Pads of up north!

     In the spirit of all things cloth and reusable, I thought I'd share my experience with cloth nursing pads!  With Ben, I always used disposable nursing pads (Gerber, Medela, etc).  They were always scratchy, too moist, unnatural looking under clothing and make a weird crinkley noise when I'd have the baby brush up against my chest in public.  The nature of the disposable pad also makes them keep moisture around the breast and nipple, creating a breeding ground for yeast (probably why I kept dealing with thrush with Ben but never with Eli).  Lastly, to keep the moisture at bay with these things, you have to change them several times a day which gets pretty expensive!
     This time around, I decided to try cloth nursing pads.  I wasn't so sure about them since they don't have a waterproof barrier like the disposables, but trying them couldn't hurt.  I bought Kushies cotton flannel pads first and after 2 months bought 3 sets of Motherease bamboo pads.  Today, I had the Kushies on (never use them anymore but the others were all in the wash) and I remembered why I don't use them anymore!  
     The Kushies pads are fairly inexpensive (~$7/6pack) and can be found at Walmart which is convenient.  That's about as good as they get.  They wash up terribly, almost quiliting like a prefold and looking lumpy under clothing.  They ALWAYS leak (which happened to me today and brought me to write this review) because they're not absorbant enough for even moderate leaking.
     The Motherease bamboo pads are a large investment financially (~$20/6pack).  They are larger to cover the breast better, soft and moldable so they look smooth under clothing, and can handle a good amount of leaking before you actually feel it (and even then I've never had a leak).  I've had them pretty heavy from wetness in the beginning stages of breastfeeding and I still felt dry and they NEVER leaked.  I love these things, they're beyond worth the cost and I recommend them to every new mom!  Although from the pictures these two pads look similar, they are completely different once you see them in person and actually use them.  
     So that's my 2 cents on the pads of up north.  If you have a favorite cloth nursing pad I'd LOVE to hear about it!