Do you remember your first period?
It was a time with all kinds of emotions, the stress about what this thing was, the ups and downs of your hormones in the body, and the anticipation that this new bodily function was about to happen. With all the newness for your daughter or menstruator, there are ways to make her/their feel her/their best when their period finally arrives.
Period Party
It’s important to make the new experience a positive one.
Tell your daughter about your first period and what it was like for you. She wants to know about your experience.
A lot of the time periods are presented in negative terminology, from “Shark Week,” to the “Monthly Curse.” Try to use words that acknowledge the positive of periods, it’s a way for her to grow up and to “Become a Woman.”
Have a party with your daughter when she bleeds for the first time. Watch her favorite movie, cuddle up with her and some ice cream, make the period a celebration of her!
Talk about What Happens
Let your daughter know what’s happening in her body, you can get more information about the entirety of the cycle to help you explain here.
Make sure she knows how it felt for you and how it will start to feel for her. You can talk about the PMS symptoms you have or had, as well as what your typical period is like.
Remember, she only knows about periods from popular culture with unkind references to this time of the month in a woman’s body, so let her know that it’s not that bad. She’s not going to be sitting in blood, and that you only lose about 6-8 teaspoons of blood during the course of the week. You can even show her that amount so she knows it’s not crazy, tell her it looks more than it actually is.
A period isn’t the same as urinating or sweating, it feels a little different, but the real changes to her body might come from PMS before or during her bleeding.
Show Her All Kinds of Period Products
Let her know that there are all kinds of different period products for her to try and that there is a push for helping womens health more and more!
Be sure to tell her that every women’s period is unique and different and its up to each menstruator to decide what feels most comfortable for them when they decide to use a period product.
Let her know that she can use multiple at the same time or she can choose different products for different types of days, it’s up to her.
Pads: Pads are the perfect starter product. They are easy to use, you just stick them to your underwear and the pad collects the period blood as it escapes the vagina. In order to prevent leaks or odors, just make sure to change the pad approximately every four hours. Pads are also what you want to use when you go to sleep, so easy to just stick to your panties and leave there for the eight hours during the night. And there are all kinds of different pads depending on how heavy the flow of bleeding.
Tampons: The perfect product for high intensity exercise and swimming, they’re very comfortable and collect the menstrual blood before it leaves the body. When you insert a tampon, you won’t be able to feel it in you, and you’re able to swim and exercise without worrying about any blood coming out. Just make sure to change your tampon every four hours by finding the string and pulling it out of you.
Liners: Similar to a pad, liners are thinner versions and can be used in conjunction with a tampon so any extra leaks or anything end up on the liner. A liner can also be used for very light days on your period.
Menstrual Cups: This is a relatively newer product and can be used for up to 10 years with every period, washing in between. This is a small cup that looks like a tiny vase, and you fold it up and it spreads out in your vaginal cavity (in the same area where the tampon goes in). It then holds all the blood in the cup until you dump it out. It might get harder to get use to, but it’s a good idea for an eco-friendly period.
Period Panties: Another newer period product, period underwear is a more comfortable alternative to pads and panty liners. Just throw on this pair of underwear and it will absorb the period blood without it feeling wet. You can then wash them out and reuse them.
Jubilance for PMS: A supplement that helps fight the emotional side of PMS. Used by more than 15,000 women worldwide to outsmart their PMS, Jubilance capsules are the most advanced scientific PMS mood relief supplement available today.
