Just something to file away in case you ever need to know it:
Apparently, when the breastfeeding actresses step out in their milk-fortified-rack-flashing, lowcut gowns, they've been known to use these clear, rubbery nursing pads called LilyPadz that are shaped like pasties and stick like those octopus toys you throw at the wall and watch them climb down. They don't absorb leaking breast milk; they gently pinch off the flow. [update: or at least they're supposed to. your (sic) nipples may vary.]
A veritable revolution in breastmilk flow management technology. Why, you can look at the picture above and just imagine these nearly invisible little buggers just gripping away in there. Go ahead, I'll wait.
LilyPadz are $25, including shipping. You are going to consult with someone before you buy these, aren't you? Yes, you are. [lilypadz.com via the red carpet nipplewatchers of celebrity baby blog]
...Except that they DON'T pinch off the flow, at least not in my experience. The milk pools there, and when you unstick them -- milk everywhere! Eh, I guess they're fine if you need something for the Oscars, but I was disappointed with them myself.
[aha. it did seem a bit perfect. I hope you were still able to return the dress. -ed.]
I sing the praises of LilyPadz to all breastfeeding mamas. They worked perfectly for me. It was maddening to wear the disposable kind, plus they made all my ball-gowns look like they were stuffed with lumpy marshmallows.
My sister has these. They were just coming onto the US market as I finished nursing, but my sis just started up again in January so, she needed a more economic alternative to paper pads, which were like money down the drain and cloth pads which got wet and then soaked through to her clothes.
She demonstrated how to put these on: you have the little flower/octopus shaped pad flexed backwards, pushing with a finger, you press the centre down onto the nipple, pressing the nipple inward. You then flex the pad around the breast so it cups it like a pastie.
You can stop the milk flow by pushing into the nipple. (I can remember having to poke one in while nursing my son, sans tops, in the middle of the night in bed) The pad keeps the nipple depressed, thereby stopping any milk flow. Perhaps Lillypadz User wasn't depressing the nipple (enough?) resulting in it springing back up when the pad was then flexed onto the breast.
The design is ingenious. They are easy to keep clean, work like magic (if applied correctly) and my sister says she forgets she's wearing them so there is no discomfort. No bulky pad showing up as a big round lump in your shirt, no visible line at all.
I would totally recommend these to any and all nursing mums.
[you'd think there would be a video demonsration on the site. -ed.]
Yeah yeah. Lilly pads. Whatever.
God bless milk-fortified-rack flashing.
I have to say my experience with these wasn't so good. If you have strong milk ejection, no matter how well you put them on that milk will leak in the manner described above. Also, if you have larger breast you DO end up with a weird lump, like you have a mini breast on top of the normal one. Plus one of mine only survived being washed twice before all the "stick" came off.
And finally...there's actually a reason (unless your let down reflex is reacting to absolutely anything) why milk leaks out, because your breast is TOO FULL! Stop that flow long enough and your boob HURTS.
I thought these sounded great but in practice they sucked.