Best Breast/Maternity pads?!

[Impatientwino]

Starting to buy a few bits and pieces for hospital bag and now looking at breast/maternity pads I had a couple of questions someone may be able to help me with.

Was in sainsburys yesterday and they have own brand 50 breast pads for £1.89 - mothercare ones - 80 pads were £7.99 or something, lansinoh ones 60 pads were £5 something

Are they all the same or is it better to spend more and get better pads?

The same applies for maternity pads - are any brands better than others?

More than happy to spend the money if needed - frankly the amount I've saved on wine the last 9 months I could afford hand stitched by fairy ones

The same with nappy sacks actually, in sainsburys their basics nappy sacks are 29p and 'little ones' nappy sacks are £1.29? is there any difference? aren't they just smelly bags to put dirty nappies in?!

Anyone got any wisdom? I'm happy to pay for better quality if you get that but not if it's just brand you are paying for!

Thanks

Thanks for the cake

I loved Tommee Tippee breast pads, and IIRC these are the same as Lansinoh but a little cheaper? usually £5 but occassionally half price in Tesco.

Nappy bags- well I hardly used them but do remember some being much bigger, thicker and great smell where the cheap ones can be small and I'm pretty sure I could have blown peas through them. However, can't remember which were which.

Same for maternity pads but it's 4 yrs since I used them too and so am actually of very little use to you!!! I'm only here for the cake!!!

the est pads i found were the johnsons ones. more expensive but i had A LOT of milk and just leaked straight through the cheaper ones so immediately switched back to the more expensive kind. maternity pads i don't imagine it will matter as much because you'll probably be changing them so often in the first couple of days after birth to feel clean anyway. and after the first week i didn't need them last time although i know some people that have needed them longer they agreed that after the first few days to a week you don't need the massive ones anymore.

nappy sacks cheaper ones are fine! you're only going to throw it in the bin and if they are like a quarter of the price does it matter if you need to double bag it for a particularly heavy nappy every now and then?

oops typo at the top. best breast pads go with a better brand! the other items you mentioned go cheap!

Lansinoh breast pads were the best, no leaks and fit around my boobs which others didn't seem to. No idea about maternity pads they all felt uncomfortable to me. Nappy bags. 300 for 34p in asda. Cant go wrong really. Hth.

I have breastfed 3 DC and have a ferociously powerful let down so always need pads even 6 months plus post natal. I have tried all the brands you mentioned and IMO Lansinoh are best by far. I do a 40 minute round trip to get them or buy them on amazon. The vital difference between these and the cheaper ins (including tommee tippee) is that the Lansinoh pads have 2 sticky sides and therefore don't crumple or displace themselves as easily you're less likely to leak,

perfect - I knew I could ask the lovely ladies here for help!

thanks all :)

I loved the Johnson boob pads. Big, shaped and sticky. Some of the cheap ones don't have any sticky bits on them and they kept falling out my top at in inopportune moments.

Sainsburys bags used to be 9p a pack. Or 6 p when they had their baby event on! But even at 29p I think they are fine for the job. Especially if you chuck them in the outside bin frequently.

All maternity pads were hideous. Like wearing pampers. Eurgh. But I was lucky and only had to wear them for a few days.

Don't buy sainsburys breast pads. They don't have sticky bits and will move around, causing leakage, or worse, escape! Asda own brand are about the same price but much better. Tommee tippee are good too, if they are on offer or you want to splash out.

I never use nappy bags - I have a Tommee Tippee nappy bin that they go in, so no need.

After the initial week or two when you need the industrial sized pads, the value 14p-a-pack from Sainsburys are just as good as the more expensive brands, actually softer and less scratchy than some.

I agree with jessebuni!

Just want to agree with cuppateajanice, cheapo pads not labelled maternity are just as good but cheaper. Basically u just need a thick basic pad and not the thin style which have chemicals in them to make them absorbent yet thin.

As others have said, lansinoh breast pads and cheap nappy sacks are the best too!

I've bought night time Tena Lady instead of maternity pads. Do you think these will be ok?

I used boots own maternity pads and they were fine. Tommee Tippee breast pads were really good. I also had some boots reusable which were awful, this time round I'm thinking about getting some little lambs reusable breast pads which I've heard good things about, but can't personally recommend.

I agree with CuppaTeaJanice I found the Asda ones fine, 2 packs of 50 for £2.50 when I looked the other day. I did try the Johnson ones too, and they were great but I was getting through so many in the first few weeks it just wasn't economical!! Maybe get the Johnson ones for the first few days when your nipples might need a little TLC and then switch down to a cheaper brand.

Cheap nappy sacks all the way for me!! Tried more expensive ones, but they just have a stronger smell and are maybe a bit bigger/thicker, but the nappies are so small at first, its wasted space!!

I cannot for the life of me remember which maternity pads I had. Boots or Asda or both possibly? Both were fine. After a few days, you can just use the ultra heavy flow normal sanitary towels anyway, although its worth checking with your MW first, especially if you have lots of clots, because they sometimes need to see the clots & the lock-away core in sanitary towels hinders that I think.

I just got all mine from boots yesterday while on 3 for 2 saved alot and stocked up enough, I just got boots own breast pads as they were £2.59 but I didnt need to use them really last time I was bf as I didnt leak so mabye just get then and see how you go on :) maternity pads, again boots own used theirs last time and they were fine I went through alot aswell so be prepared to get a few I got 3 of the huge packs going to get 3 more and then got 3 of the slim ones.

Also if you're planning on breastfeeding, get a tube of lanisoh or kamillosan for your nipples. BF is often really sore for the first week or so, as most people aren't used to constant sucking on such a sensitive area! These help in the way that cheap nipple creams don't, so worth paying extra imo.

I never needed my tube of lanisoh (although what that says about my tolerance to constant sucking I don't know! :) ) but its brilliant on dry elbows and knees so I've got use out of it anyway.

Tommee Tippee breastpads are worth their weight in gold! Cheaper ones just fill up instantly (strong letdown here too) and you have to change them constantly, tommee tippee ones just seem to go on and on (and are often on offer at tescos) i never used the sticky pad thing though, they just stay in place anyway!

Re-useable ones are poop :( i was hoping to use them tosave the environment but they just are not as good and leaked through almost instantly.

I like the Johnsons breast pads. Kamillosan Tastes awful so I would get Lansinoh personally. Maternity pads and nappy sacks are all much the same. I've got Tesco maternity pads this time. As long as they're thick they'll do the job.

My favourite nipple cream was the BioFem one from Boots. Instant relief & lovely & moisturising, plus doesn't need to be wiped off for feeds :)

I don't think you have to wipe of lansinoh either, at least I hope you don't as I never did , the only thing I remember washing off my nipples pre-feed was the thrush cream.

That's right, no need to remove Lansinoh

Sure I saw a few recently that had to be removed .

I just remember my Mum buying it and saying it was animal-product or something free, which she'd read could cause allergies/asthma or something & we def don't need that extra trigger for our family!!! It is plant extracts instead I think and lovely :)

Another vote for Tommee Tippee breast pads, as I have explosive boobs, which are also very big with a large nipple area and some pads were smaller and didn't give enough coverage / absorption. Sometimes I double layered a reusable cotton pad (I think mine were from Naturebotts, and are quite comfortable) and a Tommee Tippee one, because things were so leaky! At night, I eventually gave up on pads altogether and shoved an old fashioned terry square nappy, folded into several layers, down a sleep bra!!! How attractive I looked - and am doing it all again on monday when I go for an ELCS....

Nappy sacks, I use the naturebotts ones. They are nice and strong and keep nasty smells inside, aren't perfumed, so don't infuse my bag with a horrible chemical smell, and are biodegradable so more "compatible" with the eco-disposable nappies I use.

I use Natracare maternity pads (then their sanitary towels/ liners once bleeding is lighter) - you can get them from Naturebotts, Big Green Smile etc. I bled for the full 6 weeks in both previous pgs :( and I find that after a couple of days most brands of towel make me itch like mad, and can give me thrush. These ones don't - I assume because they are not treated with as harsh chemicals / bleaches as some other makes. They work fine, and are more biodegradable too. All towels are horrible though - like sitting on a breeze block.

I like the Green Baby nipple balm, again it doesn't need to be removed for feeding, and is good on sensitive skins.

Cheap nappy bags are great. I've got one of those sangenic bins but have never used it tbh.

Lansinoh pads are the best - cheapest in John Lewis if you have one. They have two sticky strips to keep them in place and turn leaks into a sort of gel so you don't get wet patches.

I got given a box of the Sainsbos ones and threw them away - not fit for purpose.