Washable Nursing Cotton Pads - 6 Pack

These are stiff and not very soft. They curl up in the wash easily and are even more uncomfortable because of this. They show in your clothes and aren't as good as other brands when it comes to leakage.

Spend the extra money for Baby Kicks or FuzziBunz.... they are more comfortable, absorbent, and don't show through clothes as badly. Of them all, Baby Kicks is the only one that has not leaked during the night.

...so many choices! As a nursing mom, I would prefer to use washable nursing pads to save money and decrease waste. But what options do we moms have? After studying amazon.com, I saw 12 different companies under "washable nursing pads" at the start of this project. Each one offered slightly different products. I'm working to test each product I can get a sample of. I believe most products fit one or more specific needs. I hope my research helps you make the best choice for your needs.

So far, each brand's strengths were as follows:
>Kushies absorbed moisture immediately so they were the best inner doublers,
>La Leche League appearance was best for use in B/C nursing bras,
>Medela was easy to find in stores and absorption improved with time,
>NuAngel was very affordable. "White/patterns" absorb a bit faster than "natural" so I like to put "natural" as an outer doubler and "white/patterns" as inner doubler during heavy let-downs.
If you only drip a few drops during let-down any one of these brands would be fine. Read further if moderate to heavy let-downs are common.

All products were machine washable, free samples, and pre-washed in hot or warm water and cold rinse at least once before use unless otherwise noted. No fabric softeners were applied as they can cause repelling. All samples were used at least a month before final opinions were noted.

Categories: dry shirt test, rate of absoption, appearance, leakage, light use, heavy night use, doubler. Organic?, Made in USA/Canada?, Fair Trade?, Construction Material? Seam/Dart? Cotton/ Bamboo...?

KUSHIES:
Single layer/light use 4 star
Inner doubler 5 star
Outer doubler 1 star
heavy night solo 1 star
Rate of absorption 5 star (immediately absorbs 3ml during 2 secs dispersed).
Shirt test - back of pad damp in 10 minutes (3ml), shirt not visibly damp, but slightly damp to touch
Appearance 2.5 star (deep dart gives nipple effect on C cup(2), becomes less visible with time(3))

Best speed of absorption and inner doubler. 2-second squirt of 3ml absorbed in same 2 seconds. Still fresh white color after 2 months use. 100% cotton, 4 layers, med contour and dart/seam, 6 pads/pk, ~5" diameter, Made in Canada.

LA LECHE LEAGUE:
Single layer/light 4 star
Inner doubler 1 star
Outer doubler 4 star
heavy night solo 2 star
Rate of absorption 2 star: (3ml in 13-40 sec, variable)3ml within ~5 seconds after couple months of use
Shirt test - shirt visibly wet in 5 minutes (3ml)
Appearance 5 star (Especially good for C/+ size in my experience)

Best appearance for 36C wearing tank top/tight clothes. Variable speed of absorption. 13-40 seconds to absorb 3ml--improved after 2 months use. Excellent outer doubler. 95% Cotton/5% Polyester, outer shell 100% cotton, seamless deep contour, 4 pads/pk.

MEDELA:
Single layer/light 3 star
Inner doubler 3 star
Outer doubler 2 star
heavy night solo 1 star
Rate of absorption 2 star: (3ml in 23 sec), 3ml within 5-10 seconds after couple months of use
Shirt test - back of pad damp in 20 minutes, not visible on shirt (3ml)
Appearance 3 star

Absorbed 3ml in 23sec, absorption improved thereafter following additional months of use. 100% cotton, min contour and dart/seam, 4 pads/pk w/ mini laundry bag

NUANGEL INC:
White/White Lace/Patterns
Single layer/light 5 star
Inner doubler 3 star
Outer doubler 3 star
heavy night solo 2 star
Rate of absorption - 3ml within 3 seconds after couple months of use
Shirt test - White/Patterns: back barely damp in 30 min / White Lace back not discernibly damp @ 30 min... in both cases shirt barely felt damp but not visibly damp
Appearance 4 star (flat. smaller you are, better it probably looks)

Natural/Natural Lace
Single layer/light 5 star
Inner doubler 2 star
Outer doubler 4 star
heavy night solo 2 star
Rate of absorption - star: 3ml within 5 seconds after couple months of use
Shirt test - Natural: back damp in 30 min / Natural Lace back not discernibly damp @ 30 min... in both cases shirt barely felt damp but not visibly
Appearance 4 star (flat. smaller you are, better it probably looks)

NuAngel had the best price per unit. White & patterns absorb more quickly than natural tone (3ml in 24sec), absorption improved thereafter following additional month of use. Probably best to use white alone or as inner doubler depending on anticipated flow, and natural tone as outer or alone if only slowly dripping. May work especially well for smaller sizes like A or B. 100% cotton flannel, 4 layers (+ optional lace), 8 pads/pk (4 pair), no dart/seam, 4.5" shrinks to ~4" diameter, Made in USA.

Definitions:
Fully absorbed. liquid no longer beads/flows on surface when tilted

Heavy let-down. Can soak a Lansinoh disposable (most absorptive disposable I'd encoutered) in a single feeding and leak. Equivalent to about two & a half washable pads stacked to catch the flow. Heavy flow requires very absorptive inner doublers and low(er) absorption outer doublers so they have time to soak it all up without affecting your shirt. Hopefully a washable pad out there can improve on these statistics. I just haven't met it yet. I'm still hopeful that the other 2/3 of these brands can provide a more efficient answer. I will gladly try any brand and report on my findings.

Rate of absorption. 3ml water dispersed in 2 seconds. Dispersed/absorbed time: 2/2 = absorbed immediately. 2/20= 18 seconds after water dispersed until fully absorbed

Shirt test: After 1+ month of use, lay pad on favorite tank top, apply 3ml water, time how long until back of pad is damp to touch or shirt is visibly dampened. Check at 5, 10, 20, 30 minutes.

If you would like another product reviewed, please let me know. This review goes into more detail at "ecofriendlyreviews.blogspot.com"

Although these are soft and relatively absorbent, the bunch up in the wash, take a long time to dry, and don't flatten out well, so the look lumpy under your clothes. BabyKicks are more absorbent and stay smooth.