Cloth diapers were high up on my "must have" list! They help the environment, they prevent diaper rash, less chemicals, yada yada yada. But deciding on which diapers to use can be really overwhelming! Here's some things I learned along the way.
You want to have a mix of cloth diaper types to try out. I thought we would like prefolds the most (you fold a square cloth around your baby, then add a waterproof cover), but we actually liked them the least. So get a couple of each - pockets, prefold/covers, fitted/covers, all in ones (AIO).
You're probably not going to be the one doing diaper changes or laundry the first couple weeks after birth. Which means all that research you've done on how to wash diapers and how to put them on the baby is useless unless you share it. My husband haaaaaated the cloth diapers, and he was absolutely drowning in laundry after the baby. Poor guy. He'd sit and fold all the different bits and it took him like an hour to fold one load of diapers! It took me months to get him back onboard with cloth diapering.
Consider disposable diapers the first few weeks. The first weeks postpartum are a whirlwind of learning and exhaustion. You really don't want to make more work for yourself if it can be avoided. Plus newborns will go through sooooooo many diapers. Expect about 15 a day - which means if you wash every 3 days you're going to need 45+ diapers on hand. It's not really feasible to try different types of diapers AND have enough on hand to cloth diaper exclusively. If you wait a few weeks, most babies will begin to fit into one size cloth diapers, which means you can skip the newborn size.
Consider a diaper service the first few weeks. There are different levels of diaper service. Some will clean and return your diapers. Others will provide diapers and clean them too. I find most Grandparents will be more than willing to cover these costs for a month or two until you decide what kind of diapers you prefer and get your postpartum laundry under control (if such a thing is possible, haha).
Look into elimination communication. When I first read about this, I was gobsmacked. It seemed so far fetched that little babies could use potties. You know how babies tend to poop or pee the moment you take their diaper off? There's all these products to help with that, like the pee pee teepees. What I didn't know is you can keep a bowl, food container, or toddler potty insert near the diaper changing stations and at each diaper change hold them over it. You would be absolutely amazed how much poop and pee you'll catch! Try it out!
