortable emptying and rinsing the cup off. If that works for you, you can keep at it, or you can switch to using the cup full time when you’re comfortable.

Pros (imo):

Saves money

More sustainable

Can be kept in longer without worrying about your health or leakage.

Cons (according to me):

Def getting up close and personal with your menstrual blood when you empty the cup and rinse it out

Sometimes causes minor irritation (again, probably not experienced by most people)

Requires some practice to get it in correctly to prevent leaks.

Can be difficult to deal with public bathrooms if you want to rinse it out, but it’s nbd if you just have to dump it

When boiling in water to sanitize fully between menstrual cycles, can be forgotten and ruined (again....probably this is just me aljkfdjkds)

Even though there are more cons than pros listed here, in my view, the pros definitely outweigh the cons and the cons are more just minor inconveniences. There are a lot of inconveniences with pads and tampons too, so I don’t see myself switching back to using those products full time.

I hope this helps and wasn’t TMI!! Best of luck, bub.