Bec - I haven't had sposies in the house since DS was 6 weeks old, and even then I didn't use them. Not sure what you mean by emergency situations... He's been in cloth from the start, with the exception of a box DP bought cause he couldn't quite get his head around it all at that stage! It might seem a bit of a gamble with buying online, but there's always the option of re-selling. I don't know why there aren't more IRL stores... First I used flannelette flats with PUL covers, and I got a starter pack of MCN from a great online store called nurture nappies. I figured from what was available, and what I'd read about in online forums like nappycino and here on bellybelly that pockets like BumGenius were the best for our situation. At the time, living in an apartment with no access to sunlight I needed something that would dry quickly. So BumGenius pockets are great for that, and they are OSFA and adjustable to fit from NB to toilet-training/toddler. Not cheap at first, but they've paid for themselves already in the savings from buying sposies. But it's ridiculously easy to become addicted to MCN and the thrill of getting "fluffy mail" is a bit ridiculous but I'm not alone - check the cloth nappy threads! Some of the nappies available are just soooo cute! I now have about 35-40 MCN in 6 different brands, but still use terry flats sometimes. And look at that, I'm babbling again!
Anyway, I've heard that kids in cloth toilet-train earlier because they're more aware of the wet feeling (not that MCN aren't absorbent!) so that can't be a bad thing. Feel free to pick my brain about it if you're considering going cloth even part-time.

Abb - there's a three-hour kids clothing sale here on Saturday morning... you're gonna miss it! LOL, hope the drive in to Melbs isn't filled with uncomfortable silences coz you're still cranky at DP!

Come on mummies! Keep up!