Wet Bag Week: Mama Cloth Monday

**Let's preface this post - begin TMI alert**

Okay, now that that is out of the way. Today's contribution to Wet Bag Week is all about the wonders that is mama cloth, and how you can seamlessly incorporate reusable menstrual products into your day-to-day life.

 

First of all, my AF stash* (that is 'Aunt Flow' for you those of you new to the online lexicon): 

• 1 Medium Wet/Dry Planet Wise wet bag
• 1 Double-Sided Small mama cloth wet bag
• 1 Mooncup by Keeper menstrual cup
• 6 Thong Liners (all from Pleat)
• 18 Liners (a mix of lay-in liners from Mother Moon, Lemon Liners from Wasabi Mommi and snap-in liners from Tree Hugger)
• 1 Normal Pad (from Mother Moon)
• 5 Heavy/Overnight Pads (from Mother Moon and Wasabi Mommi)

For daytime I primarily use the cup with liners as backup. For nighttime I use the cup paired with the largest pad that is clean. I don't know if this happens to you (and I actually read there is some science behind this), but I don't sleep well when AF is in town. Instead, I am often sleepless, tossing and turning. I find that using a large back-up pad helps me sleep better.

Now, on to the wet bags. I have found that I like having two wet bags to make my AF as easy as possible. 

 

I love my double-sided portable wet bag. It ensures I don't fall back on my small stash of disposable products (kept mostly on hand for visitors to our home who might need an emergency loaner item or two). Instead, keeping the wet bag packed under the sink ensures I can grab  it, throw it into the massive mom purse (I use the term endearingly, as I love massive bags!) and go. I store clean pads in one pocket, with the other pocket is standing by. Or, if I'm expecting AF at any time, I pack liners in one side of the wet bag and the cup in the other side.

 

My second wet bag is a Planet Wise Medium Wet/Dry. This bag serves a two  functions. While AF is here, I clip the bag in a handy spot (for me this is the door handle next to the toilet) and store all of my clean pads in the dry pocket. When I change my pad, I throw it in the sink and run it under cold water until the water runs clear (tip - don't wring the pad out - leaving a bit of water in the pad will help prevent stains). I then transfer the used pad into the wet pocket of the wet bag until laundry time (for now my pads are washed with our diaper laundry; once my lovely girl potty trains I imagine I'll do one small mama cloth load at the end of the cycle).

The second use is purely to satisfy my desire to organize every possible area of my life. When AF is out of town (gosh, whoever invented that expression anyways?!), I store all my clean mama cloth , cup and small double-pocket wet bag in the dry pocket. I then can stash this neat little bundle of goodness in the cupboard.

Intrigued? Want to learn more about mama cloth? Check out the bottom of this page for a quick primer on the types of mama cloth. Want to learn more about menstrual cups? I found this post incredibly helpful when deciding what I wanted to buy.

*Just like cloth diapering is completely subjective, so is mama cloth. What one person loves will be completely off-putting for someone else. I quickly found I preferred the cup+liner over any other combination, so then I invested more in my liner collection. And I find some liners work best with different pairs of underwear. So, just like your baby has particular diapers for particular events, times or outfits, well.... so do I. ;)

**end TMI alert - we now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming**