Boob Pads: Disposable vs. Washable

You will leak. Two camps: washable bamboo for home, disposable Lansinoh for the world.

You will leak. How much varies person to person and it doesn’t normalize until around month 3. Again, nothing normalizes until month 3. In the meantime, you need boob pads, and there are two camps.

Washable bamboo pads are gentler on nipples (big deal in the early weeks when everything is raw) and cheaper long-term since you just toss them in the wash. The trade-off is they’re not as absorbent and you’re supposed to swap them as soon as they’re wet. I buy cheap ones in bulk on Amazon and cycle through them at home where swapping is easy.

Disposable Lansinoh pads are what I actually prefer day to day. More absorbent, more contained, less laundry. They can be irritating early on when your nipples are still getting used to being abused. Nipple cream helps if the disposables are bugging you. If the disposable pads AND the cream are bothering you, try switching your laundry detergent to a gentler baby one for the washable pads.

I keep both around. Washable at home in the early weeks. Disposable for leaving the house and for once things toughen up.

For the full boob situation (engorgement, clogged ducts, mastitis, all of it): Boob Maintenance.

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