Cloth momma pads questions..

[Pynki]

I know there have been numerous threads about this lately.. And honestly I did a search and none of that helped me, so I have an honestly NEW -at least DIFFERENT- question..

So.. Follow my prelude here.. I am going to make some cloth momma pads.. I have plenty of plaid flannel from my dipey making days of old.. And old sheets and what not.. So I am going to make my own momma pads.. So I also bought some fleece remnant yesterday.. I figuired fleece topped would be nice in the same way fleece is good for CD.. Not feeling the wetness.. Or fleece on the bottom as a water proof barrier..

I'm making my pattern and I have made it so it's a pocket style momma pad, but here's my question.. SHOULD I use fleece on it.. Or is that not going to work.. OR be too bulky.. THe 4 layers of flannel I have for the inner seems soo thin...

I'm also thinking of crochetting a few wool liners to put underneath the inners for a wet-resistance barrier in much the same way you use them in CD-ing to make the doublers absorb as much wetness as possible..

So.. What do you guys think.. Fleece topped or bottomed.. Both neither.. Other?? Yeah or Nay on the wool liners.. I'M JUST SO CONFUSED!!! I thought I could whip up so workable momma pads and have at it.. I have not always been so crunchy, so this is my 1st forey into momma pads.. I haven't even had a PP AF from ds 3 (now 14 months.. ) So I thought I would just get ready..

So oh great and wise MDC Crunchy momma's..

HELP!!!!!!!

Warm Squishy (but hopefully not in my undies..) Feelings..

Dyan

[ComaWhite]

Ive made a few of my own pads with different designs because there is no way I could afford to buy them, they are very costly!
Flannel tops are my favorites.
I have made a few terry inserts as well, they seem to work good.
Fleece bottoms are a good idea for waterproofing and also if you are making liners with no wrap around "wings" the fleece on bottom keeps them in place in your undies.
I dont know about the wool, never tried it....
Oh yeah, and dont use velcro(ouch!),use snaps or buttons.
HTH!

[xenabyte]

Some ideas and ponderings....

I think a nice layer of fleece on bottom, wingless, would be very. I have a sample from a Canadian Wahm and it has a like two flannel layers for the top and fleece for bottom. Still no AF, but I wore it for the day to test it. Soft, and didn't move about. I'm hoping absorbancy works ok, but /I/ can't test it atm.

I like the idea of wool for bottom layer. Breathable, natural fibers and a liquid resistant barrier. However I would think unless you are using a baby fine yarn and a super fine knit, it's gonna be bulky. I would think two layers of wool interlock or jersey, felted, would work much better.

How about knitting a pair of 'panties' from super soft wool like a 'mamma soaker' :LOL I'm serious here! Then lay in your 'pad' of hemp fleece, etc.?

I like flannel, but it seems to get stiff after washings. I think I''d cut up an old, super soft T-shirt for my top layers before I'd use flannel to make my own. Maybe it was just the water we used to have at the old place that made them 'stiff'. I have used fabric softener on them and they get soft again, but that kinda defeats the purpose of a really absorbant material...

I like the Mother of Eden super thin layer of fleece for top, maybe you just need a super fine baby weight fleece? The 'absorbant' layer looks like it's just a layer or two of 'microfiber' terry. Like they sell for house cleaning, kwim?

I made some breast shields/pads with two layers of flannel and a layer of super fine micro fleece (was a remnant, so no clue to brand or type, it was baby blue in color, though). I had an 'emergency' and needed something fast and didn't have any pads with me. I had my homemade breastpads in my diaper bag and used them. I put two together, flannel 'face to face' so the fleece was against me and the underwear. It actually worked wonderful, and talk about thin and comfy!! So perhaps outer layers of micro fine fleece and two layers of flannel inside for your 'soaker'. You could always stack two together, for extra protection. Really though, it worked great for a first day 'umph' flow.

I noticed the fleece used by MOE had a 'thinner' weave and appears to be able to absorb faster. I found a 'waffle' knit fleece at Hancocks Fabrics that looks like it would do the same thing, but still be 'puffy and soft' against you.

Hope that gives you some more ideas too.

I'm doing the same, trying to make some of my own. I did buy the 'Pretty Pads' pattern from Sewshoppe.com and there was even a 'gusset' style made from fleece. Who knows, might be a good thing for PP or heavy days.

[lilith79]

From what I can tell, fleece is a better bottom than a top. I bought mine, but that is how they are made. They're thin too, so don't worry about that. Mine came from sweetcheeksdiapers.com, you could look on there to get an idea maybe.

[xenabyte]

AYE, that's where I got the free sample, SweetCheeksDiapers! I remember now that you say that!

I agree also about no velcro 'down there' OUCH

[Pynki]

Thanks ladies.. I was thinking of using a fingering weight wool for the liners so they would be thinner than diaper wool liners (which I have used with CD)... Those liners are about as THICK as I would want a pad to be almost..

I think I will try some with both fleece on top and bottom. See which I like best.. We haven't had any problems with flannel getting stiff here.. Only when we line dry things.. Throw them in the drier and they stay nice and soft.. I was thinking of either over sized sew on snaps or buttons (I have a button holer on my sewing machine) for the wings..

Thanks again ladies.. Keep them coming..

Warm Squishy Feelings..

Dyan

[annethcz]

I made a bunch of pocket type pads (tweaked the pattern found at Many moons alternatives). I used microfleece for the outer, and 6 layers of flannel for the inner. I double up on the flannel for heavier flow. The microfleece seems to let the blood through without a problem. But clots (even tiny ones) will sit on top.

After DD2's birth, I got lazy, and started using just the plain 6-layer flannel rectangles without anything over them. Because of the flannel's texture, it stayed in place when I wore cotton underwear. I just put it in place, and away I went. I had no problems with that whatsoever. That was with a medium 'I can't believe that PP bleeding is lasting for 5 weeks' type of flow.