leaking boobs driving me crazy - help!

[deaconblue]

I'm using Avent washable breast pads as I thought they would be more absorbant thant he disposable ones and they are soft on poor sore nipples. But when I feed from one breast the other leaks and I'm sick of wandering around with wet circles on my top. any recommendations for better absorbancy???
Didn't get this at all with ds, might it get better as dd gets older? She's only 12 days old.

I used breast shells to collect the milk as the pads weren't enough to absorb it while feeding on the other side.

are they comfortable?

Yes, you can't really feel them at all, and they're a lot more pleasant than a sodden pad, bra and top.

I also used breast-shells to collect milk when I fed otherwise I went through 10 breastpads per feed. At one point I used to stuff a folded muslin in my bra and even then I used to have to change it halfway through.

I tried lots of breastpads and honestly the only thing that worked were the breast shields. You'll build up a great stock of milk to freeze very easily though.

Oh forgot to say things did get better but not till ds was about 4 months though.

Only thing with using the shells is that it encourages milk production so can create a vicious circle of producing more milk - that is what i found. I stopped using them and used 2 or 3 breast pads at a time while production sorted itself out - do a search for overproduction of milk as that is what i did and used some tips to reduce production ( can't remember all the ins and outs as a couple of years ago now) Also always used Johnsons pads - found them to be the best.

Have you tried Lansinoh brand disposable pads? These were great for me though I was not as leaky as you are describing. They have a gel in them so leaks turn sort of solid.

Have you heard of Lilypadz? They are a silicone breast pad that you sort of stick onto your boob/nipple - apparently the pressure is supposed to prevent leaking full stop, though I have never used these ones. Not sure whether they would hold back the new baby tide though !

Good luck!

shopping bags - I have used every dispoable nipple pad possible, when feeding, my opposite breast sometimes leaks around an ounce of milk !! tommee tippee breast pads are my saviour and have never let me down :O) pricey but defo worth it when i am out as i can totally trust them not to leave me with a soggy top! the avent washables didnt last 30 seconds into a feed when i tried them! hth

Go for breast shells - as already said, you don't need to worry about wet patches (although make sure you put them in right way up!), and you get loads of milk for your DH to help with the night-time feed .

Once things calmed down a bit fo rme, I liked tomme tippee or Johnsons pads.

Papaya, I would regularly produce 4 oz during a feed!!

Oh, I miss BF!

have bought the breast shells today and used them straight away, definitely an improvemnet on wet tops. Couldn't have been more than an ounce though so not quite as dramatic as the 4oz!

I have and use breast shells, but struggle to find tops to wear them under. Any handy hints on styles/shapes of top to wear that still have an ounce of style about them, yet hide the shells successfully?

Having enormous cartoon style boobs which make anything seem small in comparison helps, IME.

LOL Blueskythinker!