Alesondrje and her boyfriend used condoms when they first got together. But eventually they decided to move the relationship “to a deeper level” by getting tested for STIs and trading condoms for the sponge, a method her mom used back in the day and highly recommended.
Alesondrje likes to use the sponge along with another method of birth control because she just doesn’t trust sperm. But she does trust her boyfriend to pull out. So they use withdrawal and feel secure knowing that have two lines of defense against those sneaky sperm.
I met my boyfriend at school. We went to school together down South. And – oh! There’s so much to say. But he – he definitely makes my day. We met at school and we came back up here. We graduated together, so it’s definitely something that I’m happy about and he’s happy about as well. So – yeah, hm-mmm. I first found out about the sponge method from my mother. She used it when it first came out on the market a while ago, and she was like, you know, “Try it! Try it, honey.” You know, so, “Okay, great, I will.” I tried birth control pills in the past. It didn’t work. I would always forget to use them. I wanted to initially stop using condoms because they were kind of expensive. I mean, you can get free condoms anywhere, but you know, to get the really good condoms, you know, the kind that you want, you have to pay a pretty penny for them. Also, he, you know – guys always say, “Well, you know, we can stop using condoms.” That’s great and fine, but, you know, you have to get tested first and make sure that you’re okay. So I also wanted to move our relationship to a deeper level in that – in that area, as well. The pill didn’t work for me because most of the time I would forget to take my dosages. Abstinence didn’t work for me in my senior year mainly because my first three years, I was in a relationship. And my senior year, I was completely single – alone, you know. So that created a big problem. And I worked for the football team at school. That’s all I’m going to say about that. In addition with the sponge, another method that I use with it is pulling out, the pulling out method. I really don’t trust sperm at all. (Laughs) So I would prefer for my boyfriend to pull out, and he agrees with it totally. He knows my – my stand on that, and it works great for the both of us. My partner hasn’t felt the sponge or known that anything was there. But I definitely told him and let him know what I was using so there wouldn’t be any miscommunication going on in that area. I like the sponge because it’s easy to use and it’s inexpensive. My name’s Alesondrje. I’m 21, and I use the sponge.