OhGodOhGodOhGod! Cloth nappy choice blindness/inertia. Help!

[izchaz]

HEEELP! I have choice inertia! I'm pretty sure I want to go the cloth nappy route, and ideally I want an all rounder that can be used day and night, and will go birth to potty. I don't want to have to master lots of nappy styles, so would prefer to use a single system. Does this exist?

Secondarily, my choice is made harder because the entirety of my peer group are disposable users, none of them can advise, and those I've asked have told me I'm a lentil-weaving loon, even my mum, who used terrycloth nappies on me!

For me the deciding factor on wanting to use cloth is my dislike of giving such a swathe of money to a big nappy/baby product like Pampers, the rest (cost per unit/laundering costs/upfront outlay etc all strikes me as 6 and two 3s).

Anyway, I've worked myself into a massive tizz about it, can one of you wise types set me straight, find my miracle nappy that does everything I want AND give me a slice of cake/put the kettle on please? I'd be pathetically grateful...

Oh and we hae the little lamb wipes too. They are bamboo so wipe well and don't go frayed.

We always use reusable overnight also as the bamboo ones we use are fine.

We have an over the door drying rack hung into the airing cupboard. This is where we dry them. Although did use tumble dryer for a few months when had x2 in nappies, just so we didn't have to buy more.

On the washable wipes front we use fleece wipes which I get off eBay. They are ace. Our changing table is in the bathroom so I just dampen them under the tap, wipe and dump in the nappy bin. No 'wet pailing' here, just a mesh bag inside the bucket. We do use flushable paper liners though. Less of an issue with inoffensive baby poo but essential IMO when it comes to being able to easily remove and flush stinky weaned poo.

Oh, and we are only just about to start using them on DS3 now at 5 weeks due to his chicken legs. We used cloth overnight with boosters for DS1 but DS2 drinks like a fish and is what they call a heavy wetter plus his skin can't cope with the wetness next to it all night so he goes in disposables at night. Never had any problems using barrier cream though, maybe that's because we use liners so it doesn't go into the nappy itself? Oh and ALWAYS make sure you wash them with a cool pre wash setting first as going straight to a hot wash sets the smell of wee in them. Made that mistake early on, yuck!!

Hi all, sorry for posting and running - manic few days with no time for nappy tracking!
Thank you all for your advice and tips, will do the nappy lady quiz, that looks ace, turns out I am near a nappy library, AND I may be eligible for a loan or grant scheme to help buy what I like (when I figure that bit out). Fairly sure I'll start with disposables and migrate to cloth once I've got the other bits tinkered into line. Might even try wipes, you guys make it sound a doddle!
Thanks also for the nifty tips that you only really pick up from making a booboo yourself (I'll have to write them down and pin them to my forehead!) and for taking the time to post multiple times as other thoughts occured to you. You're all little stars.
I'm off to make cake now, anyone want some?