Day 1: Adventures in suction

I've had my moon cup in for about... 45 minutes now. I decided to insert it even though my period doesn't usually start until Monday because I noticed a pinkish tinge to the toilet paper I used this morning and figured it wouldn't hurt to get an early start on figuring out how to use the cup. Also, let's face it, I've really been looking forward to trying this out.

Putting it in was a little scary -- it seemed like it was too stiff to fold and insert -- but my fears were unfounded because once I folded it up it wasn't too difficult to push in and I realized that if the cup were any less stiff, it wouldn't be able to go in at all. I should mention that I'm using size B, which is designed for women who have not given birth.

The directions that came with the cup instructed me to give the cup a twist once inserted to help seal it in place. I tried to turn it, but had a bit of trouble getting my fingers around it enough to get a good grip. Since I wasn't really experiencing much flow, I just left it as is and hoped I'd get the hang out it before my period really started.

In those first 45 minutes, I had to pee about three times. The directions noted that if you're constipated or have a really full bladder, the moon cup can be pushed out of place and leak. I wonder if the moon cup also pushes on the bladder? Or maybe I just drank too much coffee this morning...

I shouldn't have worried about the suction. On my third trip to the bathroom I decided to take the cup out and see if there was anything in it. I pulled on the tab and to my surprise the suction was really intense! I could feel the pressure on my cervix. Fortunately I remembered that I was supposed to tilt and pull the cup to break the seal, not just pull straight out, and I managed to remove the cup with my cervix intact, although there was a little puff of air and a quiet pffffbbbt as I did, which made me laugh.

I was pleased to note that there was a little blood in the cup, along with some watery substance that I can only assume was a mixture of vaginal discharge and the water I had used to originally rinse the cup. I dumped the cup out in the toilet, wiped it out with some toilet paper, and reinserted it -- with much more ease than the first time.

Already I'm feeling prepared to use the cup next week at work, although we'll see if that changes when things really start flowing. So far, so good!