I can't remember where I first heard about Lilypadz breast pads, but I can remember thinking they were an amazing invention and hunting about for reviews of them online. All of the reviews that I came across seemed to be American, presumably because this is an American product, and all raved about Lilypadz so eventually I caved in and bought a set of two online.

For those of you who haven't heard of them, Lilypadz are a type of reusable breast pad. Unlike the traditional breast pads, which are either disposable and based on paper or reusable and made from fabric, Lilypadz are made from silicone. They are promoted as being soft and flexible (despite being made out of plastic) and they are actually supposed to stick to your body, rather than to your bra. The blurb says that they apply gentle pressure to your nipple which stops them leaking milk when they aren't supposed to, whereas traditional breast pads just work by soaking up any leaks, rather than preventing them.

I was quite fortunate when breastfeeding my youngest in that I didn't have so many of the problems that I experienced with my first. One issue that I did have was simply having too much milk! Daytimes were generally fine as my baby fed regularly and the milk seemed to respond and come and go accordingly. Luckily, I didn't really have any embarrasing leaks during the daytime so only occasionally used breast pads when I was out in the evenings without my baby.

The night times were another matter altogether though. My youngest did, obviously, feed through the night when he was a newborn but he never seemed to need quite as much milk as my breasts wanted to produce on the night shift! The end result was that I would end up, literally, soaking wet with my nursing bra, nightie and all the bedding absolutely soaked! The problem got even worse once my baby started sleeping through and abandoned the night feeds altogether. This was the main reason that I decided to give the Lilypadz breast pads a try. They are advertised as being suitable for use without a bra - even while swimming - so I thought they would solve the leaks at night and maybe even let me sleep without a bra.

Lilypadz certainly aren't cheap. I've just googled for price comparison purposes and I can find find them for sale at Amazon for £10.45 for a pack of two (plus postage.) They come in a little plastic storage box within a cardboard outer giving you all the usage and care instructions. The good news is that you only need one pair at a time as they can just be rinsed clean under the tap with a bit of soap and water (or washing up liquid) and then air-dried, which just takes seconds. You don't have the problem of washing them in the laundry, like fabric reusable pads, and needing a spare set while they dry.

So, are they worth the money? Well, not really, I'm disappointed to say. The whole 'unique selling point' of these pads is that they stick to your actual breast. They are supposed to be flexible and easy to use. Well, the set I had was about as flexible as a yoghurt pot and about as comfortable to wear! According to the pack instructions, you just place a pad over your nipple and then apply gentle pressure so that it flips into itself and moulds itself to the shape of your breast. I tried and tried to get the pads to 'mould themselves' but they didn't and wouldn't! The only way that I could get them to actually stick on to me was to place them inside my bra and, eventually, the heat from my body caused them to flex a little and they would become squashed up against me. They did eventually stick to me a little but not enough to be secure - just enough to be difficult to remove in a hurry (like when your baby is screaming with hunger, for example!)

I'd originally bought them for the night-time, to alleviate the messy night-time leakages mentioned earlier. They were about as much use as a chocolate teapot at night. I wanted to wear them without a bra as I find sleeping with a bra really uncomfortable. I tried that with these (once they were stuck on as best as I could get them) but as soon as I moved in bed, they just popped off!As I said earlier, I've read other reviews that absolutely rave about these Lilypadz but I really didn't get on with them. I don't even know whether I just got a dud pack, but at well over £10 for a pack I wasn't going to run the risk of buying any more!

The only real use I found for them was when I wanted to go out for the evening when my baby was a few months old. At the stage where I was waking the baby up at about 10pm for a late feed before I went to bed, my breasts would start to make milk in preparation so I was always a bit wary about going out for nights out and getting that familiar 'letting down' sensation. The odd time that I was going for a night out and was going to be later than 10pm I popped the Lilypadz in and was confident that I wouldn't have any leaks (and I didn't). The Lilypadz are transparent and, because they mould to the shape of your breast they don't show up under clothing. I was always very conscious of the shape of a traditional breast pad showing through my bra so these solved that difficulty. I wouldn't pay over a tenner just to solve that issue though and, frankly, I didn't find them beneficial for any other reason.

I wouldn't recommend using them on a daily basis as you would traditional breast pads. They would be impossible to remove and replace discreetly. I had perfected the knack of feeding in public by baby number two but, because Lilpadz are plastic, they can't just be shoved aside gently like a fabric or paper pad. You would need to actually fish them off your breasts to feed your baby! I've already explained the problems that I found trying to get them to stick so, again, this would be a real problem when feeding out in public. Perhaps there is a knack to using Lilypadz but, if so, I didn't develop it and would advise other people to save their money, unfortunately!