Joyful Living Naturals

http://www.joyfullivingnaturals.com

Please rate how well you liked this product out of 5 (with 5 being the highest)

Additional reviews: http://www.diaperpin.com/diapers/ItemDetail.asp?ID=1790

I have 3 of the maxi pads. They're comfortable, absorbent, soft, and don't stain. I gave it a 5.

Customer Service - Very fast shipping.

Workmanship - Pretty good. There has been some pilling of the fleece backing on the pads that I've used more often... but they work, so it's not such a huge issue for me. The sewing has been consistently good and I haven't had any problems with them in regards to how they have been sewn.

Comfort & Fit - Very comfortable pads, but not a pad I would wear on a very hot day as the ones I have are flannel topped with a fleece backing and they are somewhat bulky. Most of her pads are larger, so good for someone who prefers larger pads. I love love love her large 14" sized pads for sleeping in, they are actually the ONLY pad I will use to go to sleep in.

Look - She offers a large variety of different shapes, or at least did when I purchased them.

Durability - They have held up good in regards to not coming apart or anything, but the durability of the fabrics she uses is questionable... it might be because I am a hot water washer, but the flannels just don't look all that great after not too long. I have some of the regular pads that have kind of curled up, and the pilling of course is an issue. Still... they all WORK good and in regards to reliability these are very reliable pads and I have never had a leaking problem with any of them. They don't look all that great after many uses, but they are used a lot for a reason... because they work.

Value for money - Good value. No complaints.

5 out of 5... recommended. I debated giving these a 4 or a 5 and I went with a 5 because they work great. The pilling is an issue, as is the whole "not looking brand spanking new" deal after a lot of use (as compared with other brands) but oh well, THEY WORK. Only pad brand I will wear to sleep (her larger 14" size) because... they work. Yes, I have said they work a lot... but that is what is most important, hehe.

I have 2 of the 14 inch and one of the mega night pads...

Her customer service is great, I've spoken to her a few times, and she is polite and helpful.

Firstly, the 14 inch ones. I find them great! I love the shape (I like this shape over the other styles that don't flare out on both ends) I don't mind a thick pad, but these are thicker than some women would like. But I like that I can wear them on heavy days when I don't want to have to worry about leaking off anywhere. Even though they are stitched right through, I've never leaked through the stitching, so they are nice and absorbent even on very heavy days. I like the channel stitching, it's interesting and something a bit different. They definitely wouldn't suit everyone, but if you like the security of a nice comfy pad you can feel is there (so you can feel it's in the right spot and you're protected) then you'll probably like these. A "curling up with a good book" kind of pad really

The night pad... wow.. this baby is HUGE! Not as good as I was hoping to be honest. I know the idea is to be huge, but I find it just too big - and I like big pads! The back is great, no leaking of that no matter how you sleep! but the front is wider than I think it needs to be....its nearly 8 inches (the same as the back) - I'd be happy with half that, and the front of my underpants isn't that wide, so it pokes out each leghole at the side (such an elegant look! ).... and the crotch I find is really uncomfortably wide (it is about 11cm/4.5inches), and because the core is that wide, you couldn't even add another snap setting to bring it in narrower or it would be too bulky. Its actually bigger than the nappies my daughter wears to bed Having said that, I do still wear it - its the pad I grab for my heaviest night, because when you're in bed and you don't have to have your legs together it's less uncomfortable (plus once you're asleep you don't notice it at all)... and I don't think you could leak off it if you tried! so it achieved the objective there. But its still the most uncomfortable pad I have.

The fleece backing on my 14inch ones has pilled a bit too, but that has also happened to other fleece backed pads I have. You can get anti-pill polar fleece and the normal stuff that will pill, and some pad makers use anti-pill, some don't. That doesn't really bother me, since my fleece backed pads also tend to collect cat hair, people hair, lint and other stuff - so the backs of some of my pads look a bit less than brand new anyway, even if they haven't pilled

I was also tossing up between a 4 and a 5... but I gave a 5. I'd rate the night pad lower because I don't find it comfortable, but I do very much like the 14inch ones.

I rated these a "4".

Customer service: Some replies took a couple of days, but she is a busy mom so I understand why there was a delay. She did answer every email

Pad Quality: I bought 2 sets of 13" pads from JLN. One was from ebay, the other was custom. The ebay set had quilter's flannel (I think) which is sturdier, but more stiff. The thread color choice based on the print colors left something to be desired. I like my custom pads much more. The flannel is nice and soft, the thread color matches better. I think the pads should be made slightly more narrow. My custom order wasn't completely what I had asked for. I asked for 1 layer of hemp and 3 layers of flannel. One pad has 2 layers of flannel and 1 layer of hemp inside, the other has 4 layers of flannel and 1 layer of hemp inside.

Price: She ended up not charging me for the hemp. She gave me the total and it seemed much less than I thought, so we went over it and she ended up charging less for shipping than was originally planned (closer to the actual cost to ship them), this is when she realized she didn't charge for the hemp, but let it slide which was really nice of her.

Time: Like I said before, she couldn't always respond super-fast, but she did get my pads sewn up & shipped very quickly

Improvement is needed in terms of design and construction. The design is bulky and stitching is haphazard. My pads are even a little misshapen The flannel used is of suspect quality. Overall, a poor value.

This is the only critical review I've posted.