I'm a real stingybum when it comes to nappies - cost was a big factor in our decision to go cloth in the first place, and I thought it was bonkers that people were spending $35 on a single nappy when you can get 10 AIO (all in one) pocket nappy (where the nappy has a hole inside, which you insert one or more pads into, so that it's absorbent) in a OSFM (one size fits most) size.

So I got 20 online for about $110 including postage, and I got 24 white terry flats for about $20 from a major chain, and 16 coloured terry flats for about $36 from another local chain. We then got 3 x 3 packs of snappy fasteners (those Y shaped silicony fasteners with little grippy claws, like what you attach a bandage with) and we got 3 x 3 packs of good old plastic pilchers (about $5.50).

I didn't really care about the look (we basically never use nappies as an outermost garment) and while pilchers don't breathe as well as some other covers, we find they do a perfectly good job.

Having pottered around here for a bit, I gather there's a bit of distaste for what are labelled "chinese cheapies" for various reasons (don't support WAHMs, inferior quality, etc) but all 20 of ours are still going strong 3 years and 7 months down the track. There may well be some of inferior quality, but the ones I got aren't.

A couple of the terry squares are fraying at the hems, and there's a tear or two, but that's ok. They get used for everything from laying under bubs when they're still perking, to laying under bottoms when on the change table, to using as boosters in a pocket nappy overnight, to wiping up spilled milk and laying under bubs when feeding them to protect my clothes, perk rags, toilet training accidents, and everything in between.

The pilchers haven't fared so well, but they have always only fallen apart when they're at the end of their size capacity, and frankly at $1.90 for a three pack, I'm ok with that. Sure plastic is nasty and all that, but I don't think it makes any difference at the end of the day, unless your little one has particularly sensitive skin, or is particularly susceptible to fungal infections, etc.

We got flushable liners initially, but have found that the cloth is gentle enough to not need one, as long as you're changing them frequently enough (which you aim to do with cloth anyway).

We have two buckets with snap on lids, which we use for dry pailing (when you just chuck used nappies in a bucket, rather than putting them straight into a soaking bucket).

Our washing machine has a soak function and a heavy duty function - a round of washing with both those options has never failed to clean the nappies.

We dry them by air (anything with PUL or similar shouldn't go in the dryer) and outside in the sunshine where possible.

Ummmm .... other than that, I strongly encourage you to use disposables in the first week - that meconium is a nightmare to try to get off cloth. Save yourself the headache and the hassle and use disposables until it's cleared through.

Good luck!!

Good luck!!