Have I ever mentioned that I have six daughters? SIX. The puberty is strong in this family…
Aunt Flo. On the rag. That time of the month. Shark week. The Shining.
There is a reason we females have literally dozens of name for our Ladies Days.
Periods are no joke. I have tried to always talk to my daughters a bout it in a positive way, talk about how it enables us to have babies, and all that jazz. But really, sometimes it just sucks.
I polled a few friends are here a just a few stories they had to share about their Special Days:
One described sitting back, enjoying company at her house, and having her dog walk in with a used tampon in his mouth.
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Some mentioned getting friends to buy tampons for them because their mom was convinced they’d no longer be a virgin if they wore them.
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Or how about waking up one morning when you are eleven, going to the bathroom and wondering why there is a glob of chocolate in your underpants?
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Imagine being on your period at summer camp and having your canoe tip over, then having to walk for half an hour with a saggy burrito between your legs as you make you way slowly back to your cabin to try to change discreetly.
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Or lying down during a junior high track meet (because you don’t feel well) and standing unto find blood all the way down your backside. Hello, first period!
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Then there is my friend who was on a preschool field trip on a hot, Florida day. She rode the bus with her four-year old son and his class. Once they arrived she sat on a bench near the petting zoo in her khaki shorts. She posed for a photo and as she leaned forward she realized she was bleeding, heavily…all over her khaki shorts. She quickly went to the bathroom and tried to clean up, but she had no change of clothes, no jacket or sweater (hello, hot Florida weather) or anyway to get home.
“Hey, kids, we are going to learn all about women’s health today!”
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Another friend described starting her period at school while wearing a white cotton mini-skirt. She went to the school nurse who would not allow her to call home. Instead, she “let” her wash her skirt out and then stand in front of a fan so it could dry…
[Have you seen the episode of Mr. Bean where he attempts to dry his pants with a fan???]
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The stories are endless, my friends.
Here is my advice to surviving your daughter’s first period.
1.Prepare her.
Talk early and often. I love the book The Care and Keeping of You. It covers menstruation and puberty, leaving out sex and pregnancy.
2. Pepare a Teen Period Survival Kit.
You might remember the Teen Period Survival Kit I put together for our girls (and let me tell you they love it and take full advantage of it). The girls have said it really helps on the bad days. They grab the box, retreat to their rooms and we are all a little better off…
3. Order the HelloFlo First Period Kit.
It comes with everything your daughter needs to survive enjoy her first period:
*informational guides for girls and parents written by a puberty expert (I can’t figure out why they didn’t ask me to write it)
*a full-sized box of U by Kotex® pad
*fun and discrete zipper pouch, locker mirror, facial cleanser, colorful bracelet, no-tug ribbon hair ties, tissues, and lip balm.
I have given this to a couple of my daughters and they love it! I’m just disappointed I didn’t think of the idea first.
The limited edition HelloFlo First Period Kit can be found in Target stores nationwide starting on 9/11.
And if I haven’t scared you off yet, be sure and watch this commercial. My daughters and I have watched this so many times we have it memorized!
What is your most embarrassing period story? Share it if you dare…Or share what happened to “your friend” when she had a an embarrassing moment…
Good advice Renee! I actually didn’t even know when my daughter had her first period. I only discovered later. We think she was away at sleep away camp at the time!
I promised my girls I wouldn’t share their stories, but yeah, first periods don’t always start at home. Imagine that.
There’s also a My Little Red Book, about women’s first experiences, positive, negative, funny, tragic, with first periods. A friend had sent that first moon video to me–she found it hilarious. I didn’t. I thought the mother’s reaction was mean-spirited, a lost opportunity to talk to her daughter.
Thanks for the book recommendation! Yes, the mom’s reaction was mean spirited, but it was a commercial, not an actual event. She didn’t lose an opportunity to talk to her daughter, because it is fiction. I hope there isn’t a single mom in the world who would actually do that! My girls love the commercial 🙂 But I’m with you if this were a true story.
Moon parties are very real! My friend held one for her (mortified) daughter.
I started mine while clothes shopping with my aunt. She’s never had children and when I was a little freaked out because I was not prepared by mother, my aunt said “oh calm down, it’s not a big deal” and I had to walk around with bloody underpants and it seeping in my jeans while she finished shopping and took me home. Not a great memory.
My daughter started her period when I was away from home at a class. She handled it like a pro and went to school.
My husband informed me of it. I asked her why she didn’t ask him for help and she said “why would I ask him? He doesn’t even have a vagina! Besides you’ve talked about it for-eve-r so I knew what to do.”
Same kind of thing happened with my other daughter. Her sister told me days after it started. They just didn’t feel the need to let me know because they didn’t need help.
It left me feeling conflicted. Did I just really do a great job preparing them or do they feel like they can’t talk to me? Thankfully we are years past that now and i hear all about boys that are cute, friend drama and fun, and a million other tidbits so I am more confident now that it’s the former rather than the latter.
See, a first moon party would be great if the girls were totally on board… but it if not, well, it will probably end up very much like the one in the commercial did. I had one daughter not tell me until her sisters said, “you should really tell mom”. I agree, it’s hard to know if it is a good sign or a bad sign.
My friend (it wasnt me but I want to protect the guilty!) once was in a meeting at our pastors house and bled very heavily all over their new tan suede couch. She discretely got the pastors wife to help her clean it, but of course the pastor came over as well and she had to explain! How awkward! To this day she still cant sit on that couch!!
Oh man…how mortifying! I had a friend have that happen at a Buncko night. One lady there freaked out and said, “I can’t sit on that chair with blood all over it” and made it into an even bigger deal. Can you imagine?
First of all, I loved that clip! Secondly, everyone in my family starts young, really young. I was the latest one in my family – 11. Back then (early-mid 70’s), the average age was supposedly 16. I have a cousin and a niece that started spotting when they were 6. Yes, 6.
I figured if i ever had a girl, they would know really, really early, what periods were. Thankfully, i only have a son.
I’ve been married for over 22 years and i am pretty sure i have had my period whenever i am surrounded by my in-laws. to the point where i am either late, or early! They must think i’m bloated all the time! 🙂
About the in-laws, me too, Nancy! For the first 5 years of my marriage we’d go several times a year to visit them for a few days. I ALWAYS had my period, except the few times I was pregnant. Now my FIL wouldn’t allow more than one garbage can in the house, because he didn’t want to have to empty them. 2600 sq feet, 2 bathrooms, one garbage can in the kitchen that can be seen from the living room. FIL was always either in the kitchen or sitting where he could see the trash can from the living room. So I either had to take my purse to the bathroom with me so I could remove my pad inside it and attempt discreet disposal at a later time…but they always made me keep my purse in the living room closet, so I had to retrieve it and put it back every time I needed the bathroom. Awkward. Or else, I had to march through the living room and kitchen to put that pad in the kitchen trash right by the sink-an open can which was not kept in a closet. Not surprisingly, these memories still make me squirm 5 years later.
That is horrible! I am cringing *for* you…and you can’t possibly be the only one who had that issue in their home.
Oh my gosh, Emily, that is horrible. but, my mother in law has baskets in her bathrooms that are always empty. We all play jokes on her (my sister in law, her 3 kids, my husband and my son) by putting a small piece of paper in the baskets to see how long it lasts before she empties them! I typically end up wrapping up my pad and sticking it in my pocket until i could throw it in the kitchen trash (which is under the sink) with something else i was throwing away.
The other thing is, i bloat up about 5 pounds in one day so i could start off looking skinny, start days earlier (because i am visiting the in laws) and look like a puffer fish within hours.
I remember dreading becoming a “woman”! It doesn’t mean anything when you’re in the 6th grade. They still had pillows for pads. I would wear several pairs of underwear to drown out the baby diaper sound and wore all black to school the first time I had “it”. My most embarrassing story is when I was in high school and wore white jeans. Yup…Aunt Florida came…at lunch…on the lawn…in front of everyone. Some girl loaned me her jacket to cover until I could get home. I had to call my Nana (from the pay phone) and (loudly) explain why I needed her to pick me up. I never did get that girl’s name and I’ve never worn white jeans or skirt since.
Yes, and my mother still had to do the belt thing! Can you even imagine?
Oh “Nancy from Mass”, what is it about IN-LAWS that brings on the period?!?! Because that’s absolutely when I need to double my stress. Arrrrgh.
I used to be a mountain guide. Trying having your period up on a glacier, with a bunch of men. UGH.
Kind of relieved I have all boys 😀
Julie that sounds horrible! Or, trying having it on a mission trip in the jungles of Brazil 🙁 Boys have it so easy.
I replied to Nancy from Mass’s comment, but another one I’ve got is: I was the awkward, pimply fourteen year old homeschooled girl in a pale pink jumper who took my poorly trained 6 month old puppy to a dog show. He performed awfully and I was embarrassed. When I dragged him out of the ring after the final level of humiliation (the “long sit” which went more like the “long cavort” for me), my sisters not so gently alerted me to the fact that I’d been sporting a grapefruit sized blood puddle on the backside of my jumper for the last half hour. And while I was riding home in tears, my dog got carsick and threw up all over me. I never showed him again.
Oh no! That is beyond horrible. What is that quote, whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger…or whatever doesn’t kill you gives you a lot of unhealthy coping skills and a really dark sense of humor. <---- me all the way.