What are good pads to buy?

[FEOT]

So im trying to get my hospital bag all ready to go...i still have 7 weeks to go or so but technically my little guy can come anytime after 37 weeks so that's less than 5 weeks. I know the hospital will provide you with stuff like this while im there but im going to need my own. What will be a good kind to buy? I havent been a pad user, i have always used tampons, so i was pretty lost at the store today. I know that Always are pretty good, so ive heard. What have you ladies used? Any suggestions? Also did you guys buy like granny panties to use, i was planning on buying some so i wont care if they get stained or not, they will end up going in the trash after anyways.

[betty12]

im glad you posted this cuz i was talking to my husband about how i need to by "super pads" lol for after i have my baby i only  have about 3wks to go and need to know which kind to get how big ect...so thanks for the post.


oh and i actully did by granny panties or just regular panties a size bigger than i normally use for the pads..but ive also heard that while you were at the hospital they give you like disposable underwear but it would be a good idea to buy some granny panties or regular underwear a size bigger or so for the pad.

[nutz19]

hey im due in 3 weeks too. I too am usually a tampon user so i found it hard to decide. i got always night time ones coz they have the wings and are absorbant. All my mummy friends said they were the ones to use. If you live in england they dont give you underwear, i'm taking old ones so that it doesn't matter if they do get wrecked. Hey any excuse to go underwear shopping. hehe. Good luck guys.

[iwannabemommy]

I've seen a lot of people on different sites say always overnights were good.. A few more people said Kotex and Stayfree maternity pads. I have not a clue really. lol. I've been using always with the wings.. But that's for AF. I usually wear tampons but the past two AF's made me realize hey dumb dumb take that tampon out! LOL so I did and my cramps weren't as bad. Thankfully lol..


So I guess, just always overnights mainly popped up when I searched around. Hope it helps a little. :)

[amy0013]

I definitely suggest something absorbant (like overnights) and with wings.  You might also want to buy some granny panties that you don't care if they get ruined.  I used the disposable underwear at the hospital and their pads...I probably won't do that again.  No wings and basically no elastic on the underwear so it was sorta messy!  (Sorry TMI!)  I just remember being embarassed b/c they had to change my bed sheets a few times because I bled through.  :(  Sorry, not meaning to scare you or anything...I wasn't bleeding profusely...it was just the poor quality pad and underwear combo!  :)

[louieforlaughs]

hey,
this is very interesting ! i am a stayfree prima kinda gal myself. the stores here dont usually carry them as widely as always and kotex. but i really like them. they're thin and super absorbent. they also have wings which i love. i tried night pads for awhile and i only found them to be longer in shape and not necessarily more absorbent. but it was helpful if you're lying down a lot.  i didn't know they had a maternity pad. i will totally keep an eye out for those and pick some up for my hospital stay.
thanks for the advice amy, i will certainly bring my own pads. i had surgery once and i thought i was done my period. and i didn't want to wear their contraption for the just in case. so i didn't have any protection and i made a mess too. i was shocked cause i thought i was done. but there i was all drugged up and barely walking and saying i'd clean it all up and i was embarassed it was horrible.  so i will certainly not use their disposable ones.
i usually wear cotton undies in the first place and i think they are great for pads. hope everyone finds some nice cotton undies they like. : )
good luck everyone finding a combination you like.  

[CYW]

you know the hospital gives you some but after 12 hours i could not stand it anymore.. i always buy the always thin pads and would put 2 overnights in my undies...however i seen they have some red ones now and they are even longer!!! but soooo much comfier(sp?) than those freggin thick stuff...and so easier on the stitches.. at least i found!

[CYW]

oh i always used the green and orange(night times) during my period i never could wear tampons i got insane pain from them...but anyways the red ones are longer.. and i needed 2 night times because of how much you bleed..esp when you sleep...at least for the first few days

[BTS1022]

Even though I don't use the pads for incontinance....but I love Poise. They are made for urine incontinance and so forth, but they are super thin, super sturdy and super absorbant. They work wonders. And they hardly ever move after you stick them to your undies. I even use them at night for my AF and they are WAY better than kotex or the other named brand pads. Although they are a bit more pricey, you get what you pay for!

[kelliestarr]

Good question.

Always overnights with wings. And bring a lot at least 28 or so maybe more.

I was really surprised at how much I was bleeding after the deliverly I honestly though nothing would be good enough to protect my underwears from the blood. But the hospital might give you some pads??? Well they gave me some.

[Riot_Queen]

I bought granny panties that were a size too big because of you're gunna want something that is very very loose because they're gunna be making an incision down there to make room for the baby and you're gunna be stitched up and in pain.

Also, I would suggest Maxi Over Night Pads *Super Absorbancy.*

I totally forgot about getting pads, so I guess I'll have to get over there sometime this week to get some, lol.

But the over night pads are twice as long as regular size, and so they're more protective against leaking or back/front spillage.

Hope this helps. =]

[BTS1022]

They don't always have to cut you to make room for baby. I had a size to big of panties with my last baby, and beings they were a size to big, it got super messy. I like getting a size a bit more snug, that way the pad doesn't move, shift or crinkle and you bleed through your clothes.

And believe it or not, the one thing that is WAY BETTER than pads after delivery...is depends underware. You never have to worry about bleeding through, they are pretty comfy, and you don't have to feel like your sitting on a saddle because of those huge bulky pads.

Im taking my poise pads, because I don't bleed very heavily, but incase I do bleed heavy this time Im also bringing my depends lol.

[msgorgeous]

DO they really have to cut you down there to make room for the baby??

[msgorgeous]

haha BTS you answered my question before i asked thank you

[BTS1022]

lol, no they don't always have to cut you to make room for baby. Heck my step sister had her baby in june, he was 10 pounds 1.2 ounces, and they didnt cut her, and she didnt tear either.

You can ask your doc not to cut you unless you are going to tear. Thats what I have set up with my doc. I got cut with my 1st baby 6 years ago, and that area has never been the same. SO with my 2 boys I made it very clear that I didn't want to be cut unless they were 100% sure I was going to tear....and I didn't get cut or torn and both boys were over 9 pounds. My first baby 6 years ago was only 7 pounds...so I doubt I needed it which makes me mad.

Im doing the same with this baby. I do not want to be cut unless my doc is 100% certain im going to tear. A lot of procedures that hospitals do are unnecissary(sp), like episiotomies(sp), and sometimes even c-sections are done for no real reason. They do that stuff to keep them from getting a malpractice law suit. My doc told me that himself.

The only way I will end up with a c-section is if A) baby is breech or B) the heart rate falls and does not recover.

[KStarr07]

Just posting my personal experience. The post-partum bleeding is so heavy, that the hospital pads were the best thing. Especially since I got an episiotomy they had the kind that got real cold. :) Those were awesome.
But anyway, the ones they give you, I would def. use all them up. See if you can't get another pack before you leave the hospital. They are huge and not the most comfortable, but the first few days are the worst for the bleeding. I also used those weird sheer undies they give you, so I didn't stain mine up. :)


I didn't want to be cut at ALL! My healing time would have been cut in half probably, had it not happened, and now I fear that I may not be able to give birth naturally without another episiotomy, due to the scar tissue and all. :( I totally forgot to bring it up at my visit, i was going to, but went into labor too soon! So DEFINITELY tell them what BTS said.

[durhamjk1]

My sister and sister in law highly recommended using depends (you know adult diapers).  They both said that they tried the pads and then had to use the depends.  They felt like the pad was always shifting.  They felt much "cleaner" with the depends.  It is just an idea.  They both swear by them though and b/w them both they have had 3 kids.  

[BTS1022]

You don't always need another Epesiotomy(sp). It's not like with c-sections, where if you have 1 you have to keep having it done with every pregnancy. I also agree with durhamjk1 Depends adult diapers were life savers for me. I did bleed heavily with my first child, but my 2nd and 3rd children I only bled for 4 days, then on the 7th day I started my normal AF.

Those hospital pads are wonderful, the ones that get cold, but they don't absorb very well, have to be changed often and they are HUGE!

[mj_mommy_manda]

I was actually thinking as I was reading this "cant you just use depends?" I will probably do that.. Probably get made fun of my Travis but whatever lol.. So is it like impossible to bleed through the depends?? How long do you usually bleed for? ugh.. now that I read all this Im not really looking forward to it lol.

[BTS1022]

I never bled through the depends, but I always changed them when baby woke me up to eat, so every 2 or 3 hours. I bled for a week with my first baby and my second baby. My third baby was a breeze, I bled for 4 days and then had my period. I swear natural birth is a lot easier to heal from then having drugs. I had the epidural, but I had it taken out when I got fully dilated and ready to push, that way I could get up walk, and shower after I had the baby.

[JoyRenee]

Kotex Ultra-Thin With Wings (extra long/night time wear).

I absolutely hate tampons! I like Kotex the best. I do not like StayFree at all!

[mj_mommy_manda]

yeah.. I want to go natural.. I have also had 3 miscarriages.. The first was the worst.. I bled for like a month straight and cramped for a week straight and they were so bad I could barely move.. the second one I bled for like 3 weeks and it was a little easier (had D&Cs with both.) I could at least work during my second miscarriage.. and then the 3rd one I let my body do naturally and I think I bled for like 5 days.. and I barely cramped at all.. and then I got checked out by my doctor and everything looked good.. I think thats one of the reasons I want my labor to be natural cuz it seemed like with my D&Cs there was so much more recovery time as opposed to my natural miscarriage.  
Hopefully I dont bleed and cramp too long.. I really want to be able to enjoy Jadyn when he is born and not be in a lot of pain.

[BTS1022]

I wasn't in a lor of pain with any of my kids. I never cramped passed 48 hours, and never bled to bad. I didn't swell *down there* to bad except with my first birth.

I have lost 1 preemie, and had 1 miscarriage. I was about 3 weeks if that when I lost the pregnancy. I bled for a few days and had slight cramping, but that was it.

[mj_mommy_manda]

ugh, your body must just bounce back fast.. My first miscarriage was SO bad.. I actually think something happened during the D&C because #1 I took longer than they thought I would to come out of my anesthesia and #2 I had to have morphine through an IV after it for like ever.. they told me I would be out of the hospital by noon and I didnt leave till like 5 at night.. I went in at 7 in the morning.. and my surgery was like 45 minutes. if that.. and then when they sent me home I could barely even walk without feeling like I was going to pass out.. on the last day of the heavy bleeding I got up in the morning to go to the bathroom and blood pretty much just FELL out.. there was SO much of it I thought i was going to die!! It was sooo bad.. I dont know wtf happened but after that I was really scared to have another D&C. and with my 2nd one I barely bled.. after the surgery I had tylenol 3 in the hospital and no IV and I think I was sent home around 1 and I went in at 8.. so idk wtf went wrong the first time..

[BTS1022]

Hmm you could have had a slight hemmorage(sp). I heard a lot of women had issues after D&C's. They tried to talk me into a D&C with this pregnancy because the ultrasound couldnt see a fetus at 4 weeks....which is normal. BUT that was the army doctors. Thankfully I didnt listen to them, because I would have terminated a healthy pregnancy, something that I would have never been able to live with.

My sister had a D&C done to terminate her rape pregnancy, and she didn't get anastesia(sp). They gave her 2 Valume's and the gas mask, so she pretty much felt all of it. It was really hard to watch, they even showed the left overs to her....like she was some sort of devil. I don't condone terminations, but in her case she had no choice. If she didnt terminate the court system was going to allow the rapist ( babys dad ) parental rights and visitation, something she couldnt live with.

[mj_mommy_manda]

Yeah.. I don't blame your sister either.. I got D&Cs because my body wouldn't miscarry everything.. Then finally with my 3rd it did.  But yeah they put me under.. I probably did have a hemmorage but it was sooo terrible.. I hope nothing like that ever happens to me again, that was probably the worst I have ever felt.. Plus add in the emotions of losing a baby on top of it.. Not fun.

[FEOT]

Thanks ladies for all the responses...I will try the Always overnight and well if it doesnt work out ill just have to send hubby to get me something different :)
I am going to buy just regular underwear, so if they get all nasty right in the garbage they go.
What else do you ladies have or are planning to take for yourself to the hospital?

[BTS1022]

Here are some things I have in my bag, maybe my list can help out a bit.

2 pairs underware
2 going home outfits, incase one gets dirty or i bleed through it
1 sweater since in Oct its cold here
2 bras
2 pairs of socks
1 bath towel, thier towels are to thin and small for me
slippers
robe

Hygeine Bag

Shampoo
Conditioner
toothbrush
toothpaste
floss
deoderant
body wash
spare loofa or poof
mouth wash
face wash
Pads/depends

Other

Hard candy
camera
make up ( to feel refreshed )
20 dollars ( for hubby's meals )
calling card
spare change ( vending machines )


Hubby's Bag

2 sets of clothes
bath towel
snacks
drinks
pillow
blanket
his hyegiene bag

My DH plans on spending however long he has to in the hospital until me and baby can come home. My mom will have my children while we are there. I am also planning in case I need a c-section which requires you to be in the hospital a bit longer.

so thats my list, maybe it can help!

[onlyme27]

I highly recomend the Always with wings.  I got the ones that are long and made for heavy flow.  I am not a pad user but these were the best ones I have ever tried.  The ones from the hospital are bulky.  These are thin and keep you feeling dry.

[FEOT]

BTS-Thank you! This helps a lot.

[AnitaRFrith]

STAYFREE OVER NIGHTS- with the 4 wall protection.  Here are some good kinds.  

go to this link.  Stayfree dose not leak.  I ALWAYS wore tampons an then I had a mc.. I couldn't wear them any more after that.  Hope this helps  

http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&rlz=1T4SNYI_en___US214&q=stayfree+over+night+pads+4+wall

[AnitaRFrith]

I hate hospital pads.  They are very bulky... i didn't like them at all

[justice6920]

I agree with the ladies...... i used Always Overnights with wings and I made sure they were LONG! The overnights were great