A "Crunchy" Give-Away

Calling all crunchy-esque mama's!! 

I am thrilled beyond measure to share with the blogosphere something that changed my life over seven years ago.  It not only changed my way of thinking, it changed how I felt physically every single month.  If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know that I love to talk about things that make people uncomfortable.  That being said, it should not surprise you that my first give-away is for a  $15 Gift Certificate from The Essence of Eve.

Stephanie is the owner of Patty Naps cloth diapers and why yes, those are Patty Naps in the photo above.  I knew I could pull you all in with those cute diapers, so I tricked you.  I'm sorry for being deceitful, but you can always go over to her cloth diaper site and order some.  Who knows, maybe she'll even let me do a cloth diaper give away one of these days.  Okay, so now that you know how tricky I can be I should also add that Stephanie is the owner of Essence of Eve , and she  just happens to be my *IRL friend who has seen me through many an issue.  God Bless her.  

*In Real Life

My Story:

I hated that time of the month.  For years I suffered with extreme cramping, heavy bleeding and major PMS.  I would curl up on the couch with a heating pad and scream at everyone who dared enter my bubble.  My cramps were the worst part and nothing seemed to help.  I also hated wearing sticky, sweaty paper pads and prefered wearing tampons.  However, I hated tampons with a passion, so that tells you how uncomfortable and grouchy I spent one week every month.  

Before Caleb was born, on October 18, 2001, I had already decided to cloth diaper this new baby.  I knew it would be very different, but I was ready for the change.  Plus, have you seen how cute cloth diapers are?  Oh wait, you have!  I tricked you with that photo above. (snort)

 I was constantly looking at new diapers online and began researching these funny, yet intriguing, little things called "Mama Pads".  I had a different friend of mine make me a couple post-partum pads that I could wear after Caleb was born.  I wasn't sure how I could handle washing my own pads though.  Caleb was born and thus began the many weeks of bleeding/spotting.  As usual, I was bleeding very heavily so the huge hospital pads and mesh panties seemed to be more secure (albeit extremely uncomfortable) during the first week.  A week later I switched to store-bought extra long, night-time pads, but soon I was sick of them sticking to my skin.  The commercial was right....I really didn't feel very fresh.  In fact, I was down right miserable. Knowing I had a week or two more to go, I pulled out the post-partum cloth pads and began wearing them.  They were made with a light blue velour top, cotton soaker, PUL back and they had wings with a snap.  I remember how they felt against my girly bits.  Like I was wearing the most comfortable pair of panties ever.  There was no discomfort at all.  I only had two, so I washed and washed and washed until I was done with this phase of my life.  I packed them away and happily nursed my baby, period free.  

When Caleb was 6 months old I began spotting again, so I pulled out my pads and called up my old friend.  She made me six more and I was happy with those.  Another friend of mine sold me her un-used Pretty Pad set and I fell in love!!  Later on, Stephanie started making them.  I was her tester and gladly gave her all my preferences and feedback.  I love Essence of Eve pads, which is why I want to share them with you.  

*Edited 5/01 to add*

I completely forgot to add how using cloth exclusively changed my periods after only several months of wearing them.  My cramps no longer caused me to curl up on the couch in pain.  Heating pads for cramps is non-existant.  In fact, the only time I ever have to use a heating pad is when I ovulate and I don't use it every month.  If you've ever experienced middlesmerch you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.  OUCH!  Anyway- my periods have also shortened by 2 days and I only have one heavy flow day instead of three.                                        

Contest Rules:

1. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me why you want to try cloth pads or what you already love about cloth pads.  

2. If you want a second entry, just post about my give-away on your blog.  Be sure to include my link:

http://semiorganizedmom.blogspot.com

and then leave a comment here letting me know so I can hop on over to your blog and check you out, too!!  

That's it!