Breast pad question

[Oztok5]

Our first baby is due in about a month, and I'm trying to get some things in order.

Does anyone have recommendations for nursing pads? Cloth or disposable?

I think I would prefer to use cloth, but I don't know which ones or how many I'll need. I know that some women hardly leak at all and some leak a lot for a long time, so I don't know how to plan. Does it seem reasonable to get a box of disposable ones until I see if I'm going to have need to build a little stash of cloth ones?

Thanks!

[Jaxinator]

This may be of no help whatsoever... BUT:
I want to have another baby fairly soon, and my *plan* (and we all know those change) is to use disposable early on, and when the flow settles down a bit, switching to cloth. There's a whole bunch on etsy, and I found organic bamboo ones that are very cute.
I've heard the cloth ones do leak through if you're leaking a lot, which is how it was for me the first few months. I only used disposable with my son, but probably would have been fine with the cloth after a little while.

[HappyMonkey]

I have 4 pairs of cloth and that works just fine.

[JayJay]

I have six pairs of washable ones - but I found that early on (and this is only JUST settling down a bit) I leaked SO much that the cloth simply were not absorbent enough. I'm talking you know, faucet stylie here! So it was either use disposable super absorbant ones or walk around with a wet shirt all day long. I tried the NUK brand 'sposies and found they were only about as good as the cloth. Then I found the Playtex brand and they worked very nicely for me. I was absolutely soaking a pad of theirs in a few hours but rarely had problems with leaks, which was nice.

Now, flow is settling down a bit and I find I can stop breast #2 letting down quite as much if I press on it when I get the "let down" feeling when nursing on breast #1, if you see what I mean. NUK brand or cloth are fine now, but I do still have to remember to change them quite frequently!

[Mulvah]

I have some Medela and Kushies washables. I like them both for different reasons.

I had maybe two leaking episodes for the first two months of BFing and now, in the last 3-4 weeks, I've been leaking through to my shirt every single morning. I've started to double up.

[Oztok5]

Thank you for the advice! That helps me to firm up my decision.

I'm going to go ahead and get a box of disposable ones for the beginning, and once I get through them, I'll decide about moving on to cloth ones. With all of the other things going on, I don't want to have to worry all that much about leaking through my shirt for the first couple of weeks.

[Miss Chris]

Lilypadz!

I am always giving these things away as shower gifts because they are the best. they are reusable silicon pads that stick to the breast the way window clings stick to glass. they aren't actually sticky, they just cling, iykwim. they provide pressure against the nipple to prevent leaking and can be worn by themselves so you can go braless if you want (like while sleeping). Best of all, no damp cloths holding moisture against your nipples, and no waste.

Miss Chris

[zazenist]

I also had a runaway leakage problem for the first 4 months or so and had to use disposables to sop it all up. I found the Lansinoh kind worked best for me. Now, at 5 1/2 months of bfing, the leaking is a lot less and cloth works fine.

[dmariev]

I would suggest to have 2 pair of the cloth on hand in the beginning just in case. The disposables made me sooo itchy!! I only use cloth, and the ones I buy are large but thin, and can handle A LOT of leakage
If interested, I can send you a link to check them out.

[sunnygir1]

Those Lilypadz sound cool.

I used cloth, and hated the disposable ones because of how they stuck to my breasts. When I leaked a lot, I tended to change them often to keep the layer next to my skin dry to prevent nipple problems. Toward the end of my use of them, I found out that Party in my Pants was making them (they make great menstrual pads). Theirs are thin and absorbent and soft and fuzzy on the inside. I think that layer stays/feels dry better than the cotton ones I bought at Kmart or something.

Oh, and I think I had 4 pair and wished I had 6 pair.

[Oztok5]

Originally Posted by dmariev

I would suggest to have 2 pair of the cloth on hand in the beginning just in case. The disposables made me sooo itchy!! I only use cloth, and the ones I buy are large but thin, and can handle A LOT of leakage
If interested, I can send you a link to check them out.

I would love to have the link!

[Xavismom]

I love the lilypadz. I've leaked through every cloth one I've tried, and I hate using the disposable ones for numerous reasons. My mom bought me some of the lilypadz this week for my birthday, and I am in love with them! I'm also one of those women who hates wearing a bra, so I'm pretty sure I will keep wearing these long after nursing!

[curious&eager]

I used Lansioh disposables in the beginning because I leaked and sprayed tons. They were my favorite baby shower gift. I felt they pulled the milk away from my skin well and they held so much liquid.

I now use several different kinds of cotton ones since my supply is much calmer now. It took about 4 months before I switched. I found the cotton ones that I bought first were not contoured to my body and I have the most leaks with them even though they are my thickest pair.

Then someone else gave me some that where thinner but shaped and I love them. I also have the same ones with a waterproof backing, but they are too thick for my preference. I don't have any brand names sorry.

A box of disposables should work in the beginning and two pairs of cloth. I used 3 60 count boxes of disposables and now I have about 10 pairs of cloth. I would say have enough cloth pair to allow a change every day until your laundry day. 2 pairs is not enough, but my 10 is a lot, they were just given to me.

[kismetbaby]

I have only just recently switched to washable/reusable pads and my babe is 6 months old. My reasons for this have been: 1) the first couple months I was way too stressed/exhausted/sore/overwhelmed to have dealt with washables (I know that sounds ridiculous, but I had a lot of BFing issues in the beginning and I really couldn't deal with much besides surviving) and 2) I had very heavy let-down/leakage the first 4 months and couldn't find any reusables that could handle it.

The disposables that I liked best were the Avent http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Avent-...9974812&sr=8-1 seen here. Not very $ and they are very soft and cushiony so even when I was sore in the early days I could tolerate these. They are a bit thick, but I needed that until recently.

Now I am having some washables made from an etsy WAHM and am really excited about them. But give yourself a break in the beginning! Also, its so hard to know what kind of issues you will have. . .soreness, leakage, etc. I also didn't buy any expensive nursing bras till recently and am really glad I didn't, b/c it would have been so hard to know what I would like and what size I'd be!

Just a though: I haven't used the Lilypads although I know moms who love them, but be careful about using them early on when you are establishing supply b/c they work by putting pressure on the nipple (as I understand it). Ask a LC or at LLL before using them in the beginning. . .I think its better to just leak the first month and deal with that and let your body sort out the supply!