So last night I wrote up a HUGE post RE:cloth diapering and lost it. Let's try this again. Be patient as my keyboard is being annoying and French.
What I use is (OS)one size fits all (or also called birth to potty-BTP) pocket diapers. But there are a ton of different types, but I only know about pockets, so that is what I will tell you about!
What they are and how they work:
You will get a diaper which is made up of 3 components- Exterior shell, the interior wicking surface and an insert.
The exterior of the diaper will look like regular fabric, but the back side is laminated with a plastic so that it is waterproof. This is called PUL and it is what stops the waste from leaking through the diaper and onto clothes, people or surfaces. On the front face of the PUL, and on the wings of the diaper there will be a series of snaps. One set of snaps will allow to to control the waist size of the diaper, the other snaps (on the front of the diaper below the wings and waist) will allow you to control the rise- so making the body of the diaper longer or shorter depending on how big or tall baby is.
The interior of the diaper, or the part that will touch baby's bum, is usually a fleece or a dry cloth. The purpose of this fabric is to draw away moisture from against baby. When baby pees or poops, the interior layer will act as a wick, drawing the waste through it and into the insert below it. The cloth should feel dry or almost dry after it does this. The cloth does not hold any pee, it just draws it away.
The insert is a long strip of multi layered fabric, usually microfiber or bamboo, sometimes flannel or other highly absorbent fibers. On the back inside of the diaper there should be a slit or flap, which allows you to stuff the insert between the PUL exterior and the wicking interior. This is where the waste(pee and poo) are stored until changing.
How you use them:
You stuff the inside pocket with an insert or two(depending on how long you want the diaper to last, if it is nighttime or if baby is a heavy wetter). Then you snap the diaper on baby, making sure to adjust the snaps for the right fit for your child. OS pockets generally say they will fit from 8lbs, but if your baby is long and thin or small and chunky, they may fit at different points. Most people find they fit a little after 8lbs. Mine fit my son at around 9lbs. You want to make sure the leg elastics touch baby's thigh the whole way around. When baby wets the diaper, just unsnap and remove the inserts from inside the diaper. Place both the diaper and the insert into a dry pail or a wet bag. A wet bag is simply a laundry bag made out of PUL. You can also get small wet bags to fit into your diaper bag so you can cloth diaper when out and about. If baby has solid waste knock it into the toilet. Breast milk poo is water soluble and does not need to be rinsed off. Wash the diapers every few days.
How to wash them:
Lots of different opinions here! Generally speaking you can just throw them into the washer and add a bit of cloth diaper safe detergent. There are a ton of options, I recommend researching what is right for you. You also want to use much less than you normally would. It seems counter intuitive to use less detergent on something like a diaper, but the theory is that build up of soap on the fabric actually causes pee to repel off of the diaper instead of absorbing, and the excess build up of soap can also cause smelliness. So use about one quarter of what you usually would, less in a HE machine, just see what works and adjust from there. Never add fabric softener. You are also going to want a lot of water in the wash, and usually wash no more than a couple dozen diapers in one go-that way there is adequate space for the diapers to agitate and come clean. Most people go with a wash sequence of a cold soak, a hot rinse and a cold rinse, but do what is working for you. When they are done washing, place them to air dry, or in the dryer on low heat. High heat could cause the PUL to melt. Never add dyer sheets. The first time you use the diapers, before placing them on your child, you are going to want to run them through a few (2-5)washes. This preps the diapers and makes them absorbent.
How many:
This sort of depends on how often you want to wash. I'd shoot for doing a load every two to three days. During the day, you are going to want to do a change about every 2 hours or so, again depending on how often your child wets their diaper and how heavily. My son is a heavy wetter so I change him every 2 hours, maybe 3 if he is napping.I would aim for 8-12 diapers per day. Probably closer to 10-12 just to be safe. So if you want to do laundry every 2-3 days, you will want between 20-36 diapers. Some people could get away with a stash of 16 for 2 days, but most would want at least 20. They do not have to be extremely expensive diapers either. Kawaii and Alva for example are more affordable and very good options to start your cloth diaper stash.
The natural parenting board is a great resource for finding out information, and the internet is full of great information too. This is a very basic run down and many people know WAY more than me. Hope this helped though!
he is now 9lb 2oz was very pleased with this. 
