Teen cloth pad set...

[thirdtimemomma]

What's a good "stash" for a preteen? What would u buy your DD? I have no clue, I use the diva.

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[tallanvor]

Okay, I originally got her 6 light, 6 regular, and 3 heavy, I think. She recently said she needed more, though, so I bought her 3 more.

[thirdtimemomma]

Any issues with leaking..

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[tallanvor]

Only at the beginning when she was still learning about how you can't wear the same one forever, even though I told her that. lol

[GEM Cloth]

My DD#1 likes her pads an inch shorter than what I like them, as in she likes her regulars 8 inches. Really she doesn't like anything longer than 8 inches but I had a bunch of spare 9 inch regulars and she uses those at school since she can't change as often as she'd like. (She uses them as heavies I guess you'd say). She has a ton of pads and she needs them, not because she uses them but she's 13 and evidently you can't keep up with things very well. She uses light pads too but not a lot of them.

[shortcake2386]

I make 7-8" teen pads. They are a tad trimmer than my regular pads too

[NooneeWilga]

LOL Michelle, and my teen likes pads an inch or two longer than me! Shows how they are all different. I think the important thing to remember is that teens, once their periods settle down, will require the same sort of absorbency as any other menstruating woman.

[thirdtimemomma]

But how many. I mean 24-36 diapers is a good stash.. but what about mama cloth.

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[NooneeWilga]

The total number of pads to get depends on frequency of changing the pads, how often you wash and how long they take to dry. Another thing to keep in mind is whether you are happy to use the same length/absorbency pads for the whole period or whether you want pads specifically for heavier and lighter use.

Assuming the following: you wash every second day, it takes a day to dry everything (we line dry only), change once overnight, change every 3-4 hours in the day, then I'd suggest the following would be more than sufficient for the average person:
6 x overnight pads
15 x day pads

I do know women who use cloth pads exclusively who get away with a stash of two overnight pads and six day pads. They wash by hand as soon as changing and hang to dry in a very dry climate. Such a minimalist approach would not be advisable for a teen or preteen.

[debcita429]

I washed a couple of pads by hand once to prep them, but despite wringing them as hard as I could and putting them through the dryer three times they still were not dry. I think some pads are just made for machine washing (and the spin cycle), fwiw. I also can't begin to imagine how much water I would waste and how ucky I would personally feel if I were handwashing them to my level of cleanliness satisfaction. That's all to say, I would not count on the handwashing method.

Regarding number, it's going to depend a lot on how heavy and long her periods are. Noonee also points out the matter of whether she will like to be using different pads on her heavy days versus her light days (I do). She may end up wanting a stash that can be used for the whole period before washing. But there is no need to start there. It can take a while to find the right fit of pad anyhow--for instance, what crotch width is comfortable and what thinness she is comfortable with through her clothing. So getting what you think will be enough for two days to start and just planning to do a lot of washes those first two periods while she is figuring out her likes and needs might be a smart way to do things.