EDIT: Good news! I've extended the giveaway deadline to July 7 so I can crosspost it on Natural Parents Network. See my new post or NPN post for extra entry options.
Warning: You can expect this to be a "TMI" sort of post!
I have no plans of turning this into a Review / Giveaway blog, but I'd love to do one every month or two. I got interested and got lots of advice from my new friend over at The Undomestic Mommy. I contacted the first company I had in mind late one Friday and had a response from Krista by Monday morning!
So I've received 3 pStyles - one for testing / review and 2 to share with my readers! I was SO excited to receive them! I have been amazed, however, by how many friends of mine have never heard of female urination devices! There are actually several products on the market and even a Wiki page for them!
Such a device is designed to assist women in urinating from a standing position. It is physiologically possible to do so without such an aid, but these devices can make it easier and some can even make it possible to do so without dropping your britches! These things have been around for nearly 100 years (at least)!
 pStyle Color Selection |
I received the pStyle last Friday, but I was on my way out to fetch groceries with my family. When I got home I forgot until after I'd already "gone!" My family joked with me about urinating in the shower. I let them know that I most certainly intended to do so! However, after having some water and being ready to give it my first go... I felt pretty confident to try without having to stand in my wet tub. I had, of course, already read the How to use the pStyle page.
So I stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. (I tend to just leave it open, I do have a toddler after all.) I lowered my pants far enough and positioned the pStyle. I tilted / aimed it down toward the toilet (after raising the seat, ladies!). I felt I was urinating too close to the edge of the bowl, so I leaned forward on one hand against the wall behind the toilet. I think I had the pStyle tilted down too far. Still, for a first attempt, I saw it as a total success! I'd say there is almost no learning curve with this thing!
I simply rinsed the pStyle and set it aside for the next use. The next time I needed to "go," I had absolutely NO trouble at all. My aim was perfect! I felt that perhaps there was a sharp bit of plastic poking me a bit. The next time I grabbed it, I was able to easily scratch off the rough bit. The plastic is firm, but not entirely inflexible. There were a few things that were beginning to amuse me, too...
You know when you're pouring liquid and it will kind of sit on the very edge of the container? Well it seemed that the urine does this as well. I find I shake the device a little... very much like a man would shake his penis when he finishes urinating! Also, I am pregnant and experiencing quite a bit of bloating and gas. You know how you can't really keep from passing gas while you pee? Well the same goes for standing! It felt very odd, considering that I tend to thrust forward a little as I go (squeezing my butt cheeks together a bit). None of these things were enough to cause any sort of dislike for the device, though. So far, so good!
Now this next bit might seem a bit shocking. Our current home is a one bedroom apartment. Our bedroom is in the living room and my daughter has the bedroom. The vanity is in her room, as is the entrance to the only bathroom. That said, so long as the kitchen is clean (read: sink is empty), my husband has been known to urinate in the sink. <gasp!> You do what you gotta do, ya know? And sometimes it is just better to do this than to disturb my daughter, especially considering he goes to work at four in the morning!
So that said, the next time I used the pStyle was in the middle of the night. I took a step stool into the kitchen and stood tall in front of the sink. Perfect! As I said before, I was lowering my pants (jammies around the house), but had been wanting to try the pStyle without doing that. However, I've just out-bloated all my jeans! Then I realized one day, the jammies I was wearing had a button fly! I found it quite easy to position and use the pStyle through the fly!
 Krista gives a demonstration |
The original "How to" page (now a FAQ page) did warn that if you get too confident and don't pay attention, you can pee on yourself. Tada! Thankfully, as women we can stop urination fairly easily. I dribbled a bit on my leg, but was able to correct the positioning and finish urinating.
I later attempted to use the pStyle while wearing a skirt. This was only a little trickier. I instinctually only used one hand with the pStyle already, it was just comfortable that way. (I've seen photos of women using two hands.) However, I had no choice with a skirt. I had to use one hand to keep the skirt out of the way and the other hand for the pStyle itself. That really isn't a problem, except I had an itch on my nose while I was peeing and darn it all if I couldn't scratch it!
There are SO many wonderful possible uses (situations) for the pStyle. No more "hovering" in a gross public restroom or port-a-john! No more having to walk 5 blocks from your camping spot while the men can just go piss on a tree! You could easily pee on the side of the road while traveling.
Ever been wearing your child and dread having to unload them or balance the sling just so to try to go? No more! I specifically put Sasha into a sling to wear her to the bathroom! I couldn't even see my "equipment" and could barely see the pStyle. Still, bladder emptied without a hitch! I expect my pStyle to come in quite handy once the baby-on-the-way is weighing heavily on my bladder and I'm wearing my toddler!
There are some things about the pStyle that really amazed me. First, this thing is dishwasher and washing machine safe! So however you want to clean it, go for it! As someone that has been curious about "reusable" toilet paper (cloth), I was absolutely amazed that you can use the pStyle without toilet paper at all! A couple kegels, a few extra seconds allowed for dripping, and you can basically wipe with the pStyle! I did feel that I occasionally had residual moisture, but I get the same thing after using toilet paper (I have birthed a few kids).
I have not yet tried the pStyle outside the house. I feel I've tested it sufficiently at home, however, to say with confidence - this is a winner of a product! Honestly, just in toilet paper savings (ecologically as well as financially) alone it would be worth using at home!
So... you gotta have one, right? You can buy one direct from Krista or you can check her site for retailers. Alternatively, you could purchase one using my Amazon affiliate link
. The price of the pStyle is very reasonable! And finally, you can also enter to win one here on my blog!! Honestly, I wish I could just keep all 3 now! I'd keep one in my purse and one at home, at least.Please note: I did receive a sample product in order to facilitate this review. The giveaway items were also provided by the sponsor. All opinions are 100% my own. I received no further compensation for this review.
HOW TO ENTER TO WIN YOUR OWN PSTYLE:
MAIN ENTRY: Tell me why you want a pStyle (and what color you'd choose).
Leave an email address in at least one of your comments.
BONUS ENTRIES (leave a separate comment for each so I can count them all):
- Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect.
- Follow Momma Jorje on Networked Blogs. Please leave your Facebook profile name so I can confirm.
- Like ThepStyle.com on Facebook AND leave a comment thanking them for the giveaway on Momma Jorje's blog. (This is worth 2 entries, so please leave 2 comments and include your Facebook profile name so I can confirm.)
- Post this giveaway on your Facebook page or wall and leave the link (1 entry). Be sure to attach the contest URL to your update! (This is not part of the status text!) http://mommajorje.blogspot.com/2011/06/pstyle-review-giveaway.html
RULES:
- Contest is open to USA and Canada.
- Leave each entry as a separate comment so I can count them all.
- For actions like following and liking, if you already follow or like, 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.
- Bonus entries will only be valid if you have done the first mandatory one.
- I will use a True Random Number Generator to choose the winner after the contest closes. I will send an email notification to the winner so be sure to leave an email address in your comment. If I can't reach a winner or don't hear back within a couple days, I'll draw a new winner.
- If you have any questions regarding this giveaway, the rules, or suggestions for future giveaways, please feel free to contact me via jorje {at} verthandi {dot} org.
This way I can hopefully get the prize to you in time for the 4th of July weekend! The pStyle is ecological, convenient, clean, fun... You will LOVE your pStyle!
