Forum Activity for @mindy

mama cloth and menstrual cups!

Alternative Lifestyles and Subcultures

There's no dripping feeling, it's like a tampon but sits right under the uterus to catch things rather than absorbing the natural moisture like a tampon does. The most important thing is getting the right kind for your shape/size - a lot of people just order Diva cups because they're so easy to get, but no brand is really one size fits all. There's a whole channel on youtube about measuring yourself and how to pick the right one so you can get the proper suction etc. Cups also have no risk of TSS.

mama cloth and menstrual cups!

Alternative Lifestyles and Subcultures

Hahaha I love it!

Star Gryphon said:

Thank you for the info Mindy! I've been talking about making my own pads recently because we are FINALLY going to be using cloth for my daughter. My grandma made a good portion of the ones I have and I'm sure she has left over materials! I told my mom that if my daughter gets cloth then so do I! It's not as gross as a poopy diaper to me! I wouldn't free bleed as often if I also made my own light day pads. My vagina likes to breathe! The plastic and chemicals in the pads make it sad.

Haha. We all should agree that a happy vagina is the best kind!

updated by @mindy: 07/16/15 11:15:20AM

mama cloth and menstrual cups!

Alternative Lifestyles and Subcultures

For cups, a lot of it is getting the right fit for your body. They are not one size fits all, and your flow determines how long you can wear without leaking. Without getting into the nitty gritty, I needed a small size to "fit" me properly, but with my flow how it is I still need to empty it every 2 hours max. I used one at work with a backup cloth pad and that worked out great for me. Youtube actually has an informational channel just devoted to finding the right brand/fit for your own body.

• On mama cloth pricing, it depends a lot on materials/size. I make my own (as well as postpartum cloth) too, and know people who do it as a business. **My own observations and experience** lead me to believe that people in general will pay more for higher end materials that work better. Flannel liners are fine for the first/last day of spotting, but during the real cycle, fast absorbency, softness etc. do mean a lot. (You didn't say what materials you were using so I'm conjecturing here). Since I make cloth diapers I use scraps from that without a ton of extra cost from it either and it works out great. I back with fleece since I'm sensitive to PUL, then use bamboo or cotton fleece for an absorptive core, and top with cotton or bamboo velour. Those are my favorite and can absorb fast and hold a ton, and I know those materials are popular with cloth diaper mamas too - and those pads generally go higher priced that what you quoted. Postpartum are even higher because of more size/layers, etc. (Zorb, birdseye, and prefold twill, including chopped up 100% cotton prefolds make great absorptive cores too for potentially less $). Size and materials would help a ton in pricing

I want my 3 years old daughter to have dreadlocks

Dreads in the Family

My daughter had never had her hair brushed, and she has a TON. She started forming a single dread at the back of her head, I wanted to leave it, but hubby untangled it with his fingers - he said he wanted her old enough to decide for herself before attaching her with a social stigma. She is 11 months so obviously too young to agree to anything other than a diaper or boob at this point, we will see. Pi (3) says he wants dreads, but his hair is too short right now for them. He is awful about getting his hair washed, we're growing out his hair and I told him if he agrees to his hair washings he can have dreads, if not then I will cut his hair again. Time will tell

I want my 3 years old daughter to have dreadlocks

Dreads in the Family

I don't have advice really because I don't care what other people think, but she is darling, and if she can make an informed decision, I'd totally let her hair dread! She would be adorable. My sister went through similar and had to have super short hair growing up since she would bawl every time my mom got the brush or comb out. No one even considered dreads, which is sad!

How do you make dreadlocks without wax???

Introduce Yourself

SE answered, but it comes down to if you want something that looks like dreads right away or if you want real dreadlocks where the hair locks itself. There's NO way to get real dreadlocks right away. Salons make it look like it (kind of) but all the prep methods do is help section your hair and hold it so you have a little control in the way they form. My hair is long and tangly and likes to grab and try to congo with locks on the other side of my head which is painful, so I did some light twist & rip just to get it in sections that would work for me. Loosening, frizzing, stray hairs, it's part of how the real dreadlocks form. Nothing "makes" them but time.

.

General Questions

If it's staining, baking soda and lemon will probably get it off. If it's due to enamel being eroded though that's an entire different issue and cleaning probably won't do a lot. What type of tub do you have?

Meatless March Madness

Dreads and Diets

It gets easier as time goes on, but there are a lot of traps now that didn't used to be, junk foods to fall on because they don't have meat. Overdoing soy is really easy and not healthy, and a lot of "meat replacement" stuff (morningstar farms etc) has a lot of chemicals to make it meat-like, if that makes sense. I was vegetarian for about 10 years and ran into a lot of pitfalls, my cholesterol was continually climbing because of hidden trans fats in veggie food (where butter might have been used in the original versions) and lack of protein was making my muscle mass nonexistent. The whole idea of mindful eating is really important, and making sure like all things there is balance.

What exactly are these?

General Questions

Yeah, I have a friend who has been on here and read all the DreadHead/Knotty Boy BS. She said she doesn't care what the wax does cause it "looks better" My only consolation is that she is flighty and I don't think her dreads would last even if she takes care of them, she'd change her mind and shave her head anyways. I don't get it!

is this supposed to happen?

Dread Maintenance

I definitely noticed residue on my hair after Bronner's washes too, it always felt "dirty" faster than a baking soda wash.

Baba Fats said:

it could. Hard water doesn't rinse Dr. B's off of anything well