Star Baby Design Review and Giveaway

FITTEDS WEEK

Star Baby Designs was started in 2008 by Lindsey who cloth diapers her son and enjoys making cloth diapers for others. You can find her shops here and here. She offers new born fitteds, OS fitteds or AI2's, matching shirts for the fitteds, hats and bibs. She has an awesome selection of fabrics to choose from as well. Most of her items are made custom just for you! I was able to choose a few different prints that I liked from her selection and she used this adorable stripped print. I love it! Perfect for my boys. It came packaged nice and simple with a ribbon and a business card.

As you can see the fitted has nice cross over tabs as well as three rows of snaps for the rise.

The tabs on the inside of this diaper have three snaps on each side. I have found this to be truly amazing! How many of you have experienced wing droop, where you snap the diaper on and then the sides of the front of the diaper start to sag and go lower and lower... Yup you know what I'm talking about. With Star Baby's fitteds you will not have to worry about this happening. The three snaps that are located on the wing/tabs of this diaper go all the way back to almost behind the hip (depending on the size of your baby). If you look at the picture below you will see the tho white snaps on the red fabric. If you go all the way into the diaper to where the red meets the stripped fabric you can kind of see a third white snap.

Here is a picture of the wings opened up. You can clearly see the three side snaps on here. There is a single row of snaps across the waist and then the three adjustment snaps that go up to the rise adjustment snaps.

The inside of this diaper is a nice soft cotton/poly velour fabric. The inside materials are made of rayon from bamboo/cotton fleece. Star Baby's diapers are a fitted / AI2. They come with a snap in liner, the big oval you see in the middle of the diaper. This is very nice because instead of having one really bulky diaper that might eventually build up stink you have a bunch of thinner layers of material that will wash up nice and dry a lot faster.

The snap in liner has two layers. The bottom is sewn onto the top layer. The bottom layer does not have the velour material on it, just the top layer that goes against baby. The liner snaps in with two snaps on the back of the diaper.

I use this on both of my boys. Here is the fitted opened all the way on my 2 1/2 year old who weight around 30 pounds. These fitteds are said to go up to 30 pounds. The rise was just right on him when opened all the way up. The tabs are snapped as close together with out crossing over. He is a skinny 30 pounder so if you have a chubbier 30 pounder the tabs would obviously be father apart.

Bear with my wiggly boy in the next two pictures. Here is a side shot of the fitted. This is with the snap in liner. It is very trim. For the extra side snap on this diaper to help prevent the wing droop I had it set to the last snap on the out sides of the diaper.

In this picture you can see the two snaps that are used to keep the liner attached. The fitted is very trim from the back angle as well. Almost seems like undies.
Then I used the fitted from Star Baby on my 9 month old 20 pound son. I had to cross the tabs over on him. There is more than one snap that you can use for crossing over which is nice if you have a new baby that is tiny and need them to go over as far as possible. I believe I snap this on the first cross over tab.

I also have the rise for him set on the second row down. It of course adds a little more bunched up fabric in the crotch area but it is not bulky at all.

When you look at the lower part of this picture on the hip you will see one red snap. This is for the wing droop snap. See how far back it is? Its great for keeping the front of the diaper from sagging down! The snap on the top of the bum is where the liner snaps in. This has a nice trim fit on my 9 month old as well!

And here is the bum shot from the top. He was getting wiggly so it looks a little bubbly but it is a nice fit. There is also elastic in the back along the waist which is nice!

What to I think of Star Baby Designs Fitted?

I am very please with how this fitted works and is designed. The fit is great, nice and trim and I love the wing droop snap. I have had lots of problems with diapers on my skinny 2 1/2 year old falling down in the front so this is a feature that I love! The outer part of the diaper is nice and thin and the snap in liner is made with two pieces sewn together which is great for drying. I like a diaper that will dry in one dryer cycle. The fit was nice on both of my boys, it was very trim and fit great with a cover under the boys' normal size jeans. The materials available to choose from are so cute. I let my 2 year old run around in this fitted with out a cover and just keep an eye on it so it doesn't get to wet and leave wet spots on the furniture. This is nice and trim between the legs too. Some diapers that I have are either really wide or have a lot of material that has to go between the legs and it just doesn't seem comfortable but this fitted seems to not have either of those problems. My toddler didn't complain at all about this fitted being uncomfortable.

If you would like to purchase a fitted from Star Baby Designs you can go here or here. They run about 18-20 a piece depending on what you get. The new born fitteds are around 11-12 dollars and look like the dip down in the front for the umbilical cord.

*Star Baby Designs sent me a custom fitted to use and review. I was not paid to write this review and the opinions expressed are my own and the experiences I had may differ from yours.*

Kissaluvs Fitted Review

I always enjoy looking around online to find new stores that carry cloth diapers. When I first heard of EcoMom I kind of just passed it over after going to their home page. Later I ventured there again and did some major looking around. I have to say they carry some pretty neat items, all of them eco friendly and great organic products too! They carry organic food, baby carriers, feeding items, toys, books and much more... including cloth diapers. Right now they only have three different brands of cloth diapers: gDiapers, Baby Beehinds and Kissaluvs. I had the opportunity to review the Kissaluvs fitted diaper. This diaper comes in two sizes: Newborn and Medium/Large. It is made of Organic Cotton and Hemp.

Here is the diaper all closed up.

This diaper has cross over tabs which I love to have on a diaper. The wings are also nice and big to allow for lots of growth. There is only one row of snaps across the waist and I typically like to have two but I didn't find this to be a problem with the fitted.

Here is the diaper opened up to the highest rise setting (large). For this you just leave everything unsnapped.

To set the diaper to the medium rise setting you just simply fold the top of the diaper over, like shown in the picture below, and snap the tabs to it. There are snaps on both sides of the diaper.

The inside of this diaper has and extra insert that snaps into the back. You can keep it in or take it out. I leave it snapped in because I have heavy wetters and its nice to have the extra absorbency. The snap in insert is also longer than the diaper itself. This is nice because you can adjust the extra material to fit where your baby will need it the most. In the picture below I have the insert folded over in the front, this is where you would need the extra material for a boy.

For a girl you can fold the extra material over in the middle, like in the picture below, because that is where a girl is going to need the most absorption.
For some reason I didn't get pictures of this diaper in action! SORRY!

My experience with this diaper:
- When I received this I was excited to try it out. It is fairly trim and not to bulky, but does give a little bit of a bump on the rear.
-Adjusting the rise was easy to figure out and I didn't have any issues with it.
-This fitted does hold a lot of liquid which is a great to have especially if you have super soak-er sons.
-One thing I do not like about this diaper is that its not the softest item. Before I washed it, it was nice and soft but I have found that after many washings that it now kind of feels rough. Kind of like an old bath towel that you always reach for last because it has lost all of its fluffiness. I don't really want to have my boys wearing it because of that reason but I still do use it. When its on them I sometimes might throw in a fleece liner for softness or I will leave it on for a shorter period of time.



**This review is entirely of my own opinion. My experience will differ from yours. I was not paid to do this review. I was send the Organic/Hemp Kissaluvs fitted to use and review from Ecomom**

Thirsties Fab Fitted Diaper

Thirsties Fab Fitted

This is the first fitted I purchased. Its a size large Thirsties fab fitted. Thirsties now makes a DUO fitted diaper which I haven't seen yet but would really like to try out. The fab Fitted has a soft velor material on the outside and has fleece lining the inside of it. This is a sized fitted. I think there are some pros and cons to this. Because its sized its going to be to big or to small at some point. I purchased it with the intention of using it on my toddler but found it to be kind of big for him. He probably would have been better off in a medium. He is growing into it but because he is so skinny it has a tendency to fall down some while he is in it. It does work well though and can hold a good mount of pee. Here he is playing and running around in it.

I have also put this size large on my little (chunky) guy. He was probably 8 months old when I took this picture, can't remember for sure but it was before he was crawling so not as active. It seemed to have a pretty good fit on him as well but if he was more active it probably would have fallen off him to. You can see that the tabs are crossed completely over as far as they can do. But he is pretty small to be wearing a size large fitted.



This fitted does give some bulk but most fitted do as they contain a lot of material to absorb liquid.


I am pretty happy with my Thirsties Fab Fitted diaper. I do think that I would like it better if it was in snaps rather than velcro. It holds a fairly good amount of pee. I haven't had any issues with it becoming worn looking and falling apart. These run around $17 for a Duo Fitted so not the cheapest route as far as fitteds go but they work well and dry fast.

Cheeky Diapers Fitted Review and Giveaway

FITTEDS WEEK

Cheeky Diapers is a 'local' company to me. I say local because Beth the owner and seamstress of Cheeky Diapers is from Michigan, same as me. I didn't realize this right away but was super excited to be able to work with a fellow cloth diapering mommy from my state in doing a review! Cheeky Diapers offers quite a range of products including covers, fitteds, pockets and more. And the great part is that you can totally customize all the fine details of your diapers you order from them! Typically when a review item is given to me I just get to pick boy or girl. With Cheeky Diapers I got to use their fun 'design your own diaper' tool on their web site. I was able to review two items from Cheeky Diapers. A One size cover which will be reviewed in a different post and a One Size Fitted. I chose the adorably cute Blue Hang Out print. This has got to be one of the cutest fabrics!

When ever I get a new diaper in the mail I do a deep through examination to see what the diaper is all about, see what is so unique and special about it. The stitching on this diaper is really neat and tidy. It is side snapping which helps reduce bulk along the waist line, and its a one size fitted. The diaper has a snap in liner you can add to the diaper for extra absorbency if needed. It also has a pocket that opens in the front. This I think would be more for drying inside out rather than actually stuffing. I went ahead and turned it inside out and found that Cheeky Diapers uses a clear plastic-y type of elastic that is sewn right along inside the diaper. I haven't seen this type of elastic before so that was kind of neat.

The pictures below show the following:
1- The fitted opened all the way up.
2-The inside of the fitted is nice and soft. It is made with an organic cotton fleece layer that goes against baby's skin. After multiple washings it has remained super soft.
3- The third picture shows the waist snap tabs. There are two rows that go across the waist on each side. (As I said earlier, this is a side snapping fitted). You can also see a single snap right in the middle of the back of this. That is for the snap in insert.
4- The last picture shows all of the snaps you can use to adjust the rise on this OS fitted. I stretched this out as far as I could and it was pretty long. The area between the legs is pretty narrow to. It didn't seem to be over wide as some fitteds I have tried are.
In the photos below I tried to show the various sizes that this OS fitted can do. There are about 7 different rise settings you can choose from with this OS. It should fit newborn up to 40 pounds.
The picture on the top two pictures show the diaper set to the smallest settings possible (waist and rise). It seems pretty thick and I don't know how it will fit on a newborn. I might have to try it out on my sisters new baby to see. :) I then put the fitted on a small basket ball...sorry seems kind of strange but I wanted to be able to show it in various sizes. I have the rise snapped down to just to the first row. The bottom right picture I have the diaper opened up all the way.

So you are probably wondering how I liked this fitted on my little guys. Here are some pictures:

I had the rise set down two rows in this picture. It seems to have a pretty good fit. I will typically adjust the rise for this after I get it on my baby for a couple of different reasons. The first being I usually have to unsnap this to get it to dry faster, second depending on which boy I put it on and whether or not I use the snap in insert make a difference as to which rise setting it needs to be on. This is on my 9 month old 20 pound son. I really like how this looks on him.
Because this diaper has such a large range of rise settings mean that there is a lot of fabric to run from front to back. If you have a smaller baby the rise is be set to a smaller setting which will mean that there is going to be a lot of fabric bunched up in the front of the fitted. With the rise set two rows down you can see that the bulk is not bad at all or that there is a huge lump of fabric sticking up.
Here is a back shot from the top. After I had the rise snapped in and I turned over my beautiful model to get some back pictures I realized that a little bit of crack was hanging out...opps! I probably should have snapped the rise to only row one rather than row two! But it was easy to fix. If you look at the very bottom of the diaper you can see two snaps between his legs. That's how far the rise snaps go! There is also elastic all around the waist which helps to contain big messes.
Here is the back side shot. As you can see it needed to be set to one rise setting bigger in order to fit his bum correctly. It is a really trim fitted and has had a great fit every time.

What do I think of this fitted? I am very happy with how it has worked for me. I love how versatile it is for size range with the rise and the waist. You will have a pretty good probability of this fitting your child. I have not had a leak with this fitted. It is incredibly absorbent. Plus you can add in the extra liner and have even more absorption which is nice for night time or naps. When I had the snap in liner in the diaper I found that the main part of the fitted was barely wet. One thing that I do not like about this fitted is how long it takes to dry! Oh my! Each time I dry this I run it through a long dryer cycle and then its still pretty damp so I hang it for a day and over night and then I have to turn it inside out and let it hang for the rest of the day. Sometimes even after that it is still slightly damp. I have also done two full dryer cycles on it and had it still be slightly damp.

As an added bonus for this fitted you can use it as a pull up potty trainer! This was actually the first thing I used this for. My toddler is sometimes anti diapers and so I convinced him to put on the fitted like underwear. I snapped the sides of the diaper and then had him step into it. It was perfect! He was happy, I was happy, it was all good. I didn't use it with a cover. I just let him run around without pants on and I made sure to keep an eye on it for wetness because basically 'when it rains, it pours' for that little guy.

If you would like to see the great prints available for this fitted go here.

Fitteds Week

FITTEDS WEEK

Welcome to fitteds week! This week we will show you some great fitted diapers, explain as much as we know about them and hope to make some people happy by giving away some great fitteds! We have had the opportunity to use and review multiple fitteds, different styles, brands and looks.

We have received numerous questions in regards to fitteds. On this post and another post during the week we will be answering those questions and if you have any more you would like answered please feel free to ask!

What is the point of fitteds?
-Why use fitteds when there are pockets, and AIO’s? A lot of moms like fitteds because they are nice and absorbent, you can find them in lots of great prints and they are breathable. They are kind of like the middle ground between prefolds and pockets/AIO’s as far as price goes. Fitteds are easier to use than prefolds because they have a closure of some kind. So if you are wanting to go a cheaper way in CD’ing but want to avoid prefolds, fitteds are a good place to start.

Pros and Cons of fitteds:

• Pros of Fitted diapers
• Easier to use than prefolds
• Very absorbent
• Breathable
• Cheaper than AIO’s and Pockets (as long as you buy the right brands)
• Super cute
• A good fitted and cover will hold up better than most pockets
• Made with high quality fabrics
• Fitteds are good for heavy wetters vs. pockets that need to be stuffed full for the same protection
• Good for keeping poo contained, especially EBF poo.
• Almost never have to worry about leaks
• Fit well
• You can tell if the baby is wet easier and change them sooner
• Great to use with out a cover, especially with newborns, because it allows the skin to get air to it.
• Easier to find made with natural fibers, and organic cottons, hemp and bamboo
• Dry quicker than AI1’s and AI2’s (depending on the brand)
• It is an OPTIONAL 2 part system. The cover does not have to be used.

• Cons of Fitted Diapers
• Not water proof and will leak
• Expensive considering you still have to buy a cover to go over them.
• In some cases a fitted will cost as much as or more than a pocket or AIO diaper.
• You have to use two pieces, but can reuse the cover.
• Baby can feel the wetness, not stay dry
• Bulky
• You have to touch the wet fitted to take it off.
• Fitteds tend to be the cutest diapers ever made but you have to cover them up and the covers are NEVER as cute!
• Using a PUL cover requires and extra step.

What to look for when buying fitteds:

• Price
• You will want to make sure the fitteds fit in your price range. If you are looking to use fitteds as a way to save money but still be able to avoid prefolds, pay attention to the price. Some fitted diapers can cost as much as or more than pocket diapers and AIO diapers.
• Materials
• A lot of people choose to use fitted diapers with covers because of the materials used to make them. You can avoid the micro fiber and other non natural materials by selecting fitteds. Most fitteds are made with cotton, hemp and bamboo and you can find them made with these materials in organic form.
• Prints
• One of the big things with fitted diapers is the cuteness factor. Lets face it...who doesn’t love looking at adorable fluff? The variety of prints available on fitted diapers far extends the variety available in diapers made with PUL. What is the point of buying these adorable fitted diapers when you have to cover them up anyways with a cover? It’s simple really. Fitteds are GREAT to use with out a cover. Keep in mind that if you are venturing away from home you will probably want to keep a cover on the baby so they don’t leak through on to everything but while at home let the cute fitted go uncovered. This will allow the air to flow through and let the baby’s bum air out, which is great if you are dealing with a bad rash.
• Absorbency
• Each brand of fitted diapers uses different materials and different amounts of it. Some are extremely big and bulky and others are nice and trim. However that doesn’t mean that the bulky one will be more absorbent. It really depends on the material used to make it. Cotton, hemp and bamboo will soak up and hold a lot of liquid. Make sure you check out the materials that are used to make the fitted. If it contains microfiber it will absorb a good amount but the chances of it getting compression leaks is very high.

The Cost Factor with Fitteds:

I will give you a basic scenario of fitted diapers vs prefolds and pocket diapers. I will use what I started out with when I started cloth diapering my 1 month old (at the time). I purchased 3 covers and 12 prefolds. Here is the costs before taxes:

Prefolds and Covers

3 covers at $12.75 totaling $38.25.

2- 6 packs of prefolds at $15 a pack totaling $30

A total of $68.25 giving me a total of 12 diapers

Pocket Diapers
12 Pocket diapers at $17.95 each
A total of $215.40 giving me a total of 12 Diapers

Fitteds and Covers
3 Covers at $12.75 totaling $38.25
12 Fitteds (Thirsties Duo) at $17 a piece totaling $204
A total of $242.75 giving me a total of 12 diapers

3 Covers at $12.75 each totaling $38.25
12 Fitteds (Kissaluvs fitted) at $12.95 a piece totaling $155.40
A total of $193.65 giving me a total of 12 diapers

3 covers at $12.75 each totaling $38.25
12 Fitteds (Happy Heinys Sherpa) at $10.50 each totaling $126.00
A total of $164.25 giving me a total of 12 diapers

So as you can see looking at the different scenarios that fitteds do cost more than prefolds but if you can find a fitted that works well and is on the lower end of the price range they can be cheaper than getting pocket diaper and AIO diapers.

What makes the cost of the fitted very so much is the materials that it is made with as well as whether its a factory made or WAHM made item. Organic materials will cost you more money and WAHM fitteds will probably be a little higher in cost due to them being made one at a time by hand.

If you have any other questions about fitted diapers let us know in the comments section below or on our Facebook page. We would love to help you out!