it depends what nappys they are.
Im a huge real nappy and already have a massive stash and am only 13 weeks pg!
There are some FAB washables out there... that can be aborbant enough for night time and leak less than disposables.
Then there are some (sadly the more commonly sold ones, that are avaliable on the high street, rather than only online / through nappy specialists) which are rubbish. Expensive and leaky and put people off washables for life!
some are bith to potty (so may be huge on a new born and not fit a chunky toddler)
some are sized (so you need more so more £)
some are all in one (like a washable disposable, so easy.... yet take ages to dry) where as others have a nappy, a liner, a booster AND a wrap.
there are some which are just a piece of cloth that you fold to suit yourself.
then theres the fabrics... super absorbant slim fitting bamboo? Or microfibre thats bulky but drys super fast...
I personally will be using cloth nappies, I have 2 FREE packs of newborn nappies and some samples, plan to use them for the 1st few days of meconium, and then into cloth..... but part of me wants cloth from hour 1!
Howver there are LOADS of cloth nappies that i wouldnt even consider using too, and even if someone GAVE them to me, id still not use them at all!
washing really isnt a huge issue... modern nappies can be dry pailed (no buckets of manky water) and wash at 40C, with just a small amount of detergant.
If you use a paper liner than most of the poo goes down the loo, where it is processed properly, rather than sitting in landfil sites for eternity