reusable breast pads

[allsquareknickersnofurcoat]

Been using disposables for a while, but now I'm looking at buying reusables as DS is on food and my milk supply nice and calm (I thought I would be at the point to be able to go without, but have tried it and leak everywhere from the boob that he isnt feeding from!)
I've had a look at loads of reviews to see which are best, but as far as I can see, none of the washable ones have good reviews, the only positive ones I can find are for the lilypadz. But before I order some, are they best? And what happens to the milk??

Thanks!

My faves were the Motherease bamboo ones. They are fab and soft and can definitely cope better even with newborn leakage than paper.

I didn't much like the Lilypadz - if you do get leakage (and I did, but my boobs are very very very leaky - I still leak a lot now and DD is 10 mo next week) then the milk pools in the 'pad' and it falls off.

I found they were a bit sweaty. They don't let your nipples breathe at all. But there are tons of brilliant reviews for them so they must suit a lot of people. I would say they are probably useful for situations where you don't want to wear a bra, but I wouldn't want to use them every day. It would be a bit like wearing a plaster over the same bit of skin day in day out IYSWIM.

I didn't get on very well with lilypadz. As far as I can recall, the theory is that they apply a gentle pressure to your breasts and actually stop the leaking. It didn't work for me!

I would definitely recommend washable pads in general but I don't have a favourite brand. I think I used Bravado and Avent. The only gripes I had was that the Bravado ones weren't absorbent enough, and both types were quite obvious under clothes. I didn't really care about them being obvious, though, and I wish I'd bought them earlier, though, as I got through loads of disposables with ds1.

If you use washable pads the milk just gets soaked up, same as it would with a disposable. It is also possible to buy breast 'shells' which collect the milk. I used to have some Avent breast shells ages ago (ds1 is nearly 9yo now) but I think the design changed and the new ones weren't so good.

I used a few of them but found the biggest problem was bulk.... they showed through almost every top i wore!

Generally i found just holding a muslin to the opposite bood whilst feeding was best, I only wore pads if I was going to be out and a bout for a while and might have to feed or get engorged before I got home.

Hmm, most of the reviews said bulk was a problem... My mum said she relied on mens hankies when she fed me and my sisters, I think I may give them a go!

I find the bulk comforting- like having little blankets down your bra. You can't honestly tell that mine are there- they don't show at all.