Breast pads - the work of the devil

[Marthapants01]

Has anyone got any ingenious ideas or product suggestions for breast pads? After 3 months of bf I have grown to loathe the frikin things The disposable ones end up back to front with the sticky tab fastened to my nipple and the washable ones make me look like I'm smuggling giant sherbet flying saucers.

Anyway shouldn't i be beyond leak worries by now and my boobs be in total harmony?

Please advise so I can plan my escape from perpetual sweaty sticky ugly pad wearing!

Ah well I was going to recommend washable ones (I used Boots brand) disposables are shite.

I don't remember when I stopped using them, could you try going without for a day (only at home lol) and see how it goes?

Lilypadz are supposed to be quite good. Haven't tried them myself though. I like the Lansinoh disposables.

An old NCT tip is to use cotton hankies :) Old, repeatedly washed and hence nice and soft, they fold up easily and are quite absorbent, and obv. you can wash and . They are flatter in the bra than the usual washable purpose made breastpads.

wash and reuse, I meant.

I found that Motherease breastpads (totnes nappy co) are really slim.

Good idea ticktok and it appeals to the greenie in me too. Will try! Thank you x

I definitely recognise the UFO thing btw - although at this time of year it doesn't matter due to wearing lots of layered clothes.

I do find the washables good when it's cold - they tend to be more comfortable for cold nipples and they hide them too IYSWIM

When my friend had her third baby she had always said she hated disposables so I bought her some washables and she loves them.

I never bought disposables, I got some freebies though and didn't even use them after the first pair, awful things.

Intrigued by the hanky thing - do you fold them up or lay them flat?

oh hurrah I get to tell my MIL/breastpads story.. where MIL was visiting 6 weeks after I had DS and was itching to tidy my house. She spotted a pile of dry laundry and got to work while I had a nap. I woke up to a cup of tea placed daintily atop one of my lacy washable breastpads so after you've finished BF you can use them as coasters. HTH.

brilliant heroshrew
I had the Little Lamb washable ones for DD2 having used disposable ones for DD1. I still needed them at 3m I gave up using them about 8m in I think. I had oversupply though.
I found the Little lamb ones really good and sold them on afterwards on Cloth Nappy Tree.
Cotton hankies wouldn't have had much impact on my leaking boobies!

I got on really well with the tommee tippeeones, they are absorbent like nappies and much thinner than normal pads.

Lillypadz are supposed to be good too, although I haven't tried them personally.

I was thinking of getting some lillypadz this time around but I'm worried about ending up with pruney nips, don't they keep things a bit damp? I ended up spending a fortune on disposable breastpads last time, the washable ones were soaked through in minutes. My let-down was lethal at 10 paces when DD was a newborn

I like the tommee tippee ones or the lansino ones, they are very thin and don*t make your boobs look funny if they change position in the bra.
I never bother with the adhesive strip.
dd is 13 month and I still have leaky boobs.

I agree, they're pesky. I started out with disposable Eco Baby ones, which are ok - not adhesive so they don't ruck up or stick to nipples. But a bit scratchy. Lansinoh disposables may be thin and soft, but the adhesive bit means they ruck up in the bra cup whenever I feed. I had some washable Lansinoh ones from last time but they crease and ruck up in the wash.

I'm using (and hand-washing) some lacey Medela ones now and they seem fine. Agree re. sherbet flying saucers, though!

I am wearing padded bras and washing everyday, which gets most of the leakage... hoping it settles... Think I used muslins (in the house, not v flattering!), last time!!

I've got lillypadz. They freak me out a bit though as I'm such a wuss when it comes to peeling them off. It's a bit like removing a plaster but not painfull.

They are supposed to stop milk leaking in the first place. They work for me during the day with DD feeding frequently, but not at night. Milk pours everywhere when I remove them!

They look strange on. Like you have no nips.

Martha your so right about washable ones looking like giant flying saucers! Hehe! I got a pack from babies r us.

I'm thinking about trying cotton hankies now too........ my only thought is that there will be alot of material to stuff in your bra?

I feel so guilty throwing away disposables! My fave are lansinoh disposables.

Oh another thing about lillypadz is that I don't feel like I can clean them properly. The sticky side is well... sticky and stuff sticks to it!

I have two excellent pairs of breastpads, they have lasted five years of me bfing, they are nicely shaped and absorbent and never leak.

Unfortunately they don;t have a name on them and I think someone local made them.

They wash and dry within one night.

I found disposable ones irritating and the round Avent ones you can see the shape of them - I've noticed other women wearing them.

Hehe Hero! That's a sweet story!

I've not had a problem with tescos or boots disposable ones, they stay in place great and are nice and thin. Have you tried different brands of disposables?

My mum also suggested hankies btw :)

Hanky report: tried a hanky today, nicked hubby's and cut in half and then fashioned each into triangles; worked a treat - comfy and no UFO ishoos, and absorbent enough for me. But found trying to set them straight after a feed a wrestle, which was fine a part from when i was trying to look in control, and not flash my pregnant friend, her hubby and my brother this afternoon. Think I'll just shove em back any which way next time and adjust at next available slot.

Am amazed you can get lacy ones! And LOVE the coaster story, perhaps there's a way we can recycle our pads post babies!!!

Lansinoh washable lacy ones, I found very comfy.

Re the coaster issue, yyyy!
Twice I stayed at friends' houses, took a cup of tea to bed only to find no coaster (and no handy magazine) on bedside table. So the (clean) breast pad was deployed. Couldn't do that with a disposable one!

I think that it is the same as bras - different breast pads will be suitable for different breast shapes/sizes. Johnsons disposable ones were are really good shape for my massive norks fuller bust.

Or they could be sown in as knee / elbow pads for that first bike ride! Or put in freezer and used as cooling eye pads...

I found the washable ones totally useless, and the lillypadz sweaty (ok if not too hot) so had to use disposables and yes they are work of the devil. Annoyingly the avent ones I used for DD and DS1 4 and 7 years ago were much better but the avent ones now were not the same.

Lansinoh ones have recently got much less good too. The now have one adhesive strip instead of two and get totally scrunched up in my bra.