When it comes down to it, it depends where you live as to which is a better choice for the environment.  Places with less water and more landfills are better for disposables, plentiful water and limited land means cloth is better.  As for saving money – it depends on how you plan to use your cloth diapers… washing them at home, then line drying, is a lot cheaper than using a diaper service.  And, of course, the type of diapers you buy impacts the price.

We started out using cloth diapers all the time – we started with a stash of 18 bumgenius 3.0 diapers.  Pros – they grow with the child – snaps change the size of the diaper.  Cons – they are bulky and uncomfortable on small babies, they are pricey ($16-20/each).  You also need to stuff and unstuff the insert at each change, which is a hassle.  You can get the type that fasten with velcro or with snaps – the velcro is easier to use, but some people claim the velcro wears out.  I never had that issue.

The second time around, I ended up using Kushies all-in-one. I started with 20 diapers (10-22 lbs.) and I’m changing diapers for 2 kids.  With 20 diapers, I end up washing them every 2 days, and I put them in disposables overnight.  You wouldn’t wait longer than that to wash them unless you want the smell to overwhelm you.  I love them, they are super easy to use, there is no stuffing, and they rarely leak.  They cost about $11 each.  Josh is about 20 lbs, and I just ordered some in the next size up (22-45 lbs).  They also make a smaller size, but I’m going to suggest you cut yourself a break and use disposables til the baby hits 8-9 lbs, when the size 10-22 lb diapers will fit them.

We also invested in a diaper sprayer, which attaches to the toilet and makes it easy to spray out poopy diapers.  We quickly decided that disposable diaper liners were better once the baby starts solids, so I’d probably skip the sprayer and just use diaper liners from the start.  I have no strong preferences on which kind of liners to use, and tend to buy what’s on sale.  Grovia might be my favorite.  With a liner, you can also add a diaper ointment, if needed.  You still need to wash them with the right detergent.

The best thing we found was FuzziBunz hanging diaper pail.  I use it as a diaper pail liner, and one on the back of the bathroom doorknob for potty training accidents.  It’s brilliant because you can unzip the bottom to toss diapers in the wash without having to touch them.  We use a locking trash can for our cloth diaper pail, and the munchkin diaper pail with baking powder for our disposables. Both work fine, but if I were starting all over, I’d look at the Ubbi.

As for disposables – having tried out most of the chlorine-free ones on the market (Earth’s Best, 7th generation, Altitude…) I like Seventh Generation best.  And they are made in the USA.

Things I’d skip:

Diapers that need to be stuffed with a liner.

gdiapers – they leak on every kid I know who has tried them.

A diaper sprayer

Putting your kid in a cloth diaper overnight once they start sleeping more than 3-4 hours at a time.

Things I’d do again:

Kushies all-in-one diapers (we have the ultra and the regular all-in-ones, and I can’t say I notice a difference.)

Fuzzibunz hanging diaper pail