OK so just to try it out.......

check out fernandfaerie.com for cheap CDing.

You can buy 12 prefolds and 3 Bummies covers for about $60. If that suits you, you can buy more, or else branch out into fitteds, pockets, or all in ones. Be careful, once you fall in love with diapers you'll get addicted. :LOL

Warning: there are lots of different answers to this question cuz people's opinions really vary. Don't let this scare you!

Do you want enough diapers so that you'll have enough if you decide to go ahead and CD, or just enough to give CD a try? How many diapers you need depends on how often you wash your diapers. Every other day is common. But if you have more diapers you can go longer. When I started out I only got a dozen, so I had to wash every day. I think having 2 dozen diapers makes life a lot easier.

Why don't you try premium chinese prefold diapers (12), fastened with snappis (you only use 1 at a time, but I would buy 2), with some pul wrap covers like Bummis Super Whisper Wrap (4)? If you can swing it, you might want to try 1 wool cover (wool is nice cuz it's breathable), but it is not a necessity--plenty of people are happy with pul wraps (aristocrat pull-ons are nice because they fit a wide range of sizes).

Here is one place i buy diapers that has good prices. The only thing i see here that i think you could maybe get cheaper elsewhere is the aristocrat:
www.nickisdiapers.com
Also, though i like this store, i don't recommend the packages because they include buying multiple sizes, which you don't necessarily need since your baby is older.

This place has aristocrats for less, BUT there is a $3.95 shipping charge if that's all you buy, so you may be better off with nicki's:
www.softclothbunz.com

Other things you might want:
wipes
doublers (or you could wait and see if you need them)
garbage can to use as diaper pail. If you aren't hauling dipes up and down stairs to wash you don't really need to bother with a liner for the diaper pail if you don't want to.

Just get as many prefolds as you can for now, and use them part-time. The more you use them, the more money you will save by not having to buy as many disposables, and you can use that money to buy more prefolds. Eventually, you should be able to use cloth full-time. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. It can be gradual.

Yes, and check out the tp for cheap stuff It can cut your initial investment in half! ITA that it doesn't have to be a huge jump, you can start with 12 (or whatever) and just use them and wash them and gradually build your stash. If you buy from the TP it won't take long to have a nice comfy stash built Be sure to update us and good luck!

I'd go for the prefolds and PUL covers. Just because I'd hate to spend a lot of money on something that I hated or wasn't going to do long-term. www.naturalbabies.com has EXCELLENT prices on prefolds though you pay shipping(but I've found that it still saves you a few bucks over a lot of places!). Bummis Super Whisper Wraps tend to be favorites from what I hear for a cover. The Trading Post here on MDC can REALLY save you money if you've been here long enough and have enough posts to see it. I get 99% of my diapering stuff from there. Ebay is another option though I find that a lot of the stuff resells at cost or higher so it's never really worked for me. That may just be me though! But seriously just get 1 dozen prefolds and 2-3 wraps and see if you like it for a week. If you do, continue with it and research a little further to see what you may like. I personally hated prefolds in the beginning although now I adore them and they are the bulk of our stash. So maybe fitteds, pockets, or aio's would appeal to you more. You don't have to buy everything up front. Do what a lotof people here have done: Figure out wht you spend weekly on sposies. Put that money aside each week and use your prefolds as much as possible, taking money out for sposies only as needed. I assure you that you'll have more than enough for a full stash of cloth in just a few short months. Just buy one or two diapers at a time and be frugal about it. Initial start-up costs for cloth are expensive but nowhere near as expensive as months of disposable diapers that you can't resell and can't reuse.
Meg

OK it took me FOREVER to find this post again! LOL

OK this is what I'm thinking......I'd like to try out the most cost-effective/easy ones to use. I don't know anyone to show me how to fold and all that.

I am *not at all* familiar with all the terms! The only thing I do know is I don't want anything that pins. I'm too paranoid about sticking my baby. I want something easy to use (for someone very used to sposies) and as inexpensive as I can get without sacrificing quality. 100% natural, no polyester and such, ds gets heat rash sometimes from poly-sleepers. Natural fibers breathe, this doesn't happen.

What is a soaker and what is the purpose of one? I've heard people say they have knitted soakers. I have friends who knit and would probably be able to talk somebody into making me 1-2 of these....do I *need* this?

And I just thought of another up-side to cd's........I can use it to 'argue' my point for our own w/d!! yes the apartment might be a *little* more to rent, but if we had our own w/d I could use cute cd's and save the money of buying disposables!!! LMAO!!!!!!!!! (I already used the argument of the money spent in quarters on laundry, much more with baby than just with us. I have never tracked what I spent on sposies.....I'm a pretty good bargain shopper/coupon mama but still I would have to guess at LEAST $30/mo.

Quote:
http://hometown.aol.com/dclownfish03...ndex.html?f=fs
http://diaperpages.com/cd_article.php This site has terms and information about cloth diapering. You dont have to pin, you can use a snappi. She also has a list of free soaker patterns so your friend can knit some soakers for your baby. Knit soakers are made of wool and absorbs about 35%. THey are used as covers, are breathable, and have natural antibacterial properties. They dont have to be washed every time you use them. You can air them out and reuse unless poop gets on it or it starts to smell or leak. Then you need to wash and relanolize it.

I started out buying a couple of diapers each week and slowly built up my stash. I only bought from places that were highly recommended until I could figure out what worked best for us.Good luck and welcome to your new addiction.

Good for you!!! CDing is sooo fun!
If I recall correctly, you are in Seattle? They have a couple of cding stores there. You might want to go in and browse. Prefolds and covers are cheap but not the easiest way to go. You might want to look on the TP or Ebay for a couple of used pocket or aio diapers. And be sure to stash that money you save on not buying disposable diapers away into your cd fund! Pay yourself!
Suzy