Layer one crop top, blouse, shirt, etc. over an old T-shirt or tank top (mix or match colors!).
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| Nursing Shirts |
The top layer shirt will provide discreet coverage, yet your baby will still have easy access to nurse.
When you lift or shift your outer shirt to nurse, your tummy is fully covered. If you unbutton your blouse to nurse, your cleavage is not exposed.
Your baby's head and your outer garment cover the exposed portion of your breast.
Plus, there are no slits or panels to readjust after feeding!
Thanks to Catherine for this Frugal Baby Tip!
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| Nursing Undershirts |
Here are a few more no-sew nursing top ideas!
👶 DIY Nursing Top: Budget-friendly, No-sew, Totally Stylish👶 30 second zero dollar NO SEW nursing tank top
👶 No-sew Nursing Tops
👶 Modest no sew nursing tops
👶 DIY Cute no sew nursing top
Have you ever wished there was an accurate up-to-date website, listing all the breastfeeding laws and their provisions for enforcement - all in one place?
Click for the: Breastfeeding Laws For US and Canada
 |
| Naked Nursing Tank |
Shopping Suggestions:
👶 Nursing Cami Tank Top👶 Long Sleeve Nursing Top
👶 Short Long Sleeve Nursing Tops
 |
An environmentally-safe, economical alternative!
Are you ready to give up those expensive disposable paper pads, and switch to cloth pads - but worried about the cost of purchasing enough cloth pads?
(See article links below to why you should consider switching to cloth.)
Here's a Frugal Baby Tip for Mom!
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Round corners. Pile together.
 |
Cut out two wings 6 by 6" (15cm x 15cm), shaped sort of like like this: =O= - see picture on the left:
Fold each wing in half, and zigzag or serge stitch all raw edges.
 |
Looks something like this [_[)(]_], though the wings will be overlapping - see picture on the right.
Sew a straight seam, catching in the wings, 2.5" (6.5cm) from both long edges.
Either sew Velcro® on wings or use hammer-on snaps.
Fold the pad in thirds, and fasten the wings underneath the fold.
Now you have a super-absorbent 9-layer menstrual pad that opens up for easy washing and quick drying!
 |  |  |  |  |
Pad laying flat, with wings folded back over outer flaps of pad | Fold under one flap, the part under the wing | Fold under other flap. The center panel is the part that will be next to your skin | Back of folded pad, the part that goes next to your panties | Back of folded pad, snapped together |
Thanks to Catherine for this Frugal Baby Tip!
NOTE: This is a copyrighted design, originally designed by Catherine McDiarmid-Watt in 1993.
Photo credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt, on borntolove.com
All rights reserved
 |
| Bamboo Reusable Pads |
More ideas:
🧵 Make Your Own Cloth Menstrual Pads Pattern🧵 How To Make Homemade Feminine Pads: Free Pattern List
🧵 Cloth Menstrual Pad Database | Free Patterns and Guides
 |
| Bamboo Charcoal Pads |
Menstrual Articles:
♻️ Menstrual Products and Health♻️ Feminine Ecology Notes
♻️ Women Taking the Initiative for a Safer Environment
♻️ Fast Facts from
Whitewash
♻️ Backgrounder: What Are Organochlorines? And Why Are They So Dangerous?
♻️ What Women Can Do to
Stop the Whitewash
♻️ More On-line Articles
 |
| Cloth Reusable Pads |
Shopping Suggestions:
🧵 Dritz Snap Fastener Attacher Kit - Easy Attacher🧵 Velcro® Brand Sleek and Thin for Fabrics
🧵 Organic Cotton Fleece Fabric - by the yard
🧵 Flannelette fabric by the yard
🧵 Terrycloth fabric by the yard
🧵 Cotton Hemp fabric by the yard
🧵 Sherpa Sheepskin fabric by the yard
I used Dr. Jack Newman's recipe for the homemade version of All Purpose Nipple Ointment, which one of the labor and delivery nurses gave to me after she saw all the blisters.
Dr. Jack Newman's recipe for All Purpose Nipple Ointment
1. Mupirocin ointment 2%: 15 grams
2. Betamethasone ointment 0.1%: 15 grams
3. To which is added miconazole powder to a concentration of 2% miconazole
Total: about 30 grams combined. Apply sparingly after each feeding. Do not wash or wipe off.
NO SUBSTITUTIONS
Take equal parts Polysporin, Lotrimin, and Cortisone.
Mix in small batches and use after anywhere from 4 to all feedings in a day, remix every 3 to 4 days.
The Polysporin has to be the brand name but the others can be generic.
It was a lifesaver and no need to find a compounding pharmacist to mix it.
Thanks to Emily for this Frugal Baby Tip!
 |
🚼 Polysporin Ointment
🚼 Lotrimin AF Antifungal Cream
🚼 Cortizone Anti-Itch Creme
Aching breasts? Need some relief?
Cut out four 6 inch circles of a soft 100% cotton (prewashed) fabric, such as cotton knit, flannelette or double layers of gauze.
You can use recycled T-shirts, worn-out cloth diapers, etc.
Cut with pinking shears, if you have them, for a nice edge.
 |
| Drawing by Catherine McDiarmid-Watt |
Put two layers of fabric on top of each other, right sides out.
Sew a 1-inch circle in the middle of your circles.
Sew about 1/4 - 1/2 inch from the edge, with a zig-zag or serger, a double row of straight stitch, or even hand-stitching - 3/4 of the way around each circle.
Now fill with rice, flax or whole oats, just enough without being bulky. The pad should still be able to lay flat.
Next, add just a bit of your favorite spice or scent, or even dried flower petals - not too much.
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| Bamboobies Boob Ease Soothing Therapy Pillows |
Close up remaining 1/4 of the circle. Repeat, using the second two layers.
Now make a second set of breast pads, because you are going to love these!
To use these pads: Simply heat or chill, then slip inside your bra.
Cooling comfort soothes sore new mama nipples and breasts.
Store a set of breast pads in the freezer for cool comfort - especially helpful for use shortly before feeding to slightly numb sore nipples - it will relieve that initial latching-on pain.
Or wear them to bring out flat and inverted nipples - which makes it easier for baby to get a good latch.
Gentle warmth opens clogged ducts and helps to increase milk production.
Warm up a set of breast pads in the microwave - start with 20 seconds and check to see if they are warm enough.
(Don't make them too hot, or you can burn your delicate breast tissue.)
These are very comforting when used on sore nipples after a feeding, or to place over a plugged duct.
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• Soothies Gel Pads
• Breastfeeding Relief - Hot/Cold Breast Therapy Packs
• Earth Mama Angel Baby Tube Booby
• Lansinoh TheraPearl Breast Therapy Pack
• Bamboob-ease Soothing Therapy Pillows
• TendHer Reusable Soothing Breastfeeding Gel Pads
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| Period Panties |
For an inexpensive but controversial solution, here's a Frugal Mom Tip for you!
Buy 6 pair (or more) of cotton-rich white or organic baby socks.
Wash (and dry) three times with a natural, mild soap - rinsing well.
At your next period, simply roll up one baby sock into a tight roll, and insert as you would a paper tampon.
If you need more absorbency, use two baby socks rolled up.
Replace it with the next baby sock as needed. Rinse the used one out well, and store dry until washday.
Note from Clothpads.Wordpress.com: Are they safe though? The main contributing factor for TSS seems to be the rayon fibres in regular tampons (basically the bacteria multiplies readily on the rayon fibres and can cause TSS).
All-cotton tampons have not be found to breed bacteria like rayon does. So it would seem that if an all-cotton disposable tampon is safer for you than a rayon one, then an all-cotton reusable tampon might be safer for you than a rayon disposable one.
Regular disposable tampons are not sterile (just because they are white, wrapped in plastic and look sterile doesn't mean they are). Other things that go into vaginas also aren't sterile (penises, vibrators, fingers etc.)
You could boil or soak the tampons in a sterilizing solution if you wanted to.
 |
| Organic Tampons |
Patterns and instructions for knit/crochet tampons:
🧦 Mama cloth...reusable tampons🧦 Reusable tampon pattern by cherade9 - Ravelry
🧦 TAMPONS | Free crochet pattern - Garnknuten
Ready-Made Knit/Crochet Tampons:
🧦 Crochet tampon | Etsy🧦 Organic Tampons (set of 10) Merino Wool Crochet
More information on Knit/Crochet Tampons:
🧦 Crocheted Tampons- A Washable and Reusable Sanitary Product for Women🧦 7 Things You Need to Know about Handmade Reusable Tampons
 |
| DivaCup |
These menstrual cups collect the flow rather than absorbing it, so your vaginal tissues aren't dried out as they can be by disposable tampons.
These menstrual cups can last up to ten years.
Spend less time worrying about leaks and looking for bathrooms. The DivaCup can be worn for up to 12 hours, depending on your menstrual flow.
Join thousands of first-time menstruation cup users who say they will never go back to using pads and tampons. .
 |
| Beppy Tampon |
Shopping Suggestions:
🧦 Beppy Tampon - a soft, flexible sponge you wear inside during your period. Beppy offers invisible protection, even up to 8 hours🧦 Diva Cup #0 - Ideal for anyone under 19 years old, wear for 12 hours a day
🧦 Diva Cup #1 - Ideal for anyone between the ages of 19 and 34, who haven't given birth vaginally
🧦 Diva Cup #2 - Ideal for anyone over 35, that have a heavier flow or have given birth vaginally
🧦 Lena Menstrual Cup - Dance, run, swim and sleep with your Lena Cup – think of all the times your period held you back.
🧦 Venus Menstrual Cup - Choose a size based on your comfort & needs during your menstrual flow.
🧦 EcoBlossom Menstrual Cups - Made using soft silicone which is comfortable to wear, and offers up to 12 hours of reliable leak proof and odor proof protection
🧦 Natural Sea Silk Sponges - great alternatives to disposable tampons.
🧦 More Menstrual Alternatives - Period Panties, Menstrual Cup Steamer, FLEX Menstrual Disc, Carrying Case, Sea Pearls, cloth pads, and more!
 |
| Organic Bamboo Cloth Pads |
I will definitely go back to using them and take some of the bigger ones to the birth center with me when I have my baby.
They are soft, super absorbent, and I no longer get a terrible rash (not mention all sorts of other unmentionable things with disposables -- UGH.)
And in my opinion, cloth smells completely different, much more earthy, not at all fishy like disposables.
I soak mine in cold water for a day, empty, then put them in a dry bucket and wash them with my underwear when I wash laundry once a week (that will change as soon as the baby comes, I know).
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| Reusable Organic Menstrual Pads |
I prefer dark colors, which won't show stains like unbleached cotton does.
I like PixieCup, but I haven't tried others. I saw one site on the web for ones you could even wear as a thong!
The only thing I don't like is if I run out and have to use a disposable ---- ICK!!!! I was about to buy more when I got pregnant, so... I'll get some before March.
If you liked the look of these pads, you can find instructions for making your own look-alike ones:
Make Your Own Cloth Menstrual Pads Pattern
Thanks to Kathryne for this Frugal Baby Tip!
%E3%82%A2%E3%83%83%E3%83%97%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%89%E7%A4%BE%E8%A3%BD%E5%B8%83%E3%83%8A%E3%83%97%E3%82%AD%E3%83%B31.JPG "Sanitary towels, Sunny Days, by Yanasha Itch on Wikimedia.org")
 |
| Gerber Prefold Gauze Cloth Diapers |
I use my old cheapie cloth diapers - Gerber prefold diapers - the kind you can buy at Amazon, Target or K-Mart.
Those things are worthless in my opinion as baby diapers, but GREAT as menstrual pads!
I just fold them into the right size (shorter for daytime, longer for night-time), and place inside a snug-fitting cotton panty.
I almost NEVER have leaks or slippage - in fact, less than I did with disposable pads. Yeast infections are history, and washing is no big deal.
I just keep an extra diaper pail in the bathroom and toss in the used pad (and often a washcloth - much nicer to cleanse oneself with at that time of the month than toilet paper!). It is a dry pail.
The first time I did this, I soaked, and the smell was HORRID!
Took FIVE washes to get them clean again.
With the dry pail, there is no odor problem.
 |
| Charcoal Bamboo Panty Liner |
Then I add detergent (my homemade stuff!), baking soda, and fabric-safe bleach or whitener.
Sometimes vinegar, if I think of it. Hot cycle, and then they go into the dryer.
Stains are minimal, and I don't care if they're stained anyway - no one sees these but me!
Best of all - the cost to me was essentially nothing, as I'd purchased the diapers years ago for my babies (and used them quite unsuccessfully - just not absorbent enough!).
Thanks to Amy for this Frugal Baby Tip!
MORE IDEAS:
• Make Your Own Cloth Menstrual Pads Pattern
• Make-Your-Own Frugal Cloth Menstrual Pads
• Reusable Menstrual Products
Before you go into labour, buy some of those disposable ice-cube bags.
Trim to fit and round off the edges.
Fill only about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick with water and seal.
 |
| FlexiFreeze Ice Sheet |
After baby is born, if you had an episiotomy, you will find these ice-packs wonderfully healing.
Simply take one out of the freezer, wrap in an old, small hand-towel you don't need anymore.
Place this ice pack inside your underpants, against your stitches.
The individual pockets of ice make it flexible enough to mold to your body, and the cool ice will relieve your discomfort!
Shopping Suggestions:• SmartChoices Feme Pad
• FlexiFreeze Ice Sheet
• Thermos Ice Mat - 9 cube
• Earth Mama Organic Herbal Sitz Bath for Pregnancy and Postpartum
• Disposable Sitz Bath | Vagi-Sitz Bath
I am a mom to 5 children, aged 5-19 and have used cloth diapers with all of them.
I also breastfed them all, and as a result, needed good nursing pads.
With my last 2 babies, I found I had several cloth diapers which had seen much better days but I didn't want to use them for rags yet, plus I needed breast-pads.
I cut out several nursing pads using a large glass to trace them in the middle of the prefold part of the diaper.
They ended up being about 5" circles. I didn't need to put several layers together since they were thick enough.
I simply zig-zagged around the edges, and voila! Great free nursing pads!
I still have them, and my little girls can use them for dolly pillows.
Thanks to Bev Qualheim for this Frugal Baby Tip!
Shopping Suggestions:
• TL Care Organic Cotton Nursing Pads
• Humble Bebe Prefold diaper
• Philips AVENT Washable Nursing Pads
• Bamboo Nursing Pads
• NuAngel Washable Nursing Pads
Cloth menstrual pads too expensive to buy - but you couldn't sew one if your life depended on it??
Here's a cheap way to make your own - without sewing at all!
Simply buy the cheapest terry washcloths you can find.
Red washcloths would be a great color to buy, but if not - choose a color separate from anything you would normally use as a facecloth.
 |
Photo credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt, on BorntoLove.com. All rights reserved |
Place the folded washcloth in the crotch of your panties, and you are all set - cloth against cloth doesn't move much.
For more absorbency, fold two washcloths together.
For waterproof protection, you could cut 3" by 12" (8 cm by 30 cm) strips of a rubberized flannelette, or Polar fleece, and lay it between your cloth pad and your panties. No sewing required!
To wash, simply rinse out the washcloths, and toss in the laundry hamper. Wash together with the regular laundry, no special care is needed.
Shopping Suggestions:• Washable Cotton Washcloths - 100 Red Washcloths
• 100% Turkish Cotton Burgundy Washcloths
• AmazonBasics Cotton Washcloth - Pack of 24
• Duro-Med Flannel/Rubber Waterproof Sheeting
• Wintry Fleece Red Fabric By The Yard
Have you tried using the disposable nursing pads yet?
I really didn't like them, they were uncomfortable, they slid around inside my bra, showed thru my clothing and my skin would stick to them, making me sorer than I already was!
 |
| Photo credit: Nursing Pads, by Ashley Barrett |
Here's a simple idea to make your own reusable nursing pads!
Take an old all-cotton T-shirt, and cut it up into 6" (15cm) circles or even into a heart shape.
Place 3 to 6 circles or hearts on top of each other and sew two rows of stitching near the outer edge, about 1/8" (3mm) apart, to prevent the edges from unraveling.
These make very comfortable nursing pads, that won't slide around as much inside your bra.
Thanks to Caroline for this Frugal Baby Tip!
Shopping Suggestions:• Bamboobies Ultra-Thin Nursing Pads
• M+Y Organic Bamboo Nursing Pads
• BabyBliss Organic Bamboo Nursing Pads
• TL Care Organic Cotton Nursing Pads
• NuAngel Washable Nursing Pads
Three great craft ideas for nursing moms I came across today!
You can buy a nursing necklace already made from various places online.
You could find a suitable nursing necklace in a store.
 |
| Breastfeeding Support Bracelet |
However, making your own nursing necklace is fun and special because you can tailor it to your child.
It is also likely less expensive than buying a nursing necklace pre-made.
If you have more than one nursling, it is fun to have more than one nursing necklace.
How to Make a Nursing Bracelet
-- Nursing bracelets are a wonderful gift for the mother of a newborn. Not only are they stylish, but they are also functional. These bracelets are a helpful tool for a nursing mother to remember the time of the next feeding.
Nursing Bracelet Pattern
-- The following nursing bracelet pattern is made on memory wire to make it easy to transfer the bracelet from one wrist to the other (even while half asleep).
 |
| BusyTabs Breastfeeding Clips |
Or try this idea!!
DIY Nursing Reminders
-- Safety pins are a popular suggestion to remember which side you last fed on, but too easy to get pricked. You could also use a bobby pin or paperclip, easily lost, and you can see them through your shirt.
Or a bracelet you switch from arm to arm but ultimately you will forget. So try this ribbon reminder!
Thanks to Catherine for these Frugal Baby Tips!
It's been a long time coming, but I have started updating the BorntoLove.com website. This past few days, I have been updating the Frugal Baby Tips section:Here are all of our Frugal Baby Tips articles on Born to Love:
• Frugal Baby Tips Index
• Frugal Diapering
• Frugal Diaper Washing
• Frugal Diaper Rash and Baby Wipe Tips
• Make Your Own Baby Bum Sweaters!
• Let Sleeping Babies Lie - please...
• Frugal Safety Tips
• Frugal Toys and Playthings Tips
• Frugal Baby and Mom Clothing Tips
• Frugal On the Go! Travel Tips
• Frugal Miscellaneous Tips
• Make Your Own Rebozo Sling
• Stacking Tactile Toys and Healing Post-partum Stitches
• Mosquito Bites Relief and Frugal Cloth Menstrual Pads
• Absorbent Cheap Diapers and Protect Your Computer!
• Bedwetter Pants and Soothing Breast Pads
• Breathable Diaper Covers and Reusable Tampons
• Frugal Tips From My Readers!
Come check them out!
Recommended Reading:♦ Ecofrugal Baby: How To Save 70% Off Baby's First Year
♦ The Naturally Frugal Baby
♦ How to Save Hundreds of Dollars in Diaper Costs and Have Fun with Your Baby!
♦ Everything You Need To Know About Cloth Diapers
♦ Live Green and Frugal: Make Your Own Cloth Napkins, Wipes, Diapers, Rags and Other Household Items
♦ The Complete Tightwad Gazette
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