My Continuing Love/Hate Relationship With Aunt Flo
Taking a moment for an old fashioned ramble post. Hope you don't mind?
I have news…. The elusive Aunt Flo has actually stopped by two months in a row! It kind of makes me happy and wondering if my cycle is getting back on track. The crazy unpredictable periods honestly drive me insane. It made it so hard to track our conception attempts. I hated seeing her yet not seeing her. It was so confusing to not be visited for months yet not be preggers. It's been a couple years now since she's visited two months in a row though! Yet, I'm a little unsure about getting too giddy just yet…
Why is she coming on time and according to schedule when we are NOT YET trying for Rissa's sibling?
Will she be MIA once we do start trying again (soon!)?
She's so sneaky. Still, I am kind of happy to see some regularity. But… I hate these cramps. You better believe I've been indulging in too much chocolate. My new obsession is chocolate covered cashews and almonds.
Mmm… Yum!
Anyway, yes, I hate having my period but I hate not having it. It's such an integral part of trying to conceive though.
Heh, I guess this post could also serve as a warning of my fluctuating moods right now. When in doubt, just throw chocolate at me!
Oh! One last thing – anyone have any experience with mama cloth? I've been wondering about giving it a try. (The Diva Cup sorta scares me to be honest.)
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Darcy lives outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her husband, their 8 year old daughter, 6 year old son, two cats, and a rescue dog. She loves to share kids crafts, simple recipes, and parenting tips to help other moms. She's passionate about education (which is why she is a PTO board member and Box Tops Coordinator) and all things babies. Darcy loves purple, geek culture, and making an ordinary life feel extraordinary. She and her family enjoy exploring Wisconsin and planning local adventures. Author of Breastfeeding 101: Beauty in Breastfeeding, available on Amazon. Her writing has also been featured on Babble, CafeMom, and Mom.me.
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I’ve decided to make the switch to mama cloth, too. However, AF hasn’t shown her face yet (LO is 14 mos). I’ve been stocking up, though. Mostly from PinkLemonade Shop on etsy and he Silver Liner on HyenaCart. Minky and bamboo velour topped. Almost makes me want AF back… Almost.
Good luck on the switch. Once you decide its easy!
This actually happened to me in October through late December. I felt as though my Aunt came to see us EVERY day for a month.. Then she took a trip elsewhere for 5 weeks, and BACK for another 2-3 weeks! It was very confusing and difficult since we had just started to try for conception. I told hubby I am no longer buying tests until she is on vacation for over 2-3 months. I can’t deal with the cost and frustration any longer! She was VERY regular my entire life up until giving birth. I have learned that nothing in life is a guarantee or should be taken for granted – Aunt Flow included.
… I do miss her when she is gone, however! {weird, right???} Having things on some sort of track, knowing what to expect, and what my body is ‘thinking’ seems like a necessary lately. I grew very frustrated having my Aunt visit for 2-3 weeks. In the end I decided to blame it on stress (which I had from moving), weight loss (which happened from the stress), and the holiday season in general! 🙂
I’m always a tad jealous of people who rarely get their period … b/c period cramps SUCK! Not to mention the moodiness! I am a STEADY EDDIE when it comes to Aunt Flo. WORSE, I have very short cycles, so I get mine about 14x a year instead of 12! LOL
I got mine back 4 months post-partum, even though I was nursing round the clock. So… I guess just enjoy the repreive when you get it! 🙂 LOL But I do hope you’re regular by the time you try to conceive!! 🙂
Mama cloth is awesome! My stash mainly consists of Homestead Emporium pads. Her pads are by far my favorite & sooo comfortable. I also had problems with regularity of my period. You may want to look into Fertilaid for women by Fairhaven Health. My periods went from every 59+ days to every 34 days since taking it.
mama cloth is one of those things where once you’ve made the switch, you don’t regret it. and it’s easier than cloth diapers! My favorite is Domino Pads, but you can get several recommendations from diaper pin: http://diaperpin.com/diapers/itemlist.asp?subcat=PADS
For conceiving purposes, I hope you’re regulating, but I also hope the cramps ease up soon. Those are never any fun. If you do switch to mama cloth or the diva cup, write about it! I would love to read the pros and cons about it 🙂
If I try either I will definitely share about them!
I’m going on 2 years without a visit my son is just about 13 months. I don’t miss it at all. I have been thinking about cloth pads, but haven’t done any research at all. though it has been nice not buying pads every month. The cramps suck big time and I’m not looking forward to those again.
I would be fine if she never visits again after the next 1-2 kiddos!
Lol I completely understand, knowing when it’s coming is better then the unexpected and it’s not very helpful when trying to conceive. Ive had trouble getting mine regularly also but it’s probably because I switched birth control, I got it twice in one month a couple months ago very odd! Good luck!
Oh my gosh. Mine was pretty random for years. Then I randomly got pregnant (we weren’t trying, but weren’t preventing…it happened a lot sooner than we thought it could what with my weird cycles and everything!). After my son, I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t get a period until he was actively self-weaning and had cut way back on nursing. Then it was regular…like 28 days on the dot!…for 3 months…and then I got pregnant (SURPRISE!). We lost that baby, unfortunately right at the start of the second trimester. And my periods took a couple months to come back. Days before they did (and I didn’t know it was days at the time, because it hadn’t come yet!) I had a Paragard put in. So that messed with them a bit. I had it taken out a couple months ago and they’re now even more different and still completely irregular. Just like before I got pregnant with my son. Ah! Drives me a bit batty since I’d kinda like to KNOW, you know?
Anywho…I use cloth pads! And I LOVE them! I have a Diva Cup, but can’t get the hang of it. I’ve never been comfortable with the idea of tampons; I just preferred keeping things on the outside. I used a disposable for some reason after using cloth for about a year…so uncomfortable! Cloth pads are just amazing. So soft and comfortable. They’re a bit more bulky than disposables, but not much if you get a hemp or bamboo core! They don’t crinkle. They don’t ever get stuck to you. And they’re surprisingly easy and not gross to use! I happen to cloth diapers, so I just drop mine into the diaper pail and wash them with my diapers. You can wash them with your regular laundry if you want (but you don’t want to use fabric softeners). Some people rinse or soak them to prevent staining. I’ve found that using cloth diaper detergent on them has kept stains at bay and I don’t do any sort of special pretreatment…just pre-soak or wash on cold! 🙂
My absolute favorite brand is Pampered Mama. She has minky-topped ones with fleece backing and bamboo inners…heavenly! Super trim, absorbent, and SO soft. 🙂
Ooh minky topped sounds nice! Thank you for sharing about your cycle, it’s crazy how many of us are affected by such randomness! And thanks for the mama cloth info. I cloth diaper too, so this wouldn’t be too strange in our house.
Um, congrats? HA! I hope things work out the way you want and when you’re ready to TTC your body will be ready!
Haha! I know it’s a weird situation. All yay and ugh at the same time.
I can TOTALLY relate…my periods have been so sporadic for the past 5-6 yrs and like you, on one hand I love not having it every month but on the other it’s like…what’s up?! I don’t miss the cramps and everything lovely that goes along w/ ‘aunt flo’ but since I’m a healthy girl I wonder what my body is saying?? I’ve never tried cloth and, to be honest, it freaks me out a bit….i know there are plenty of people out there who use it and I don’t want to get gross….but just the idea weirds me out and seems….well….gross. I don’t mean to offend but that’s how I feel! I still haven’t gotten my period and my baby boy is one! (Although I’m still breastfeeding him about 3 times a day + at night) and believe me, I don’t miss it! My hubs and I were so surprised/happy to have even gotten pregnant since I’m so irregular…he is such a blessing. 🙂 If you do decide to use cloth, let us know what you think!
annae07 at aol dot com
No offense taken! Mama cloth and diva cups grossed me out at first, but something about the cloth diapers has made it seem not quite so bad anymore. I don’t think I could do family cloth instead of toilet paper though…yuck!
OMG!! I know exactly how you are feeling!! I just reviewed some Valentine’s cookies and I couldn’t stay away from them. I know my weekly weigh in is going to suck because of water retention and those damn cookies!! Of course, you know I’m TTC (have been for 15 months now) and my period which is normally very regular still comes regular, but I have like one spot and then two days of nothing…makes me start wondering…take a test…nope…starts the next day (or that same night). GRRRR!!!! Yeah, I have mine right now too and I had to take one of Hubby’s hydrocodone last night. 🙁
Darcy,
I highly recommend the DivaCup and mama cloth. Pink lemonade are my favorite. Mainly top are so comfortable. Steer clear of Randumosity. Pad quality is great but customer service sucks. A friend bought some from her 3 months back and still have not gotten them or a refund. She won’t reply to emails and deletes posts on FB.
Also if you can get your hands on some dependable luxury they are great. They have PUL like diapers so no leaks. I’ve never had leaks with any though. I alternate cycles with diva cup then mama cloth.
My cycles suck. They are anywhere from 28 days to 35 days. My ovulation is always off. Even with BBT, CP, CM and a fertility scope I can’t pinpoint ovulation.
Diva cup is also good for TTC. It holds the “goods” in place. 😉 lmao.
Since my Ovulation is so off I have not gotten pregnant yet. Plus me and hubby are only able to DTD 1-2 times a week. ;( he works so much it sucks.
I can give you more recommendations on mama cloth if your interested.
Thank you for the recommendations! I am all ears!
I have the opposite problem 🙁
Fibroids had me going crazy so I am glad for regularity now.
I had a hysterectomy and I LOVE IT!
Been lucky I don’t get severe cramps but I still hate that time!
I have and IUD, so have been lacking AF for a while. I actually kind of miss her I haven’t seen her for so long. It just feel so much more natural to be having a monthly visitor.
I’ve had terrible cramps from day one I am now in my late 40’s and the did not get better after having kids or as I got older.
My cramps are horrible, they are so horrible that I stay in the house for 1 week each month because I am in so much pain, My Dr believes its from that fact that I have Pcos (poly cystic ovarian syndrome)
Oh no! I’m sorry that you have to deal with so much pain each month.