Washable Nursing Pads

You all know these stories: 1- it is 11:30pm, you just get done with a night feeding, you reach over for the Lansinoh breast pads and BaM!---> they're GONE! or 2- you are at your sister in laws, everyone starts looking at your shirt... (Damn i know my breasts are HUGE, but don't be rude). OH, yeah guys...sorry, that's just breast milk...my pads are leaking, don't mind me.

~maybe you don't know this story... but i had my girls 15 1/2 months apart and i feel like this

happened every 3rd night.

Any how... my solution to running out of expensive(not always soo absorbent) nursing pad, is simple: MAKE YOUR OWN! You can use old receiving blankets,

t-shirts and towels! I can't believe i didn't think of this sooner... it would have saved me a ton of $$$ and spared me the wet t-shirts(odd looks from strangers)!

HERES WHAT YOU DO:

~CUT circles out of your fabric...You will use between 2 and 6 layers, depending on how much leakage you have and you will want to cut circles bigger or smaller according to boob size. Also if your boobs are larger, you might want to make them contoured. I have medium boobs... so i chose to cut circles with a 4 1/2 inch diameter. You can use a cup or bowl as a template.

~I used flannel and an old towel for my first set of washable nursing pads. I placed 1 layer of flannel on the bottom, a piece of towel and then 2 more pieces of flannel. PIN THE PIECES TOGETHER.

~Decide if you want a flat pad(works well w/sports bras) or a contoured pad that wont bunch in a pretty bra(lol...i don't know what one of those look like). If you choose to go with flat, then you are ready to sew... if you want to make a contoured pad, you have one more step: CUT A 30 DEGREE ANGLE OUT(piece of pizza). If you aren't

good with angles, then cut one straight line to the center

and experiment with over lapping them to see what contour will suit you best.

~Now you will serge or ZIG ZAG around the outter edge of your circle... if you have chosen to make a contoured pad... then pinch the edges of missing pizza together, and serge away!

~YOU ARE DONE: Congratulations! You have just made your first washable nursing pad!!! Woo Hoo!

Contoured:

Flat:

All though adding more laundry to the day, sounds horrid; The next time around i will have ton of these on hand! I plan on cutting up all the old(way too small) receiving blankets this week... making thick pads and putting them away for baby #3(not trying, but not not trying). Of course you can always buy new materials from your local craft store, but i say "why not use stuff around the house that is collecting dust?!?! ... i know i'm not the only one that has clothes from high school in the attic!". PLUS... that is an extra $7.99(20 bucks a week if you are like me) that you can be saving. And if you are going the green route,then you are putting a lot less into land fills. See, every one will benefit :)

----->Did i mention?!?!?!---> really great friends appreciate home made gifts and functional is the way to go in my book! Extra boob pads could be the difference between a great or disastrous day.

I hope this post is helpful to some one. I know i am beyond excited about this idea... and glad that i am able to be a little more frugal. Happy crafting everyone!