Hello...I've been lurking here for a while....

I just wanted to register so I could say thank you to everyone for all the great advice! I've been reading up on all of this cup info and I'm amazed at what's out there! Honestly, I didn't know that there was such a thing as a menstrual cup. Nobody teaches you at school that there are any other options out there besides pads & tampons...my mom didn't even know!

I happened to stumble upon menstrual cups while searching for things relating to cloth diapering. I started finding reusable solutions to everything: cloth wipes, cloth pads, cloth toilet paper (aka family cloth), unpaper towels, etc. Somewhere in there I saw the menstrual cups. I had a friend that did cloth diapers/wipes/family cloth and found out she also had a menstrual cup and she loved it (she was allergic to tampons).

Well, I just got my first menstrual cup in the mail (Lunette Cynthia, size 2) and I really hope I made the right decision. Let me tell you why I chose what I did and feel free to let me know if you think my choice was good/bad and why. Well, I have kids, so for sure I was going with a after childbirth size. I tried to measure how far in my cervix is the best I could - I have small hands...my middle finger is just under 8 cm long. When I'm not on my period, I can barely reach my cervix (all the way in, so 8 cm then). While I'm on my period it migrates from about 5 or 5.5cm (on my two/three heavier days) and around 6/6.5 on the other days.

I feel that childbirth has really increased the area inside my vagina, so I was worried about creating a good seal. Since I had kids, if I put in one tampon it leaks right around it. The only way to not leak is to put in 2 (which doesn't seem good) - I don't like leaving them in most of the day and I also don't like to keep on taking out half used tampons. I also have a tilted cervix (really goes off to my left). I tried insteads first to try to see if I might like a cup. I got them to work (somewhat) by flipping them inside out (if I didn't do this, they leaked constantly). Even inside out, I still had to change them when they had only a small amount of blood in them.

I don't really know if I have a heavy flow or not - I guess I would probably say moderate. I know I do the 1-2 beginning days of spotting and then have two (possibly 3) heavy days (about 3-4 super tampons, supposing that they didn't leak) then a few days of moderate to mild (2 super tampons -3 at most). I wanted to get a cup that I could leave in for a long time, that I might have a chance of lasting 12 hours on my heavy days and also a cup that would seal well.

I almost got the Diva, but I was a little worried that it might be too long for my heavy days when my cervix is lower. I wanted something with good capacity that seemed reasonably easy to pop open. The only thing I'm a little worried about is the firmness that some people have commented about. It looked to me like some people needed the firmness to make the seal, whereas some needed the squishiness to make the seal. I couldn't really predict where I would be on that scale, so I just went for it. I'm also a little worried about the sensation where you feel like you have to pee...since I've had kids, it seems that it's easier for pee to come out if I'm not careful and I have some anxiety about that. I hope the Lunette doesn't make that worse...

My next runners up, if I feel I need something softer are the Large MiaCup and the Large Fleurcup. I was thinking of a slightly smaller/softer one for my light days and I thought maybe a Medium Meluna, but I'm not sure if it would make a good seal. You all know cups are addictive, so I'd better be prepared! I plan on converting my sister and some of my friends and family in the future!

So wish me luck..tonight I'm going to try a dry run with my new Lunette Cynthia! I'm proud to say it came in the prettiest silky purple storage pouch (I was excited about that - most people say they got only blue)! I ordered from Feminine Wear.com and it took only 8 days to get here (inlcuding 3 weekend days and one holiday). For anyone who's worried about it...all it said on it was "cup" for the customs description (nobody would know what it was by looking at it).

Well, sorry such a long post...let me know what you think and thanks again!

Michelle