Good for you!  I raised my son in cloth diapers.  Yes, they can be a bit more work, but they are soooo much better for their little bottoms and they cost less in the long run.  

You will need a diaper bucket.  That bucket will have water and a soaking solution in it.  Dreft is what I used 28 years ago. This helps keep the stink to a minimum as well as stains.  I always rinsed the poopy diapers in the toilet before putting them in the bucket.  You might also want to consider diaper liners.  These are disposable sheets that make changing the dirty diapers a bit easier.  But they are "trash", so you have to take that into consideration.  I used them when away from home, so that I could dispose of the the worst and not be tempted to use disposable diapers.

As for diaper brands - can't help you much there.  I had generic pre-folded diapers and regular ones that I had to fold.  I hung mine on the line outside whenever I could (including winter!).  The sun helps keep them bright white and kills odor-causing bacteria.  I just looked at the BumGenius diapers - whoa - talk about top of the line!  VERY nice, but also pricey.  A few of those would be great for away from home. 

As an aside - I still have some of those diapers - they are my favorite dusting/cleaning cloths.  I gave my son and his wife a dozen of them for a wedding gift.  Everyone got a good laugh out of it, but she LOVES them too (and keeps trying to steal more from me!  ).

Start stocking up now, as things go up on sale - you can never have too many diapers.  You will be doing lots of laundry when the little one arrives!

When I rinsed the poopy diapers, I just held on to one end, and swished the diaper in the toilet.  A sprayer would be great to help removing as much as possible.  Only poopy diapers really need to be rinsed.  The wet-only ones can be dropped into the diaper pail directly.  The liners make it sooo much eaiser.  I guess they are flushable - we had a septic tank back then and didn't dare put them thru, but they are probably better now than back then.

I had disposables around for when others were babysitting (at least until I convinced them that cloth wasn't that bad).  My son was sensitive to the perfumes they put in most disposables (instant butt rash!), so I was cautious about brands, etc.  Paper diapers are also good when traveling.  But even then, zip lock bags work great for storing wet diapers.

Here's a link that answers lots of questions about washing and storing, etc.
http://www.cottonbabies.com/clothdiapers.php

I did laundry every other day when he was an infant.  I did have the luxury of a washer and dryer in the house.  I think I had 4 dozen cloth diapers - more than you really need, but it was nice to not worry about running out if you were just too tired to do the laundry! 

Thank you both!  I am feeling much better about this undertaking.

Enna wrote on Mar 5^th, 2009 at 9:51pm:


You can laugh, but I know LOTS of people who have no idea how to fold a cloth diaper for a baby, or even know that you fold it differently for a boy vs a girl.

Yep, most people can't be bothered with cloth diapering.  Probably due to laziness and/or the yuck factor.  I did cloth for financial, environmental and eventually health reasons.  But then, I also breast fed until my son was ready for solids.  So I guess I was just a "nature's girl".   

But don't feel you are alone in wanting to do the cloth diapers.  There are plenty of people who still feel it is the best way to go.  Do what is right for you and don't let others try to change your mind.

Enna;
You and I are of the same generation.  However, I was the youngest, so my diapering experiences were much more limited.  I did a lot of babysitting, but most were out of diapers.  When my son came along, we didn't have the money for disposables.  Hubby was laid off work shortly after the baby was born and was out of work for 12 months.  We found all sorts of ways to save money!