My mother used those cloth diapers when my little brother (who is now 23 yrs old) was a baby. I remember her rinsing them in the toilet and putting them all in a pail for the diaper service. they'd come deliver clean diapers every week and she'd give them the dirty ones. EWWWWE!! I would never use those! gross!
They do make the diapers way better then they did when I had my babies. My kids had rashes all the time. I went through so much penetan cream i think i kept them in business! Erika hasn't had 1 rash yet. The diapers are way better now then they used to be for sure!
I also use the huggies baby wipes. I buy the big bag of them (240) and they are awesome! Even those are better now! They're so thick and soft. I don't have to use 10 of them anymore!
are you going to put the baby in a crib right away or in a craddle first? We have a "family" craddle that my dad bought when krystal was born (she was their first grandchild) so it's become a tradition for us to use it for every baby born in the family. I found it kind of special that the craddle that krystal slept in, her daughter is now sleeping in. She will be going into the crib though in about a month or so.