Lunapads

Thanks to customers who asked us for a microwaveable heat pack in our Facebook group, we are pleased to introduce our newest product, the herbal heat pack.

Getting this product sorted out was a bit of an adventure into itself, as we initially figured that we would be better off purchasing it from a supplier rather than making our own - wrong! There are some pretty sorry goods out there (not to mention unreliable suppliers), and so we decided to take matters into our own hands. As many of you are aware we have lately been happily collaborating with Nikiah Seeds of Mama Goddess Birth Shop, creator of the Moon Cycle Bath. In this case, she was only too happy to apply her wisdom as a Chartered Herbalist to choose and blend the herbs, while I simply went next door to Wendy our production partner, figured out a pattern and whipped up a couple of samples. The result is frankly yummy!
The packs contain the following organic ingredients: Lavender (calming), Peppermint (wonderful scent and anti-nausea), Chamomile (calming), Mullen (dream-enhancing) and Lemongrass (for clarity and relaxation), mixed with Wheatberries and Flax seeds for heat retention.
Available now in favorite Lunapads fabrics Cocoa Kaleidoscope, Midnight Pansy or Purple Stardust to comfort crampy bellies or lower backs in style!

I heard about cloth pads and menstruation cups but I thought it was not worth it for “only once a month”. Then I started cloth diapering because I was concerned about my son’s sensitive skin and chemicals in disposable diapers. I also felt guilty creating more daily diaper trash than 2 weeks of household waste. I figured that this reasoning would apply to me too, even though I wore disposable pads or tampons just once a month. Despite being pretty thrifty, it never even dawned on my how much money I could save using cloth pads.

I Googled cloth pads and found most pads sold here in Germany were inferior to Lunapads (which are sold in Germany). Some of the pads have to be folded, lack prints, and don’t have snaps. I decided to give Lunapads a shot, especially since the prints were so nice! I mentioned Lunapads on my blog and the nice girls at Lunapads sent me a great surprise. Now I am a big Lunapads fan, a subscriber to the Lunapads Blog feed, and even a member of the I heart my Lunapads Facebook group.

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Every now and again it’s nice to take the time for a little self-improvement, websites included. As many of you know, we have a long and deep attachment to our gorgeous website and its dedicated designer-mothers, Lauren and Emira of Raised Eyebrow Web Studio. The site is very personal to us and we like for it to feel like a genuine and intimate reflection of who we are (at least as much as a website realistically can!) We launched our last site in July of 2006 and have been thrilled with it, but in the year-plus since then we have learned and grown so much, making it time to update it.

One of the greatest pleasures of working at Lunapads is being able to collaborate creatively with a group of extremely passionate and clever people. Every product, fabric and statement are the result of at least 2 people talking it through, and likely more than that. This back-and-forth creativity (or flow, if you will is at the heart of the Lunapads culture and the new site is yet another fantastic example of it.

First highlights, then kudos.

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“Why are Lunapads so expensive?” has long been on of my least favorite responses to our products. While it might rankle me (“You’ve got it backwards!” I want to scream) for the unenlightened it is an natural response, particularly when you have a $7 box of tampons on the one hand and a $35 DivaCup on the other. For our part, I can assure you that natural menstrual products are as-yet no goldmine, and that while we do our best to keep the prices as low as possible, we also like to do things like pay our production partners and staff properly and patronize suppliers of organic fabric, which isn’t exactly bargain bin. That said, even for those of us who are clear on the longer-term financial savings to be had from their initial investment, not to mention the other benefits we like to talk about, what if $35 is still a stretch at the time?

Lunapads.com Buying Clubs are our answer to this question. The deal is that you get 20% off everything (including Kits, which are already discounted, plus SALE items, we mean everything) when you order with friends to come up with a minimum $300 purchase online. Shipping is FREE. Orders must be purchased by one person and shipped to one location, so it’s a great opportunity to get together with your classmates, book club pals, co-workers, etc. to open your goodies and settle up with the Buying Club Administrator. Needless to say, no other promo coupon codes can be used for Buying Club orders. Check out the full details here, and happy shopping, girlfriends!

Now that we have settled nicely into our new home, we are excited to be hosting several birthing and mama events in our community. When Amanda, Aimée and Sarah approached us see if they could use our office space on weekends and evenings, we were only happy to say yes.

Amanda and Aimée are the dynamic doula forces behind LunaBirth and Adar Birth Services. They will be holding weekly and weekend intensive ‘Birthing From Within’ sessions at Lunapads. These childbirth classes allow parents to learn through interactive, creative activities that explore and validate their own knowledge in the spirit of fun and curiosity, while at the same time discussing non-biased, evidence-based information about pain-coping and labour management. (I took my Birthing From Within class with Sarah and really enjoyed it. It is a really great way to spend some quality time with your partner as you prepare for the big event.)

Sarah, one of the creators of Mama Renew is what I call a veteran mama. Sarah will be leading a Mama Renewal Group which will be made up of moms who are juggling family and work. They will be meeting at Lunapads for six monthly sessions, exploring how to reclaim, rebalance, and reconnect in our life as mothers via discussion, journaling, space for inner reflection, and much laughter and connection. When I first heard about Mama Renew, I was feeling desperate for some help in coping with the whole work-family balance act. Tearfully, I said to myself “I really need to join this group!”

We feel so proud to have created such a comfortable and functional space, and are glad that we can share it with like-minded women doing wonderful work in our community.

Well it looks like I am next on the role call! I found my way to Lunapads in December of 2007 and have been quietly learning the ropes without so much as a squeak in terms of blog-writing so I guess its time I introduced myself.
I grew up on an organic farm in the sleepy little town of Metchosin BC on Vancouver Island. If nearby Victoria is known for its population “Newlyweds and Nearly-Deads” then Metchosins’ handle would be something like “Sheep Farmers and Old Timers”.
Childhood consisted of a lot of tearing around outside, playing with/ running away from farm animals and absorbing my parent’s vast knowledge of organic agriculture. At a very young age I tried my hand at growing my own food and was very successful. I still do it to this day when my living situation permits it.

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My introduction to Lunapads came at an opportune moment in my life. I had used cloth diapers with my daughters and was convinced to apply the same thinking to my own monthly wasteful habits. In one article I read, the author pointed out how over a woman’s lifetime she would contribute to a landfill site by leaps and bounds over a baby’s mere two years of dirty diapers.

Finding a cloth pad was difficult in small town Ontario so I went looking on the internet. I found the Lunapads website and ordered a kit through my local health food store. I was in a time crunch because our family had planned a backpacking trip through Central America that would last 19 months. Some of our planned excursions took place in remote areas where I knew I would be lucky to find a corner store.

I was right. The turtle conservation project we volunteered with was set on an island in the Caribbean very close to the mainland but hours away from major shopping. Because of my stash of Lunapads, I never worried about stopping to stock up for supplies or worse, running out at any given moment.

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We are looking for real, live Lunagals (other than us!) to “star” in advertisements like this one for BUST and Bitch magazines. We are offering your choice of $50 worth of Lunapads.com products to customers whose images and testimonials that we use. To apply, email us a high resolution photo of yourself with a plain background (no less than 3” by 3” at 300dpi) along with a brief testimonial about why you think that Lunapads, Lunapanties or the DivaCup are great. We hope to hear from you! info@lunapads.com

Here at Lunapads, we encourage others to blog about us, and reward them (and their readers) for their efforts. Sheri Minelli is a “business doula” and founder of the Birthing Business Institute (which provides tools for birthing professionals to run their business). During her research while submitting a story to Midwifery Today about the value of business blogs, we exchanged phone calls and emails about blogs and various contest ideas.

In addition to reading her blog where she talks about why she loves Lunapads, Sheri is running a creative and festive ‘song contest’ for a chance to win a Lunapads Intro Kit (and details on a coupon code for further savings when you buy Lunapads.) Contest closes January 7th, 2008. Good luck!

This will probably come as a surprise, but I just tried the DivaCup for the first time over the holidays and want to offer my enthusiastic testimonial. I have felt badly about not trying it sooner, but my previous experience with the Keeper wasn’t great (I found it hard to insert) and after I had my daughter almost 3 years ago I haven’t felt as inclined to use anything internal. I have very light flow and am not super-sporty, not to mention that we have Sandra’s super-knowledgeable DivaCup customer service, with Suzanne as backup, so I just let it go.
And yet I always keep my DivaCup handy, hoping that the right opportunity would come around, and sure enough it did, just a few days ago. And here’s the crazy thing: it was so easy to use I could hardly believe it. Back when we just had the Keeper, the only folding technique that we were aware of was the Double fold (still recommended for the DivaCup), which, although functional, isn’t nearly as easy to work with as the Push Down (or “Seven”) fold (pictured). If there’s anyone out there who is having trouble with the Double fold but still wanting to try the DivaCup, I strongly encourage you to give it a spin, as it were. Once it was in I didn’t feel it at all, and was able to party the night away (including a dip in the hot tub, something I would not have attempted otherwise). Thanks DivaCup, and Happy New Year to all our readers!