Author Archives: Maria

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Maria is an aspiring "fit mom" of 3 children, writing about cloth diapers, going green, and her life as a single mom. Maria works with many companies within the cloth diaper industry and beyond, providing social media management, product development, and other services.

Heartland Dreams Fitted

Mar 27,2010 / By Maria / 11 Comments

I’m really not a huge fan of fitteds because they aren’t waterproof, but the prints are just so cute, they keep sucking me in. I had heard good things about Heartland Dreams, and I wanted one even more after I got the doll diapers her daughter made.

I saw a few prints I liked in her store, but I wasn’t quick enough to snap them up. When I saw this fitted, I grabbed it!

Something unique I didn’t even notice until the third or so wash, is that Tina seams her fabric in the middle. This way, the print is right side up in both the front and the back. Just another little touch, but it does bug me when the print is upside down!

The shape of the diaper and soakers, as well as the fold down rise, remind me of Goodmamas. She also sells one size snappiable/pinnable fitteds, All-in-twos and a 2 stage fitted diapers. I’m currently drooling over this one and this one. Well, the second one is sold but I’m still drooling over it! She also stocks on several congos. She regularly posts when and where she is stocking on the Facebook fan page for Heartland Dreams. In the past, she has also stocked sized pockets (I’d love to try one of those since pockets are my favorite!), sized fitteds, and other things I’m sure I’m neglecting to mention!

This diaper is the first HD I fell in love with but didn’t pounce on. I love that print. *sigh* Poor me.

I received my order really quickly after buying. It was packaged really nicely. I always think it’s a nice touch!

She included a card with care instructions.

And business card…

with a hand written thank you on the reverse.

It’s a small thing, but it’s nice.

She also included a free wipe!

Very cute!

Heartland Dreams diapers are incredibly well made. They simply don’t look like a diaper that a Mom made on her sewing machine at home. I didn’t go over it with a magnifying glass or anything, but wow. The stitching…everything is very professional.

The legs are turned & top stitched to avoid chafing baby’s legs, and the front and wings are serged for less bulk.

The outside of the diaper is cotton knit, there is a hidden layer of OBF (rayon from organic bamboo fleece)and the inner and soakers are topped with OBV (rayon from organic bamboo velour). They are so soft, and there is a signature heart on the reverse of the soaker that is so cute.

Each of the two petals of the snap in soaker has 2 layers of OBF topped with the OBV. Also included is a booster made of two layers of OBF.

I think you can see how well made the diaper in in this photo.

She includes a set of hip snap covers for when you no longer need the wing cross over, and the third snap is no longer snapped into the diaper.

The first time I used the diaper, I just pulled the soakers up, I didn’t fold them at all. All the red spots on my son’s tummy are from the snaps inside our Goodmama One, which he was wearing before this HD. I really do prefer hidden snaps on the inside.

The rise folds down, my son is in that in between height and weight where he can really wear it either way.

All done!

Right side up on the booty too!

Too cute.

He had it on (coverless) for about an hour and a half before I noticed any dampness on the outside. On subsequent uses, I folded the soakers and tri-folded the doubler, to get more coverage in the wet zone. Doing that, I was able to use it coverless for 2+ hours.

I would definitely use a cover for any situation where there might be compression of course!

All in all, I love this diaper. I am really anxious to try one of her all-in-two diapers, since I really prefer diapers that don’t require a cover. (I’m lazy, what can I say?) Heartland Dreams are by far, my favorite WAHM diapers to date. The diaper has been in my rotation for a month now and I’ve had no issues at all!

Edit August 2010: This diaper is adorable, incredibly absorbent and very well made. It’s not in my regular daytime rotation anymore just because I don’t love fitteds in general. I really want to try a HD AI2!

Cloth Diapering

KK Designs

Mar 25,2010 / By Maria / 2 Comments

KK Designs makes one of a kind designs on T-shirts, totes, cards, invitations, birth announcements and more. (She also makes soap and wool wash bars.)

This sticker is actually another item she offers for sale. She does custom stickers, logos, blinkies and banners for WAHMs and websites. In fact, I want to have her design a logo for me! Her prices are totally reasonable, I just have to wait for a little spending money in my budget.

She offers lots of cute shirt designs relating to cloth, breastfeeding and green living. She’s incredibly creative, and I knew she would be perfect to create a first birthday shirt for my son, that would be different than what everyone else has!

Here’s just a little peek.

She sent along another WAHM’s “sample” which was a cute little baby doll hat. Sorry, it’s not his birthday yet, you don’t get to see the design! 😉

She included care instructions as well.

I’m thrilled with my purchase, and I can’t wait to have Krista to design my logo.

Cloth Diapering Inserts Made in the USA Overnight Diapering Solutions Pocket Diapers

Knickernappies Superdo and Loopydo Inserts

Mar 23,2010 / By Maria / 8 Comments

> superdo

My quest to keep my son dry through the night led me to try several things. Our Bumgenius 3.0s were working well for a while, but I was having to add so many doublers to the diaper that it was creating a leg gap. Since my son recently started rolling over on his side at night, this was a problem!

I started reading reviews of inserts on diaperpin as well as many online stores. The reviews led me to Knickernappies.

The LoopyDo 2G prewashed inserts have 2 layers of hemp french terry as well as 2 layers of microfiber.

Hemp usually requires prepping to remove the natural oils and make it absorbent, but these inserts are prewashed so you an use them right away, though they will continue to become more absorbent with subsequent washings.

Those 4 layers are sewn in a loop so they dry more quickly, saving time and energy costs.

They come in 3 sizes: Small measuring 12″x5.5″, Medium measuring 14″x5.5″ and Large measuring 16×5.5″. I should have purchased a medium, but I bought a large instead. I simply folded a portion of it over and stuffed it into the pocket diaper (like a bumgenius one size insert, minus the snap). It worked wonderfully, though obviously a little bulky. Not a big deal for me since I was using it at night only.

It was wide enough to fill the whole pocket as well. I have a problem with a few of my pocket diapers where the included insert is narrower than the pocket, allowing for gaps and shifting, which always leads to leaks for us.

I used the LoopyDo in a Bumgenius 3.0 pocket diaper on the medium setting, along with the BG insert and a hemp doubler. I had no leg gap and no leaks, though all of the inserts were saturated in the morning. I would definitely use a LoopyDo in any pocket diaper for naps, car trips and so forth, but I’d buy the appropriate size. It’s too bulky for daytime when folded over.

I also bought a SuperDo 2G prewashed insert. These have SIX layers of hemp terry and two layers of microfiber. This insert is made for heavy wetters and overnight, and is more absorbent than two microfiber inserts together.

Other than the # of layers, it is the same as the LoopyDo.

Here it is in a Drybees Fleece night time diaper.

I bought a large in the SuperDo as well and I definitely should have bought the medium. I am able to use it in my medium diapers but it is much, much too bulky and creates gaps. I should buy a medium but with a $12.95 MSRP, it will have to wait. I’ve spent way too much money on my night time diapering quest over the past month!

Here you can see how much thickness the extra 4 hemp layers in the SuperDo (bottom) add over the LoopyDo (top).

Here you can see both Knickernappies inserts compared to a Bumgenius insert.

The only thing I don’t like about these is that they are sized. Well, I like that they are sized, it really reduces the bulk. My wallet doesn’t like that they are sized!

In short, if you are looking to purchase an insert, buy one of these! I bought mine from Abby’s Lane. Good prices and fat and free shipping!

Prefolds

Using prefolds with a snappi and cover

Mar 21,2010 / By Maria / 1 Comment

This is an awesome (and short) video tutorial on how to use a prefold with a snappi and cover!

If you’re looking for a snappi, Abby’s Lane has them for $3.95 ($4.55 for toddler size). This is a dollar or so more than some other places, but the shipping is free. I’m not a fan of paying $6 shipping for a $3 item!

Giveaway Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Winner of the Fuzzi Bunz Mama Cloth Giveaway!

Mar 20,2010 / By Maria / No Comment

>Random.org has a very neat service for drawings. However, the minimum fee is $4.95, so definitely not worth it for a giveaway this small!

Rather than go old school by putting names in a hat, I used the “true random number generator” on their home page. I entered 1 as the “min” and 11 as the “max” since that was the number of entries.

The lucky winner is entry #5, or LaughterHugs!

Congratulations! Be sure to contact me to claim your prize!

Stay tuned for reviews of Loopy Do and Super Do inserts, Guerilla Fluff, Dypes By Dixon, KK Designs, Snappi, Heartland Dreams and more, as well as several giveaways in April!

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