best maternity pads??

[missytequila]

A first timer here looking for recommendation on which 'thick heavy' pads to buy.. which are your favorites/worked the best?

The mothercare ones were great. Buy the big pack, you'll use them. Boots were rubbish IMO, my skin reacted to them quite badly

i keep hearing to get pants in large size and dark...
but I am confused, why do they have to be huge? 4x times too big?
i don't understand...is it in case of a section so they wont be tight? but if you dont have a section why the huge pants?

you don't need HUGE pants just a size bigger than normal maybe...

you just won't want anything too tight afterwards - you might be swollen and if you've got stitches then you'll certainly not want anything to constrictive on. plus you need room for the thick maternity pads!!

witch hazel - yes, you use it neat. soak the pad before you attach it and it will help with the swelling/bruising/healing of grazing or stitches. it also has a lovely cooling effect. and (sorry if tmi!) it helps stop the blood drying and sticking to hair/skin/stitches etc...

I found huge pants - 4 sizes bigger than normal (pre-pregnancy wore a size 10 pant, Primark pants are smaller than normal IME so had to buy 16-18 pants to be comfy, elsewhere I suppose a couple of sizes bigger than normal would work) if going to Primarks for cheap pants - worked well as didnt constrict tummy (which you dont want if you do have a csec, I didnt though but just didnt like my tummy being squished post baby anyway) and left plenty of room for the pads which this thread is all about.

always night time pads were better than maternity pads. I didn't buy larger size pants but bought different style ones - full briefs instead of fancy shaped things.

witch hazel...keep it in the fridge for super cold relief!! yep, use it neet...pour it on a pad before you use the pad iykwim...

i bought big pants...full ones so that the pads were nice and secure, and the knickers didn't dig in....even though i had vaginal births, my tummy felt very tender and kind of empty...

i did use yukky paper knickers for the first 24 hours though, and just chucked the whole lot out whenever things got messy...

Another first timer here

How often will you need to change the pads? Just worrying about sitting down for long periods with visitors in the house, getting up, and being embarrassed by a flood! Figure if I knew how regular I'd need to change the pads I could pre-empt any embarrassing moments by popping off to the loo more frequently...

Glasto - it really really depends. I have seen people on here say every hour or more at the beginning - but I usually only changed it at the start about every 4 hours -(although I had a catheter in for the first 12 so didn't use any - just a mat placed under me) - sometimes I changed them cos I wanted to feel cleaner if that makes sense. Within a few days it was every 4/6 or even more. Again, though, I may have changed them more frequently so feel fresher. I hate pads. But you won't know until the time comes unfortunately!

Thanks Kingsroadie

That gives me an idea of what to expect

I used the standard mothercare maternity pads and they were fine. I'm not sure if your blood loss differs if you have had a csection but for me the blood loss was quite a lot less than my usual period. There is no way that a maternity pad would be absorbant enough to cope with my period blood loss.

I agree with the Tena pants. My midwife recommended them for DS1 and they were so good that I've just bought another lot for imminent baby2. They stay in place, are comfy and so easy to take off. And they hold your tummy in, which took away the weird 'empty' feeling I had after my DS was born.

Pampers bed mats (for toilet training DC) are also really useful to have under you in case you flood at night. Saves you changing the sheets everyday.

Tena pads and pants were also wonderful for dealing with my traumatised bladder after DD - maternity pads were useless for urine.

Couldn't believe the postnatal ward didn't have ANY incontinence pads for me once the catheter came out and it was clear my bladder was not working - sent DH off for Tena and felt sooooo much better immediately. Very comfy like mattresses too and could cope with both urine and blood.

Boots own brand worked well for me. The padded ones where just the ticket for my poor swollen netherparts. For the first week or so I also used incontinence mats for nighttime leaks. Got a few from the hosp and also used the boots ones.

Was dreading this bit the most of all the birth 'stuff', and whilst it does look pretty grim at first, it really really does get better fairly quickly so don't stress about it too much please

I had quite bad tearing & lacerations, inc a 2nd degree. For about the first 2-3 weeks, I got in the shower to wee directing lukewarm water over my bits (not only comfortable to wee, but also ensures all wee cleaned away. and had a daily shallow bath in lavender oil (a splash of milk helps it disperse in the water better). After that, just made sure it had a good hose down at least twice a day. All better