We use Bum Genius pocket diapers for daycare and outings. They are wonderful. We used disposables for about 8 weeks in the beginning and we had more blow outs with them in 8 weeks than in 1 year in cloth.
I breastfed, so in the beginning solids are not solid at all, but water soluable. You can buy a diaper sprayer and hook it up to the toilet, I used the shower sprayer and a bucket in the beginning. You can also just throw them in the washer if you breast feed because it is water soluable.
Once it is more solid, you can shake in the toilet or pull off with a big wad of toilet paper.
I think they are cheaper in the long run. In the beginning, we were going through $40 worth of disposables per week. You can get 3 bum genius for that price and use them from 8-35lbs. It's quite a deal.
We used prefolds and covers in the beginning too and that is what I would suggest. Newborns pee so often, it would be really expensive to buy all those pocket diapers. little-lions.com has them on sale for like $16 a dozen so for $32 you could have 24 diapers and that would get you through 2 days. They cost more when we bought ours, but they are indestructible. If you decide to use prefolds, make sure you buy diaper service quality. The Infant size will last you a long time. This means NO GERBER. They are polyester filled and don't have layers of cotton so they aren't as absorbant at all and don't get quilty after washing. For covers, we like the bummis super whisper wraps. My suggestion would be to use prefolds in the beginning with bum genius for outings or overnight (although you'll be up anyway, so might as well change em).
As far as wash routine goes, I have a small apartment sized washer and it's not that great. I do a cold wash with some squirts of Bac-Out (gets rid of bacteria and stink). Then I do a hot wash with cold rinse using All Free and Clear (about 1/4 of the recommended amount). You want to use less detergent because diapers absorb so much that they can get buildup from the soap and then get stinky. Clean diapers smell like nothing. Also, with detergents you want to look for one that doesn't have additives in it, like brighteners, whiteners, etc. Cheap basic detergent does the job. I like All Free and Clear because it doesn't have scents and then I know the diapers are clean, not just fragranced.
For drying, I throw everything in the dryer except the shells of the bum genius diapers. They are made of PUL which eventually will break down with the heat in the dryer. I throw them in the dryer about once a month to reseal the PUL (which keeps them waterproof).
For a pail routine, I use a dry pail (13 gallon kitchen trash can with lid) with a WAHMies pail liner. It's washable, so I throw it in with the diapers.
Here's some links to sites I've purchased from and used for cloth diapering research:
www.diaperswappers.com
www.clothdiapernation.com
www.cottonbabies.com (the maker of bum genius and they have a sale going on right now)
www.momsmilkboutique.com (free shipping on any purchase, I have bought covers, snappis, pins and diapers from here)
www.greenmountaindiapers.com (I haven't purchased from here, but the prefolds page shows how different prefolds fit different sized babies)
www.little-lions.com (this is where I made my first purchase and bought prefolds, a snappi and some covers)
The thing I love about cloth diapering is that most of the businesses I buy from are run by stay at home moms. I'm not a stay at home mom, but I love that I can help them to be able to stay at home. Also, a lot of cloth diapers (with the exception of indian and chinese prefolds and bum genius sold at target) are made in the USA.
If you have any other questions or want more info, drop me a PM.
ETA: I forgot to comment on staining. The sun is amazing. Any breastfed poop stain, hang the wet diaper in the sun and it's magically gone. You can also spray lemon juice on the wet diaper and sun it and it will help. I've read it works for other stains. I will find out this summer
