Where are you Mish? We have advisors around the country and perhaps one in your area who can show you how it all works.
However Kushies and Bambino Mio are completely different and at opposite ends of the cloth spectrum.
Kushies are an all in one nappy - the nappy is joined to the waterproof outer - so putting it on is about the same as a disposable. The disadvantage is that they are quite expensive for what they are, many people don't like the plastiky outer, and they're quite slow to dry.
Bambino Mio nappies are "prefolds". This is a cotton rectangle which you fold into a slightly different shape depending on whether you have a boy or girl. You basically end up with a thin rectangle which is placed between the legs and held in place with a waterproof wrap. The advantage is that they are very cheap but they do not "contain" as well as other nappies, and they're not as absorbant either.
Most popular are 2-part nappies. These come in loads of brands - Tots Bots, Mother-ease, Bambineo to name just three. They all fit slightly differently and most fit well between about 2 months to 2 years, however some brands don't fit brilliantly on newborns (not a problem for you) and older toddlers.
Two part nappies are a shaped nappy, shaped like a disposable, which is (easily and quickly) fastened with poppers, velcro (or aplix, same thing) or a nappi nippa - a modern nappy pin without the pin! They wrap around the baby like a disposable, giving great absorbancy and great "containment". You then add a waterproof wrap which is usually soft cotton lined with a thin, flexible, breathable plastic lining - far nicer than the old fashioned plastic pants. Other wrap fabrics are available once you get into it all. Two part nappies are more expensive than prefolds but they're worth it.
There are several nappy fabrics to choose from - cotton, bamboo and microterry being the most popular.
The differences are:
Microterry (eg Fluffles) - dry very fast, and stay soft when line dried. Very absorbant. Not a natural fabric.
Cotton - dry medium fast, go hard (like towels) if line dried esp in hard water, although there are work-arounds like putting vinegar in the rinse cycle which help. Natural fabric and organic cotton available which is much better for the environment (and for some babies). Nicely absorbant.
Bamboo - dries slowly, stays lovely and soft if line dried. Organically grown fabric, very eco friendly. Naturally anti bacterial and anti fungal. Extremely absorbant.
You then need liners. Most people start with paper ones which you just pop in the loo and flush - hence no messing with messy nappies as you may think! You can also try fleece - great for keeping the skin drier but may need some "scraping". Also silk bourette is great for nappy rash, but needs hand washing!
So when you take the nappy off, pop the paper liner in the loo, then place the nappy into a nappy bucket, lined with a mesh. Don't soak the nappies - it's not necessary anymore. When you're ready to wash just lift out the mesh, open the drawstring and throw the whole lot into the machine - no touching dirty nappies!
It's SO easy to do this - do give it a go and you'll always find loads of help here on mumsnet.
Finally, we offer a 10% discount for mumsnet mums, just use code "mumsnet" on checkout - helps you out to start with
Emma