One thing I wasn’t ready for as a new mom is breastfeeding. I didn’t want to put pressure on myself and being the milking cow wasn’t very attractive to me. The only preparation I made regarding breastfeeding was to get those store gifts for new moms which included a few disposable breast pads. After a few weeks, it really hit! Breast pads were needed!

I got a big box of disposables and an Amazon pack of reusable ones. Then, Lil Helper started offering multipacks with the overnight breast pads! I had to grab more pads so I grabbed one.

Here is what I found about breast pads and how they compare to each other. (Please note, this is my personal experience with breast pads, it is my opinion)

The 3 Breastpads I tested:

Disposable breast pads: Lansinoh breast pads. I got a huge pack of like 100 pads so 50 pairs

Amazon breast pads: organic bamboo 10 pads, about 12 cm of diameter, 3 layers: waterproof white layer, absorbant inner layer and bamboo layer. They are rated 4.5 star with more than 3000 reviews.

Lil Helper overnight breast pads: made from PUL with same cute prints, 2 bamboo inner layers and bamboo stay dry layer.

To stick or not to stick:

One might think that disposable ones are better as they are stickers you put in your bra. However you are wrong! The sticker isn’t okay for all fabrics. Plus, they will move because of the weight when full (or just because at night you can finally spread as you like) and when they do, you get that sticker on your already sensitive skin!!! Ouch!

I have to mention that they move less than the Amazon reusable pads, but still that sticker is still super sticky!

The ones that hold up the best were the Lil Helper ones. They move a bit but since they are larger and don’t have a sticker, you still have coverage and no pain. Plus, the stay-dry bamboo fabric is designed not to stick to your skin, which is important if you have any nipple damage.

When it comes to breastpads: Softness is important!

New in that world of breast pads, I just got the cheapest I could find (Amazon/disposable) and the ones from my favorite cloth diaper brand! I didn’t notice the material and couldn’t care less 😅 don’t be like me! Bamboo is good but if it’s not stay dry material you’ll have a wet sensation ALL THE TIME!

Soft stay dry material is essential, even disposable pads weren’t soft enough once soaked. And the disposable one felt heavier than the reusable ones. The lighter feeling would be the Amazon ones but the straight round shape made them hard to position in the bra so I would always feel them. The disposable ones and the Lil Helper ones have a conical shape which marries the curves of the body way better.

Size matters!

Remember the milking cow feeling I didn’t want? Well my body stated otherwise! I had to get a very hungry baby at steady times otherwise, there was a river on my upper body. So I needed something that holds up quite an large amount of liquid.

Disposable pads can hold way more than the Amazon ones but they feel heavy when full. The Lil Helper ones could hold about the same amount and still stay dry against the skin. I know some breast pads are smaller than the ones I tried and I wouldn’t use them as the Amazon ones would fill up too quickly.

Make sure you get a size that fits your needs otherwise you won’t have a nice experience! It’s enough to wake up every 3-4 hours for someone’s needs, you really don’t need to wake up in between because your body decided to make extra food for that little someone!

Colours! More colours!

As you can see from the pictures, lil helper overnight breast pads are very colourful. Personally, I love it because I’m all about colours!! Colours are fun and vibrant! They bring joy just like Uncle Mo and his team intended it! Colours and prints are good for keeping a happy mood or bringing a smile on a tired face.

However, when I wear white or light colors, I don’t like my undergarments to show. The disposable and the Amazon ones are light and neutral colours so for sure, you’ll never have a problem related to colours popping through.

The regular breast pads from Lil Helper are white so it’s only a concern with the overnight ones. However, if you wear non transparent bras, you shouldn’t have a problem with the colours of the pads. Well, I’m more worried about showing the colour of my bras than the breast pad underneath it! On my side, I would say that the Lil Helper ones and the disposable ones are the more discrete ones. The amazon ones have a straight circle shape making it hard to place them correctly. This would allow them to make public apparitions whenever they feel like it 😅

Easy care no matter what

The main question I ask myself when choosing a product reusable or disposable is how much more work will it create for me? Of course, the disposable breast pads don’t need washing. However, don’t think it’s care free as your garbage is going to fill up! We also made the mistake of throwing them away in a more secluded garbage bin meaning it wasn’t emptied every 2 days. After (what I think was) a very short while, the content of the garbage started to turn green and smelly….

This turned me off from using the disposable breast pads. Over to the reusable options, it is easy care for both brands I used, I simply throw them in a mesh bag (included with the Amazon ones as part of the package/gifted with that Lil Helper order, thank you!) and add them to any of my laundry load! Simple and easy!

Breastfeeding is an adventure and everything around it (including breast pads) are as well! Hopefully my personal experience will help you get a few things into perspective before buying some! Please don’t get the first one you see like I did! Otherwise, your sleep deprived self will regret it!