I'm planning to use disposables for the first couple of weeks, then move gradually onto cloth. I haven't bought any yet though, I'm still busy researching all the options, it feels quite complicated! My friends going to come round and show me and DH hers though, which I think will help. I think we will buy a trial pack and then add to it if we are happy, rather than buy a full set up front.
the landfill issue is pretty persuasive for me, as I think its so easy to ignore the problem, but I had to visit one as part of my university degree, and I also interviewed people who had ended up with landfill sites near their homes. We only have a finite amount of space on this earth at the end of the day. That said, I have sympathies for people if they feel they are being judged as 'less good' parents based on nappy choice, it seems a shame when actually a lot of the decision has to be based on the practicalities of your house and lifestyle etc.
cloth nappies will also suit me as I like the idea of a lot of the expediture being at the beginning, as I have some savings for the baby, and then not so much expenditure week by week.
that said, I do feel a bit daunted on occasion that I might be creating a lot of extra work at a time when I will just be figuring out how to be a parent!
how do you manage if you are going away? We would be going to stay with the new grandparents for a week or two at christmas, its a long car journey to get there. I expect they would be happy with nappy washes when we get there, but I just keep running the logistics through my head of whether you would need to travel with a bucket full of dirty nappies? Is occasional use of disposables the best option to manage that situation?