The Big Leak

I had a big leak today while teaching. I had to run to the classroom next door and borrow the teaching assistant's scarf to cover up the to huge wet spots on my bosom. My nipples were busting through my bra, t-shirt and thin sweater I was wearing. It got pretty uncomfortable for me. My boobs haven't been this rock hard in a long time. I don't think any of the students noticed or if they would even recognize it for what it was if they saw it. I don't even wear nursing pads that often anymore. Goes to show... you never can tell. Worst thing is that I had to hang around after work for an extra hour because of a staff meeting. BOY, was I glad to see DD when I got home. She was sleeping but she managed to make me feel a lot more comfortable even in her dream state.

Nursing Pads

I bought a package with three sets of reusable, washable, non-disposable nursing pads. I use them, throw them in the wash, and supplement with disposable breast pads if I need to. For the most part they're okay and they do they However, I think that if I had to buy some more, I'd go for a higher quality set because these ones are a little harsh against my skin. I'd like a softer, gentler fabric. Oh, and since I'm padding my bra anyway, I'd like one with a rounder cup. The edges of these, like the edges of the disposable pads, stick out and make a funny shape under my shirt, depending on which shirt/bra combination I'm wearing.

Nursing Bras

When I was nursing (and I plan on doing it again soon) bras were imperative for keeping the nursing pads in. Otherwise I would have huge wet marks across the fronts of my shirts. http://breastfeedingchronicles.blogspot.com . The problem was that I couldn't actually find a nursing bra that was small enough for me. They don't make them for virtually flat-chested women. Fortunately, the nursing pad helped fill it up.

I bring this up because I just read an articles about going bra-free: http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-I-Go-Bra-Free . The truth is, it took me until age 15 to start wearing bras at all and then it was only because my nipples were poking through my shirts. Some people don't mind that, but it didn't go over well at a religious school-- and anyway I don't like it.

Nursing Pads

I just saw an article that recommends getting the cotton nursing/bra pads instead of the disposable kind because they're softer. Well, I have better reasons than that. A couple of times, after a particularly leaky or sweaty night, DS looked up from my breast into my tired face and breathed out a mouthful of cotton. Those things disintegrate! Especially the cheap ones. Not only that, but the reusable ones are, of course, more environmentally friendly than their disposable counterparts.

I also recommend bringing the nursing/bra pads to the hospital with you. You never know how long you're going to be there and your milk might come in, as mine did, with a vengance. I only had a couple of shirts with me (I snubbed hospital gowns after wearing them for the first couple of days) and they both got real stinky real fast. I had a lot of leakage when I was nursing. He'd be eating from one and the second one would leak like a dyke with a hole in it. Or I'd be just one minute too late getting my nursing bra loose and I'd have two geysers sprouting from my chest. Nursing pads were my saving grace in those first few months. I was never without them.