This is a bit of a negative tip, but I'd suggest that you don't invest too heavily in cloth diapers before the baby arrives. Buy a few, give them a try and see how you like them before you put in too much money.
I thought cloth diapers made a lot of sense, and so many people said they wouldn't be that much work . . . nope, didn't work at all for me! I tried the plain Gerber diapers that
Walmart and Target sell, then later I decided that I could've made a go of it if I sprang for the expensive, shaped diapers and the cute little covers, but I didn't do any better with them -- and I was angry that I'd spent so much on them! I figured up how many times I'd have to re-use a cloth diaper before I started saving money (saving was my primary motive), and counting the cost of washing, I didn't even break even -- especially with the expensive diapers and covers that were outgrown.
Why'd it work out that way? The diaper pail was always smelly and in the way. I hated running the washing machine with a small load, but I didn't want to combine the diapers with any other clothes -- and to make matters worse, cloth diapers are really supposed to be washed TWICE in hot water to get them good and clean. It seemed like a great deal of washing. They were more bulky and didn't fit well under many clothes in cold weather. They had considerably more "leaks" than disposables, which meant that in addition to washing diapers, I was also washing more clothes.
I know that some people are devoted to cloth diapers, but I found them cumbersome and time-consuming beyond their value. Instead, I found a source of second-quality disposables, which were delivered right to my house. At about half the cost of the store-brand diapers, they were probably about the same cost as buying and laundering cloth diapers.
Of course, there's the environmental issue, but I contented myself to know that almost all their clothing and toys were used, and they never had formula or commercial baby food, so I figured I was doing "enough" in those ways.
So my advice is to buy just a few cloth diapers -- if you love them, great, buy more. If you don't, you won't have wasted a bunch of money.
I posted it kind of secretly on the freap chat a while back. I had to tell my freaps but still be secretive because i hadn't told the entire family yet. They all know now though. So we can celebrate openly!!
I have nothing to add, but just wanted to say congrats, from another Disney bride.
