Depends vs pads for after birth?

[JennaW]

I have seen it mentioned a few times on here that women like to use Depends for the first 24-48 hours after birth instead of pads.

Any thoughts on this?

I know some women also like cloth pads but I am just not a pad person and the likelihood of them getting used for normal periods is pretty darn unlikely, so I don't think it would be worth the financial commitment for me (i.e. buying them to only use postpartum).

[MamasBoys]

I used Depends with my third birth and wooooooo they are way better and more convenient than pads! They are also great to have on hand if your water breaks, because every contraction afterwards, you will gush fluid and it is ANNOYING! lol

[JennaW]

Do they hold pretty well? I know when I have my period (heavy bleeder) if I am using a pad I always have leaking issues. I don't want to deal with having to change my sheets that often!

If you go with Depends how many should you buy?

[mamameg]

I used depends while I was laboring at home and they were great. Without them, I would have been gushing fluid (with lots of meconium) all over the place. I ended up with two c/sections, so I didn't need them after the birth, but I imagine they would be way better than pads.

[mamameg]

Oh, and they are very absorbent. They hold A LOT. Way more than a pad would.

[the_lissa]

I never used Depends. After my water broke, I gushed. It didn't bother me.

After the birth, I did not bleed enough to warrant using Depends.

[Leiahs]

I just used Depends after the birth of my 3rd baby. Previous two births, I used the typical hospital mesh panties with humongous hospital pads.

The Depends are sooooooooooooo much better. They were much more comfortable, and I never once leaked when I was wearing them. In fact, I enjoyed them so much I used them until the package was gone before switching to normal thin pads on my regular underwear.

I'm with you, I'm not a pad person. I also considered cloth pads for PP bleeding this time around, but decided the expense wouldn't be worth it since as soon as I can, I'll switch back to my Diva cup, and the pads wouldn't get any more use. So yeah, give the Depends a try, I think you'll like it.

[happyme226]

I used Depends for the first night and then Long Ultra - Thin Pads.

The Depends just made me feel safer, less likely to leak.

[BlessedOne]

Yeah I had never thought about using depends instead of pads until a couple of days ago I was walking by the depends and it struck me....why not?

I hate having to change pads all the time.....I do use pads (for my normal period) and already have a lot of them on hand....but for the first few days after birth I am not sure that a pad would be the best and like I said....I hate having to change them a lot.

With my last delivery, I had some left over hospital pads and mesh undies (I like mesh undies...lol) from the hospital and birthing center that my two prior were born at, so I finished those off but now I do not have anymore and had been wondering what to do.

A part of me does not want to deal with buying depends since I have a ton of pads (my mom buys in bulk and bought them for herself but them she went into menopause so she gave them to me. I honestly have several packs of them!) But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of depends (although I do not want to look like I am wearing a diaper). I would probably just wear them for a day or so. It would be great if you could just buy a pack of two or three. About how many comes in the smallest pack? I do not want a lot left over..

Although now that I think about it, why not just buy the depends and hold the pads aside for my normal periods on down the road. It is not like pads go bad or anything! I still have many many years of periods (providing I stop having kids!!!....I have almost forgotten what it is like to have normal periods....I have not had but maybe 5 or so normal periods in the past 4 and half years!...because of pregnancy and nursing)
And with that being said, I probably would not be going back to my normal period (providing my hubby lets me nurse this time) for almost a year. Those pads have been setting in there for about 2 years or so....so I guess they can sit for another year!

So how do depends work....are they basically a diaper type thing or are they like a big pad that goes on the undies?
I did not look at them closely the other day I just saw them from down the isle.

[Changed]

But can you use the ice pad thingys with depends? Cause I totally love those.

[OrchideZ]

After having to caretake for a paralysed person about 5 years ago and having to change their adult diapers, not sure if I could bring myself to buy Depends for myself.

[coyotemist]

After delivery I always bleed way more than a regular period. I use cloth pads during regular periods, but trying to contain my post-partum flow in a cloth pad...not happenin'.

With both previous deliveries I used the depends "guards" or something. They are wide with sticky that goes into your regular underwear. I found a similar picture

http://www.hdis.com/itemdetail.asp?id=115
http://www.hdis.com/itemdetail.asp?id=739

Mostly, I needed these just for the first 3 days or so, then I was able to switch over to my normal pads. I hate those thick things the hospitals give you, although the mesh undies are nice!

[huskermommy]

I'm curious about this too. I'm in the lunapads co-op and cant decide if i want the pp pads or to just skip those and get depends and use the lunapads for regular periods.

[veggijessie]

Originally Posted by Jörð

But can you use the ice pad thingys with depends? Cause I totally love those.

YES!!!

I love putting a ice pad inside a depends, because then you can move around and the depends catches the melting of the pad.

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by BlessedOne

So how do depends work....are they basically a diaper type thing or are they like a big pad that goes on the undies?
I did not look at them closely the other day I just saw them from down the isle.

there are different kinds,the ones that go in your underwear, diapers and adult pull up type things.

[MamaJ2005]

I'm loving the depends! I'd rather not try to stuff huge pads into my regular underwear. The first few days, I used pads in the depends. They were much more comfortable than the alternative.

[Sativarain1]

ewwww ya'll want to wear adult diapers... I always just wore extra heavy pads and they worked just fine for bleeding after birth.

[pantufla]

I used the adult diaper pull-on type. They are great, IMO. I am a serious bleeder -- like, for the first 6-12 hours I end up needing to change the Depend every hour or two. I used about half a package after my second baby, I used a full package after my first.

[mamameg]

Originally Posted by huskermommy

I'm curious about this too. I'm in the lunapads co-op and cant decide if i want the pp pads or to just skip those and get depends and use the lunapads for regular periods.

I try to use as much reusable stuff as possible and avoid disposable, but I strongly believe in making everything as easy peasy as possible during labor and for those first days postpartum. If that means I use a few disposable items, so be it. Sure beats having yet another load of laundry that needs to be done while I am busy falling in love with my baby.

[Barcino]

So which kind of the depends are the way to go? I was thinking about getting some. I got one pack of overnight pads but I am all for being comfortable and I think the depends sound more convenient and comfy than the pads.