re-useable breast pads... how many should i get???

[babber]

Hello everyone.

I don't like the idea of using disposable anything... the re-useable breast pads seem to come in packs of 6 will this be enough? i guess i'm going to be doing a lot of washing anyway but don't even know how many times i'll need a fresh pad or anything.

first baby due jan - i have absolutely no idea about any of this breast feeding malarkey

i got a pack of 6 and that was all i ever needed. i don't leak though - for me they were just to protect my sore nips in the painful early weeks of breastfeeding.
you want to change them at least once a day, so it does depend on how often you do laundry. (more often than you'll believe, if you're anything like me.)
good luck ...

I got 2 packs because you need to do a lot of washing with only 3 pairs (even if like me, you can get by on only 1 pair a day).

If you don't mind second hand ones, CAT me and you can have mine - they are just sitting upstairs doing nothing now, I can easily post them to you.

Hi babber, so much depends on what your boobs do! I rarely leaked so could easily get away with one pair during the day and one at night, and then stopped using them completely after 4 months or so. Before that, I switched to using them only when I went out, partly to save on washing, partly to help my nips to dry properly (I had a latch problem so got very sore - doesn't happen to everyone!).

Our washing rate didn't go up too much as we didn't have a sicky baby and we found that washable nappies didn't leak poo, so sometimes DD would be in the same outfit for 24 hours. If you wash daily anyway and have somewhere to do quick drying, then 6 will probably do. Also you can give them to your DP to handwash(?!). But if you wash less than that it may be worth either having just one pack of disposables around, til you see how many you get through, or like PP said buy two packs of second hand, to keep the cost down?

Congrats and look luck! And remember there are loads of people out there to support you with breastfeeding. Get all the helpline numbers from your midwife and stick 'em on the fridge like a talisman - then you won't need them!

I leaked a lot. First baby I only had a pack of 6 so often had to wear damp pads (had it in my head breastfeeding was something you did for a bit before moving on to formula for some reason so didn't want to spend much on breastfeeding accessories), 2nd baby I had another 6 and provided I washed them daily it was enough. I used to get through 3 or 4 pairs a day though! Maybe get just one pack and see how you get on? You might not be leaky in which case one would be enough but if you are leaky then walking around with damp cheesy breastpads is not pleasant!

If you leak loads then it just soaks through the reusables anyway. I use the fleece pads I cut up to make reusable wipes, and they are much better (one cheap Ikea fleece blanket has gone a loooooong way!)

I had either 4 or 6 - to be honest, I can't quite remember.

I will just give you one bit of advice, though - don't let your dh iron them. Seriously. My dh thought he was being helpful in doing the basketful of ironing - which, of course, he was. Unfortunately he decided that my breastpads needed ironing (why????), and having decided that, ironed them on the waterproof side, and melted all the waterproofing - so they didn't do the job any more!!!!

sunnygirl.
PS - they are very nice warm off the radiator!

thats really kind.... don't know how to CAT unfortunately... but my mum is desperate to buy me useful things so was going to put this on the list anyway, rather than her buying loads of baby shampoo and other stuff i probably won't use! thank you though!

No worries From my experience, the Avent ones were pretty good - very soft, with lace backs which means they don't slide around nearly as much as some.

thanks everyone for the responses!

I need 3 packs, as generally change twice a day. If you have stitches you will be having 2 baths/showers a day and it's always nice to use a clean pair then.Also the disposable ones stuck to my nipples and actually pulled some of the skin off so i would not recommend them!!!!

I need 3 packs, as generally change twice a day. If you have stitches you will be having 2 baths/showers a day and it's always nice to use a clean pair then.Also the disposable ones stuck to my nipples and actually pulled some of the skin off so i would not recommend them!!!!

I also hate using disposables when I could use reusables but have had to switch to disposables (for now) because I leak like a bastard and couldn't keep on top of having clean dry reusable breastpads (I only have six though). Umlellala that's a great idea - I didn't even think about making my own and have some offcuts of fleece from making DD some mats for nappy off time

It'll all depends on how much you leak. I hated using disposables, but I had to (and not just any ones either - it had to be the really expensive ultra absorbant ones). I had 3 packets of washables (so 18 in total) and would put 2 or 3 in at a time on each breast, but still leaked through them in no time. Even by about 4 or 5 months when the leaking had settled down a lot I couldn't trust washables as if my let down was triggered somehow (e.g. seeing a cute baby) I'd be sodden in seconds. I find it impossible to imagine anyone surviving with just 6 washable pads, but that was my experience and of course yours might be different............

sorry to intrude, just interested in responses too.. umlellala - did you pad them with s.thing or only used fleece? (and boy do those Ikea blankets go a long way, made 2 pouch slings and lots of nappy liners from one... always have a spare new one just in case...)

wow, i thought i was leaky but obviously not! only had 2 sets, plus some lilypads, and some emergency disposables (not as bulky).

I didn't leak until around 2 weeks, and then it was fountains every morning! Pads didn't cut it - ended up winding 6 foot lengths of cut-up sheet around me at night. In the day I change pads after each feed so despite 8 washables there's still a mountain of disposables.
Lansinoh ones come individually wrapped (good for handbag, not for environment); Johnsons don't. Sainsbury's are cheapest but have no sticky bit to hold them in place, not that I found that worked at all.

i found reusuable breast pads were awful for my leaky boobs. they did absorb a little, but kept my nipples very damp and eventually sore because they weren't drying out. also, like a pp said, they smell manky, like sour milk afetr a bit, so you'll want to be changing them as often as you need to or choose to....

butttttt, don't let that put you off.... get a packet in, and a pack of disposables (lasinoh/tommee tippee were the best i found)and see how you get on..

good luck with it all. once you get the hang of bf, it's great! (get your mum to buy you a tube of lasinoh cream now...its a tenner a tube, but lasts forever and makes your nipples waterproof...a real saviour in the early days!)

Can't believe I forgot to mention Lilypadz - they're fab (though only after four weeks, and not if you're leaky because they just fill up with milk!).

melly I found my nipples were getting sore with constantly damp reusables and panicked about thrush, hence change to disposables. Horrid, ain't it?

Hey, I just chucked a bit of fleece pad in my bra and changed regularly. I was very leaky for first three weeks or so but has settled since then (although 4mth distracted ds comes off mid-spurt now!). Tbh, any pads annoyed me when out because they would ping across the room/on the floor while I was attempting to bf discreetly... ) so I mainly just got used to being covered in milk and sweat (and wee - ds's not mine ) for the first few weeks - was naked a lot too*. We have a mattress protector on the bed.

*only at home of course.

This is the fab multi-purpose Ikea blanket. Am impressed by your home-made pouch slings Sunflower!

UMLELLALA - thanks, and yes, that's the same blanket, though also have 2 more slings in the most expensive one too