Wet spots where they shouldn’t be, no fresh change of clothes, clothes stiff from dried milk — these don’t have to be the quintessential breastfeeding experience. We’ve gone from disposable nursing pads (oh, the plastic waste!) to reusable nursing pads, and now we’ve settled on wool ones. Here are five reasons why we came to love our wool nursing pads!
1. They’re close to invisible.
Wool nursing pads are typically really thin and sit comfortably inside your bra without scrunching up or creating an unsightly silhouette. They’re discreet even under the thinnest bras and most body-fitting clothing — and that’s a win in our books.
2. They’re antibacterial and antifungal.
The beauty of wool is that they’re 100% natural and possess antibacterial and antifungal properties. Many moms find that this alleviates symptoms related to fungal infections like thrush. With all the to and fro between baby’s mouth or the pump and sensitive nipples, any antibacterial or antifungal action gives us a little more peace of mind.
3. Extraordinary temperature-regulating abilities.
Wool is seen as an essential in countries of all climates due to their temperature regulating properties. They look intimidatingly thick and we’re not quite used to the idea of wool being cooling, but they do a great job of keeping a good temperature balance, making sure you’re never too cold or too warm.
Particular to our climate, the ability to wick away moisture quickly helps the body cool down quickly (no more boob sweat, thank goodness!). Some nursing pads achieve this with an AWJ layer, but while an AWJ layer wicks sweat and milk away very quickly, it also causes a cold or chilly sensation which can be very uncomfortable for sensitive nipples. Wool wicks away moisture quickly, yet has warming qualities that facilitate thermoregulation.
4. They’re highly breathable, hypoallergenic (and won’t stick to your skin!)
Being a natural fibre, wool is much more breathable than PUL. Especially wonderful for individuals with sensitive skin that may react to chemicals on the surface of disposable nursing pads or the constant dampness of cotton/bamboo nursing pads, wool gives you all the absorbency you need to tackle letdowns without compromising on comfort or environmental impact.
5. They don’t need to constantly be washed.. and when they do, the machine will do just fine.
You really only need 2 pairs of wool nursing pads — well, just one, but an extra pair to cover the wash and dry time. Earlier in the breastfeeding journey when you may experience overproduction and unpredictable letdowns, they may need more frequent washing, but typically we’re able to use the same pads for about 1.5-2 weeks at a stretch. A good indicator that they need a wash would be when they start to feel a little crunchy from all the dried up milk in the pad. As for how to treat them into wash, refer to our comprehensive washing & care guide for wool — you’ll be running an efficient laundry routine in no time.
tl;dr: Use a wool-specific detergent, the wool cycle on your washing machine, or handwash it gently!
In our experience, wool has come out superior to all other nursing pads in terms of comfort and convenience. It’s just made the whole breastfeeding experience that much more pleasant! If you’d like to try out a pair, you can purchase them at [Link].
