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This is a joint giveaway with Hobo Mama Reviews and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only. Please find the section marked "Win it!" for the mandatory main entry and optional bonus entries.

GREEN YOUR PERIOD special event: We are featuring a series of reusable menstrual products for review and giveaway. Go green, no matter what time of the month!

GladRags is offering my readers a giveaway of a sampler 3-pack of cloth menstrual pads: pantyliner, day pad, and overnight pad! GladRags are made of soft, absorbent cotton and are a reusable, eco-friendly solution to your period.

GladRags sent me the same sampler 3-pack for review. I had been using The DivaCup but disposable pads and pantyliners as backup, and I was eager to try out cloth alternatives.

Switching to cloth

I'm honestly not sure what took me so long. I cloth diapered my son and preferred cloth training pants for him as well — the times we used disposables on trips or in preschool, I had always been struck by how much less comfortable they were, and how they made him more prone to irritation since they were less breathable. But it took me awhile to make the leap to the idea that cloth for myself might be more comfortable, too!

One worry I had was that cloth would be less absorbent and more prone to leaks. So I resolved to try out the GladRags without The DivaCup to start with, since the cup catches most of the flow. I wanted to make sure the cloth pads were up to my heaviest flow — during the day and overnight. After testing the day pad and overnight pad, I then put The DivaCup in and tried out the pantyliner to see if it could handle the slight overflow I get when using a cup.

Size comparison of the three pads with scissors as a reference (What? I couldn't find a ruler.)

Cloth impressions

I was so happy with the GladRags pads that I couldn't believe I hadn't switched to cloth before this! The day pad felt a little bulkier at first than I was used to with thin disposables, but once I'd gotten things situated, I didn't notice it. I think it's because the cloth quickly matches your body temperature and moves with you without crinkling. After awhile, it just felt like having underwear in.

I also was pleasantly surprised that I never leaked through a pad, despite trying my hardest to push them to the failure point! I wondered as well if I'd have problems with blood staying on top of the pad instead of wicking down the way modern disposables are designed to, but I didn't feel like I got any stickier with cloth compared with disposables. The day pad comes with two inserts, so you can decide on your level of absorbency: none for a pantyliner effect, one for normal flow, two for heavy.

I did have one issue with staining with the nighttime pad. As with any pad (disposables as well), if you misalign the pad, you can get leakage through the less-absorbent parts, such as the wings, or over the top or bottom. So I had to be careful to make sure it was centered in my undies and then snapped in place. More on that in the overnight pad section!

Day Pad with inserts

Day pad with two inserts that tuck inside; day pad with snapped wings

The Day Pad comes with two inserts that fit inside the pocket on the back. You can then snap the wings around your underpants to hold it in place.

I used two inserts on my heavy flow days and barely seeped into the second insert. If you have a heavy flow, you could always buy extra inserts and fit three in the pocket. On lighter flow days, I was able to use just one insert, which cuts down on bulk and laundry a bit. You're supposed to change your cloth pads as often as you change disposables. GladRags suggests every 2 to 6 hours, depending on your flow. I kept mine in for longer on purpose to see if I would leak through, but I didn't!

The inserts are made of flannel and absorbent terry cloth. There's no waterproofing to these pads, which worried me at first — but then I never bled through them, so as long as you pick the absorbency you need, it's fine.

I've found that an insert is a nice, discreet size to tuck into my purse or bag to use as an emergency pantyliner if my period catches me when I'm out and about. The cheerful pattern makes it look like a hanky if anyone notices it.

The flannel fabric is soft against your skin, and it's nicely grippy against the fabric of your undies to keep it in place. The wings snap around the underside of the crotch of your panties to keep it secure and provide a little extra protection on the sides.

Night Pad with inserts

As you can see from the size comparison picture, the Night Pad is wider and longer than the day pad — by a stretch! It flares out at both ends to try to catch as much as possible. I was almost amused by how large it was (let's just say Sam agreed with me that it wasn't a sexy look…), but I can see it functioning very well for overnight, heavy flow, and postpartum.

Unlike with the day pad, where the inserts tuck inside a slit, the inserts in the night pad tuck into a holder along the top. Again, you can choose how many inserts to use; the pad comes with two. The Night Pad includes an extra layer of absorbent terry cloth inside, so it's like it starts out with an insert on its own.

The strangest thing is the night pad is the only one that gave me any trouble with leaks! I didn't leak through it — I leaked around it. Somehow, even with all that coverage, the pad got off-center on my backside. While I slept, I flowed a little bit past it. It's nothing that hasn't happened to me before with other pads at night, but I have to admit I was surprised given the measurements of this pad. My recommendation: Be very sure to line your pad up securely before you go to sleep!

I'd love to get more of these pads for postpartum, because despite the size, this one's way more comfortable than the huuuuge, crinkly disposables with mesh panties hospitals give out after a birth!

Pantyliner

If the Night Pad surprised me with its large size, the Pantyliner surprised me with how diminutive it was. Again, if you look at the size comparison photo, you can see it's much shorter than a standard-length Day Pad. However, I used this pantyliner on the last days of my pads-only cycle and with my DivaCup in subsequent cycles, and I never had a problem with leaks or stains.

Like the other pads, the pantyliner has wings that snap securely around the crotch of your undies, and the same flannel to help hold it in place. Despite its petite and slim size, it did just fine catching any errant leaks. Because it's so unobtrusive, this one would be fine to wear in the days leading up to a period as a precaution — you wouldn't notice it was there.

Repeat uses

Taking care of the GladRags pads was easy. We have three sinks in our small condo, which has seemed like unreasonable luxury to me. Of those three sinks, exactly one still plugs, and fortunately it's one that's tucked away from guests and that everyone else here rarely uses. So I just plopped used pads directly into that sink, plugged it, and filled it with cold water to let the pads soak, trying to remember to refill the sink when the water drained away (as it inevitably does, even with the plug). When laundry time came, I sprayed them with a little Bac-Out for good measure to ward off staining, then washed them with their respective color loads but in a mesh bag (similar to this zipped mesh bag GladRags sells) to keep track of them. I let them air dry, which didn't take as long as I'd feared. However, they're completely machine dryable as well, so don't let me stop you! I would be cautious at using fabric softener, however, since it can affect absorbency.

If you don't have a convenient soaking sink and guests frequent your bathroom, GladRags sells a soaking bucket with a lid. If anyone peeks in, it's their own fault if they get an eyeful, right? I thought it was nice that GladRags in the FAQ specifically recommends looking at thrift stores and garage sales for a suitable soaking container — anything that won't rust and will hold water and a few GladRags.

Caring for my pads this way, I see no stains so far on my Day Pad or Night Pad — though, frankly, the busy patterns (and, in particular, the reds on the Night Pad) would make staining unobtrusive. Only my solid-colored Pantyliner is showing faint staining in the middle. But — whatever! That's what they're for, so it doesn't bother me. I appreciate the care GladRags went through in choosing the fabric and patterns they did, to minimize staining.

The only other problem with washing and drying is that my pads came out really wrinkled, which made it a little harder to smooth the inserts into the day pad and get the slot to close back up, since there's no snap to hold it in place. However, once I had gotten them in and smoothed the pad into my underwear, it all looked and functioned just fine again.

Another thing you might be wondering with cloth pads is how to use them away from home. GladRags offers several carrying bags with double pouches: an inner, waterproof one for used pads and an outer dry pocket for fresh pads. If you cloth diaper, you might already have a suitable, small wet bag that would work.

BUY IT!

You can purchase all the above pads and accessories by using the store locator to find your nearest retail location, such as Whole Foods or Pharmaca, or by buying directly from GladRags.com online.

The Pantyliner is $11.99 for one, $28.49 for a 3-pack. The Day Pad is $13.99 for one, $35.49 for a 3-pack. The Night Pad is $17.99 for one, $50.99 for a 3-pack. The cost might seem high until you remember that you're replacing your monthly purchases of disposable products for years to come.

You can choose from a variety of fun prints, such as the ones seen above or Pink Dot, Green Roses, and Zebra. The pads also come in organic undyed cotton.

GladRags carries many other menstrual-related items as well, including cups and sponges, laundry supplies, and teen products. You can also find support for new parents, with nursing pads, postpartum pads, and other soothing options.

Shipping starts at $4.50 for U.S., $7.00 for Canada, and $17.50 for international. U.S. orders over $75 ship free!

WIN IT!

For your own chance to win a GladRags sampler pack of Day Pad, Pantyliner, and Night Pad, enter in the comments below! Contest is open to U.S. & Canadian mailing addresses.



MAIN ENTRY: Visit GladRags.com and tell me what other product interests you the most!

Leave an email address in at least one of your comments if it's not clearly visible on your profile or linked web page so I can contact you if you win. (You can write it like this to foil spambots: mail {at} hobomama {dot} com or similar.)

This is a joint giveaway with Hobo Mama Reviews and Natural Parents Network, a new site co-founded by Lauren of Hobo Mama & Dionna of Code Name: Mama and intending to bring together those interested in attachment parenting and a natural lifestyle. You may enter at one site only, and we'll be recording IP addresses to ensure that there are no duplicate entries. That said, please do check out and enjoy both sites!


BONUS ENTRIES, to increase your chance of winning (leave a separate comment for each so I can count them all):

• Like GladRags on Facebook (2 extra entries). By liking GladRags, you'll be eligible for their big Facebook giveaway when they reach 2,500 fans!
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• Tell me something interesting from the GladRags Information Center or FAQs.
• Subscribe to the GladRags Gab in a reader or by email.
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• Leave a relevant comment on a non-giveaway article at Natural Parents Network and tell us which post (comment on separate posts for up to 3 entries total).
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• Tweet about this giveaway (up to 5 times total, at least 24 hours apart). You can tweet this text: #Win a @GladRags cloth pad 3-pack in a @Hobo_Mama/@NatParNet #Green Your Period #giveaway! http://bit.ly/gqjHtw {3.31, US/Can}
• Like Hobo Mama on Facebook.
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• Post this giveaway on your Facebook page or wall and leave the link (1 entry). You can use this status update: Green your period! Enter to win a sampler of three @GladRags cloth pads from @Hobo Mama. Contest ends March 31 and is open to US & Canada.
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  http://www.hobomamareviews.com/2011/03/giveaway-gladrags-cloth-menstrual-pad-3.html
• Enter another of my current giveaways or the giveaways on Natural Parents Network (1 extra entry per giveaway — check back for more!).
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RULES:

• Contest open to US & Canada.
• Contestants may enter at either Hobo Mama Reviews or Natural Parents Network but not both. Entries will be combined for the drawing of a single winner.
• Leave each entry as a separate comment so I can count them all.
• For actions like following and subscribing, if you already follow or subscribe, just let me know in your comment.
• For tasks that garner you multiple entries, you can copy and paste the comment with a #1, #2, etc.
• You don't have to do any of the bonus entries, but you do have to complete the first mandatory one.
• I will pick the winner through Random.org after the contest closes and send an email notification. Leave an email address in your comment if it's not clearly visible on your profile or linked web page so I can contact you if you win. If I can't reach a winner or don't hear back within a couple days, I'll draw a new name.
• Any questions, let me know: mail {at} HoboMama.com