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Community Advocacy and Support by and for Young Mothers

sea sponges?

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lauren
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sea sponges?

after reading cunt I am completely empowered and want to try sea sponges. any one have any experiences using them during their period and how well they work?

Kaylala
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sea sponges?

Oh...that's interesting I've never heard of that...Care to share some more information on the subject??

girlgoddess83
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sea sponges?

Kaylala* wrote:
Oh...that's interesting I've never heard of that...Care to share some more information on the subject??

Yeah, Lauren, tell us more about it (like what the hell it is, lol). I guess I could google it, but I'm lazy, haha.

Earth_moves
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sea sponges?

The idea is a sea sponge, in a cotton, gauze, or simillar fabric bag... with a string. As an alternative to a tampon.

I have never used them, but I have thought about it, lots! I have heard great things about them as well, and you aren't worried about dioxins, and lost fibers...!

They sell them in many healthfood stores, or sex shops.

***On a side note, a sponge is an animal, so they are not vegan appropriate.***

katg
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sea sponges?

I love love loved my sea sponges. Absolutly adored them.

Make sure you get the ones that are ment to be used for periods, because the ones that aren't (that are ment to use in the shower or something aren't cleaned as well).
The only problem that I had with them, is when they get full they get FULL. If you sneeze, or stand up, or bend over, they squish out alllll over. But, I took a few days just hanging out in my house to figure out when I would need to change them (and after a while, you can feel when it's getting to full). And, there's something really satisfying about squishing the blood out of them.

I did switch to a Diva Cup, because I kept loosing the sponges, and I didn't like how at the end of their time they would get a bit shreddy.

Here's a link on how they work:
http://www.jadeandpearl.com/catalog/sea_pearls_how.php

http://www.io.com/~wwwomen/menstruation/bloodcat.html

MamaCaboose
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sea sponges?

I liked them a lot when I used them, though I switched to a diva cup after my pregnancy and I think I like it better.

lauren
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sea sponges?

katg wrote:
I love love loved my sea sponges. Absolutly adored them.

Make sure you get the ones that are ment to be used for periods, because the ones that aren't (that are ment to use in the shower or something aren't cleaned as well).
The only problem that I had with them, is when they get full they get FULL. If you sneeze, or stand up, or bend over, they squish out alllll over. But, I took a few days just hanging out in my house to figure out when I would need to change them (and after a while, you can feel when it's getting to full). And, there's something really satisfying about squishing the blood out of them.

I did switch to a Diva Cup, because I kept loosing the sponges, and I didn't like how at the end of their time they would get a bit shreddy.

Here's a link on how they work:
http://www.jadeandpearl.com/catalog/sea_pearls_how.php

http://www.io.com/~wwwomen/menstruation/bloodcat.html

but doesnt the diva cup leak too when it gets full?

MamaCaboose
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sea sponges?

In my experience the diva cup can hold a lot more than the sea sponges. For me, it does leak a little bit if it gets too full, but it never really gets that full.

lauren
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sea sponges?

Hilary wrote:
In my experience the diva cup can hold a lot more than the sea sponges. For me, it does leak a little bit if it gets too full, but it never really gets that full.

do you just empty it and reinsert it?

katg
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sea sponges?

Yeah, you just tip it out into the sink or toilet, and put it back in.

The diva cup can hold WAAAY more. I have never had a problem with it tipping out.

Takomamama
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sea sponges?

I started using the sea sponge a few months ago. I like them a lot better than the keeper (older version of the diva cup). They feel more comfortable (I say "they" because they come in packages of two and I'll use both at once when my cycle's at its heaviest), and as a bonus- you can have sex with them in- and there's no period mess!

meghan
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sea sponges?

I wonder though about pollution in sea sponges. They're filter feeders, after all, and god knows we dump all kinds of shit in the ocean and think it just goes away.

katg
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sea sponges?

Most of them are bred in tanks, not found in the ocean.

lauren
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sea sponges?

Takomamama wrote:
I started using the sea sponge a few months ago. I like them a lot better than the keeper (older version of the diva cup). They feel more comfortable (I say "they" because they come in packages of two and I'll use both at once when my cycle's at its heaviest), and as a bonus- you can have sex with them in- and there's no period mess!

Really? I mean i always feel wayy too wet on my period that it doesnt feel as good for me even though im as horny as hell..so that helps? what about running and moving and lifting(i have a strenuous job..)

candy-eyed
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sea sponges?

I love my sea sponges as well, they are by far the most comfortabel, least irritating thing I have ever used. I strongly reccomend them.

ramonegirl
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sea sponges?

I dunno, I have a weird thing using sponges with anything b/c I'm vegan. I LOVE my divacup.

But I agree ... reading it in "Cunt" was inspiring and empowering.

candy-eyed
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sea sponges?

ramonegirl wrote:
I dunno, I have a weird thing using sponges with anything b/c I'm vegan. I LOVE my divacup.

But I agree
... reading it in "Cunt" was inspiring and empowering.

Yeah, my best friend is vegan and she won't use them either.

lexi2007
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sea sponges?

K im probably going to look dumb but what is a diva cup?

ramonegirl
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sea sponges?

Not dumb! It's a silicone menstrual cup.. there's also the keeper. Google them, they're awesome.

lexi2007
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sea sponges?

This may be too personal to answer but the website i found for it says if you are over 30 and have had vaginal childbirth then u should use model 2 so am i supposed to use that one since i have had vaginal childbirth or do i use the one for people under 30?

chatdelheure
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sea sponges?

You'd use size 2. Also, please don't use the word dumb, it's ableist. :)

lexi2007
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sea sponges?

Oops Sorry. :( and Thanks

katg
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sea sponges?

I'm not arguing the policy, but how is the word "dumb" ableist?

My understanding of it was that it was part of a very old classification system for mental health (including idiot, stuped, etc), which professionals stopped using, but the terminology stuck around, rather than the other meaning of the word -- unable to speak. I don't believe the two have anything to do with each other ... but I could be wrong.

adcaela
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sea sponges?

I always thought it was unable to speak, which would make it ableist. Because people who couldn't speak were thought to be unintelligent until people started using sign and what not.

katg
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sea sponges?

I did some research on it, and here's what I found:

Quote:
At what point in history did the word dumb shift or attain a dual meaning? Which came first, the meaning of `speechless' or of `stupid'? Thanks.

Both meanings are intermingled in the word's history. In Old English it was dumb (around 1000), and there were cognates in Old Frisian and Old Saxon (dumb `mute'); Middle Dutch (dom, domp); Old High German (tumb, tump `mute, stupid, deaf'); Old Icelandic (dumbr `mute') and Gothic (dumbs `mute, speechless'). One source notes that the sense of `stupid, foolish, senseless' is first recorded in English before 1200. Today the word means `stupid' in German and in Swedish (dumm and dum, respectively) while in other languages, including British English, it means `mute.' The American meaning of `stupid' (it also means `mute' in American English) likely came from German influence in the 19th century (the German word for `mute' is related to English stammer). Interestingly, dumb comes from the Indo-European root *dheubh- `confusion, stupefaction, dizziness,' which was the ultimate source of English deaf, as well.

http://www.takeourword.com/arc_logi.html

Quote:
In ordinary spoken English, a sentence such as He is dumb will be interpreted to mean “He is stupid” rather than “He lacks the power of speech.” “Lacking the power of speech” is, however, the original sense of the word, but it has been eclipsed by the meaning “stupid.” For this change in meaning, it appears that the Germans are responsible. German has a similar and related word dumm that means “stupid,” and over time, as a result of the waves of German immigrants to the United States, it has come to influence the meaning of English dumb. This is one of dozens of marks left by German on American English. Some words, like kindergarten, dachshund, and schnapps still have a German feel or are associated to some extent with Germany, but others, like bum, cookbook, fresh (in the meaning “impertinent”), rifle, and noodle have become so thoroughly Americanized their German origins may surprise some.

http://www.bartleby.com/61/3/D0420300.html

So, I guess we're both right in this.

Does anyone find the use of the word "dumb" to mean stupid offencive, or abilist? Again, I'm not trying to be insensitive or argumentative, mearly curious.

ramonegirl
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sea sponges?

I don't use it becuase someone could find it offensive, plus those quotes you posted up, Kat ... I try not to use it.