Maternity pads and disposable pants - which ones?

[Msbluesky32]

I'm starting to think about my hospital bag and wondered if anyone had any recommendations for pads and/or disposable knickers? I've had a browse in boots and the disposable pants don't look very comfortable -would I be better off buying some cheap black cotton ones and just using pads? If so which pads did you find best/most comfortable? Pre-pregnancy i used tampons and now I'm just using panty liners so pads are a little unfamiliar to me. I have no idea what to expect and welcome suggestions.

I initially brought 2 packs of boots own thick maternity pads and 2 packs of boots own thin maternity pads. With the thought that i would swop to sanitary towels after using them. As in the antenatal classes they explained you needed cotton pads for stitches due to sanitary towels irritate stitching. So i naively thought that after 7 days my downstairs would be healed and that i wouldn't need more than 40 cotton pads. However i ended up having an episiotomy and lots of stitching so in the end i had to send my DP out for more thick pads i ended up going through 12 packs of thick pads. This was due to the fact that they gave a good amount of cushioning when i sat down. I also just brought cheap knickers from asda and always felt my pad was in a secure position. I am 5 weeks postnatal and i am still bleeding but very lightly and some days not at all. I found that my bleeding was sometimes heavy and sometimes light. They say if its heavy you've done to much and to relax. Good luck for your birth

I used cotton knickers (value ones) and tena pads....they are the best, they stay in place and are comfortable. DH brought them thinking they where maternity pads..I'm sooo glad I discovered how good they are.

I agree with the poster who said tena pants. Yes, they're embarrassing to buy but they're worth it. Used them after both of my labours and never leaked once. Lasted all night long, even when bleeding at heaviest. Also a godsend when our tumble drier broke a couple of days after DD was born - I always had pants to wear, even if no one else did!! They're pretty comfy too - don't know if they'd cover a c section though. I think they used to but are now lower waisted so maybe not any more...

i used the asda disposables with my last dd but i found them so horrid i shall be opting for buying knickers to throw them away this time because its more comfey

With the tena knickers - can anyone advise on sizing?

I'm usually a 12 so was going to buy some size 16 supermarket cotton ones, but with the tena do you have to go bigger than usual, or is the pad already taken into account?

I haven't worded that very well, hope you get the gist!

I used the maxi always nighttime ones, thick and very long.

Quick bump for the tena sizing question above

I used tena pads (like sanitary towels) with knickers, not the actual pants so can't help with size.

boots maternity pads - bigger ones for 1st week and night (4 packs were plenty) then the slim ones from week 2 onwards

best pads I've ever used

beri - I went for large as they're designed for non pg/just been pg folk :-)

Big black granny pants from asda!

You can bleed for up to six weeks! Sorry! I bled for 6 weeks, afairc my period followed very shortly afterwards!

yes yes black supermarket pants (up a size or two)

then i used boots fat maternity pads (didn't switch to the thin ones for a while, fat ones much comfier)

if you have any stitches/ grazes its really important to change the pad every time you got to the loo - and wash your hands before you go as well as after.

you might have read elsewhere about some people pouring water with a little jug/ sports water bottle over their bits while weeing to stop the sting.

pat dry - clean pad.

at home some people dry their bits with a hairdryer after showers/baths - to keep really dry. i haven't got one - but i kept a clean roll of kitchen roll just for delicately drying bits

when you're home you might want to have a few shallow baths to keep stiches/grazes clean - top tip for this if you don't have a sitz bath (weird bowl thing for on toilet to dip your bits in) is to rinse your feet with shower/shower attachment before stepping into bath off a clean towel so you don't get bits of fluff off the floor in the bath.

you can add salt/ tea tee oil/ lavender oil to bath water. (for the oils if you mix them in a bit of milk it helps them disperse rather than just float on th e surface of the bath)

i had episiotimy following ventouse - stitches got really painful and i ended up on antibiotic (don't know for sure if infected or just tightening).

Sorry if I have shot off on a fanjo injuries tangent

Thanks Plate, will have a look in preparation.

Good tips Woodifer!!!

Thanks everyone, it's great to have so much help. Especially as the books dont really seem to prepare you for the possibility of six weeks of feeling not so comfy. Thank you woodifer for such a thorough explanation of our experiences, really helpful

I mean your experiences, silly iPad

Sorry just seen the Tena question... I'm a size 10 and medium was a good fit. They are more expensive than pads etc but I just used them for hospital and it was honestly the best money I ever spent unlike the bloody TENS machine which didn't even make it out of the box

I bought cheap Bridget jones' for afterwards that didn't matter if got ruined. Lets face it you're not gonna be going for the best thongs for a while.
As for pads, I found tescos own mat pads and always night time sanitary towels to be the best. The ones that aren't separately wrapped are fine and dandy in Hosp when it doesn't matter if u feel like you're wearing a nappy but not great once you're up and about.

My DSIL recommended wearing an ultra thin pad across the gusset (like a big super absorbent pair of wings) with a thick maternity pad over the top. Any old brand will do. Also, to buy at least twice as many as I thought I'd need. Great advice!

This thread has just reminded me of yet another indignity I suffered after the birth of DD1 - nappy rash! From the boots maternity pads. I was changing them really frequently but just didn't get on with them as they're very plasticky. I found the Kotex night time sanitary towels (black packet) a much better material for my poor destroyed downstairs area.

Got multipacks of big black granny knickers from Markies and they were great. I had to have my placenta manually removed and haemorrhaged quite badly so ended up not bleeding for too long at all afterwards.

Ladies you are invaluable! Can I ask another question related to this thread -how about covering the bed? Did you find you needed to do this too? A friend suggested getting some Boots maternity mats for bed/car seat/seats in general. Now Im a bit nervous by how much blood there might be (forgive me, I had very light and short periods before pg due to PCOS)

I bled through onto tge sofa once but that was my first period after ds3! I did wear trousers or pj bottoms though instead of a nighty which could have made a difference.

galway I had that too, really painful as well as thrush because of the antibiotics I had to take due to waters breaking early. I think I used more sudocrem than the baby

I wouldn't buy anything to cover the bed. My hospital had liners that I could use. They were pretty much puppy training pads ;-) but honestly I didn't need them. Used the thick pads first but only a couple if days whole on Hosp then onto the thinner ones. The thick ones give u a boy if a cushion too for when it's a bit tender! To be fair, I was really lucky and wasnt really sore afterwards but I went in prepared!!

Defo buy more than you think you'll need. I made that mistake and then had to send DH to tesco to find them. I was guiding him round the shop in my mobile getting him to look for always nighttime. Woman on next bed was amused.