Definitely agree with researching side effects and talking to your gyno! I had no issues but that’s obviously not the case for everyone.

It wasn’t a cream, it was a shot of lidocaine. Not the most pleasant thing, but an absolute walk in the park compared to the iud insertion. The implant doesn’t move at all. It can be a little weird to be able to feel it, and I have a small mark where it was inserted, but that was it. I did not have any issues with mental health like I did with the pill, and it didn’t make my skin any worse (I’ve always had stubborn acne, sadly).

I don’t have an answer to your original question, but have you considered the arm implant instead of an iud? I had an atrociously painful experience getting an iud placed (and clearly I’m not alone!), and I ultimately switched to the arm implant. I was given a local anesthetic for it and felt nothing.

The Historical Society of PA on 13th and Locust has a ton of genealogical records and resources!

Ooo good intel, thanks!

It’s not free, but I’ve always read that free shipping is a myth anyway - they just add it to the price of whatever you’re buying. I’ll pay a few bucks in shipping to benefit local shops.

I use this site as much as possible instead of Amazon. The prices are not as low as Amazon (because, Amazon) but it's seriously just as convenient, and I love supporting local stores. I'll do this for gifts as well, when I send books to niblings for birthdays/Christmas. And you can preorder stuff too! I've ordered new stuff from Penguin Random House through Bookshop and it generally comes within a day or two of the release date.

They also sell a giant bucket of meatballs that are super easy to heat up for a quick meal.