How To: Quick and Easy Reusable Nursing Pads Tutorial

When my first baby was born in 2008, I nursed exclusively and used disposable nursing pads. I had two pairs of washable cotton nursing pads that I never actually tried because I really didnt want to the disposables are convenient! But after Isaac was born in January of this year, I decided to try the reusable kind. I was going through the disposables entirely too fast and they are really expensive when you have to buy a box every two weeks or less.

So I decided to try making my own. Of course I put it off until I had run out of disposables and needed a pair now. Nothing like waiting till the last minute, huh? Luckily I had everything I needed already:

Supply List

Flannel scraps
Fleece scraps
Sewing scissors
CD or bowl for tracing circle
Sewing machine (duh)
Birdseye Cloth Diapers (optional)
Pinking shears (optional)

Instructions

Step 1: Trace around a DVD on a piece of paper to create your pattern. Cut out the circle.

Step 2: Cut out and layer fabrics in the following order:
Fleece (bottom layer)
Flannel
Birdseye diaper
Birdseye diaper
Flannel (Top layer)

(You can also use flannel for the middle layers. Fleece isnt necessary either but it seems to be the best thing to keep you from leaking, so even if you have to cut up something like a fleece nightie your child has grown out of, its worth it.)

Step 3: Using your sewing machine, sew around the diameter of the cloth with a zigzag stitch.

Now youll have something like this:
*You can sew closer to the edge than I did*

Step 4: (Optional) Using pinking shears, cut around the edge of the stitching. You can also use regular sewing scissors.

Now itll look like this:

Make up a bunch of them and never run out of nursing pads again!

I was surprised at how comfortable and soft these are! And not so thick that they show through your bra. I wont ever go back to disposables now. And yes, they do work for nighttime, too! You can always add extra layers if you want extra thick overnight pads, though. Theyre totally customizable. 🙂

These make great baby shower gifts!

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