Stephanie became interested in making cloth diapers recently. They turn out very nice and since more and more new mothers are using the cloth diapers it seems to be a good venture to begin. I tried making diapers and diaper covers when my first grandchild was born. I did not find them easy to make, but perhaps I didn’t have a good pattern? I thought…how hard can it be? I used to make my own diapers, but they were just simple shaped diapers and then I used Gerber plastic pants over them. The diapers these days include a layer of waterproof fabric and make them much easier I think. Before I made my diapers I used the kind of diaper that I had to fold or rather figure out how to fold! I am not sure they make those kind of diapers anymore. So, all this has me thinking of other things new mothers need after childbirth. I know that nursing brings with it leaking, so I decided to try may hand at making nursing pads. When I was nursing I took men’s cotton handkerchiefs, cut them in half or quarters and stuffed them in my bra! Now they have all kinds of wonderful things they didn’t seem to have in 1980! So I have made a few pair of nursing pads. One pair I have given to Stephanie’s sister-in-law to try out. They have a layer of PUL which is leak proof and 2 layers of cotton flannel and on the outside of all these layers is Organic Bamboo Fleece. I want her to try these and “critique” them for me to see how they absorb and feel. There are concerns with waterproof pads not allowing enough air through and possible infection. However, I have found many sites that use the PUL in pads. The main thing I think with those kind pads it is important to change them often I suppose. So, today I made 3 pair of pads but I left out the PUL. These nursing pads have darts in them to give contour and a better fit inside the bra. The ones I made today are made with 4 layers of Cotton Bamboo Fleece. This fabric is 4 times more absorbent than other cottons. The feel leads me to believe that these would be good for heavy leakage as they are quite thick. I may try some that are 3 layers thick and see how they feel. This picture doesn’t do the pad justice as the contour distorts it in the 2 dimension of the picture. 
July 13, 2011 at 1:16 am |
The color looks darker than it is. It is a natural color fabric, but the picture without the flash came out dark.