The Pros:

-First, obviously, we like it because we don’t have to buy a whole new set of diapers for each size.

Our son has worn these since he was a few weeks old and is still wearing them at eight months.

The adjustable elastic is very convenient and only has to be adjusted every once in a while and it doesn’t bunch up like the bum genius that only has three different levels.

The notches in the elastic make the fit much more customized for the baby.

-We much prefer the snaps to the velcro on the bum genius because you always know where to snap the diaper so that it isn’t too tight or too loose.

-We prefer the pocket to the all in one because it seems like they get more clean this way (you can separate them for the wash), you can adjust the absorbency based on size and time (night or day), and they dry faster this way which is especially important if you are line drying. That said, we also prefer the pocket to the fitteds with a cover – more convenient.

-Even though our son would fit in the medium perfect size, the one size fits better. I think they often fit better than the “perfect” size.

The Cons:

-We generally like these, but the later versions (we have some of the first ones and some later versions) have one less snap and at eight months they already seem to be getting a little bit tight on our boy who has a round tummy and chunky legs. I wish they would go back to the extra snap.

Also, the first ones didn’t have the hip snap which worked better for us.

It makes it too tight around his chubby legs when we do the hip snap.

-We have had some problems with leaking. I’ve taken to stripping them more regularly, and I’m sure this would be the case with most cloth diapers, but it is sort of a hassle.

-It would be nice if there were more designs for the one-size. Currently only solids and daisies.

-The white ones end up looking a little discolored, so I would go with a colored one.

-The earlier versions had smaller holes for the elastic and the ends didn’t slip out.

The later versions had bigger holes and sometimes the end of the elastic slips out which can be annoying and leave little marks on his legs.

All of that said, we have 24 of these one sizes and like them better than any of the others we’ve tried. For our next baby, we’ll use only these, with maybe a few small “perfect size” diapers early on.

Second, I would say a good stroller.

I would spend as little as possible on toys.

The kid will play with most of them for about 10 minutes.

The rest, I would (and did) buy used. (Bought a new matress for the crib, though. I wasn’t taking any chances with some other kid’s funk. )

Spend money on really important things like pictures of you & the baby.

Crib? I got one, but it’s rarely used since we decided to cosleep-I change his diaper on it but that’s about it.

Infant car seat? read the reviews and buy the best-you can’t put a price on safety.

Diaper bag? never bought one, I got a free one at the hospital with formula samples (which I threw out). Still using it 16 months later!

Books? you mean books about raising a baby? If you have the internet you can get ideas from that.

Cloth diapers? I use these! The average savings is $2000 for the first child. Check out www.Diaperpin.com and www.Diaperjungle.com for different types-they aren’t rubber pants and pins anymore!

Toys? you are the biggest source of entertainment for your baby. Plus people always buy your baby toys-I think I’ve bought a few things here and there-I like wooden toys-they last a lot longer than plastic.

Clothes? They grow so fast, so don’t stock up on newborn clothes! Buy them secondhand, I mostly used onesies when we were home.

Other things to consider are playmats, a playpen if you need to run in the other room and want to keep baby out of stuff, nail clippers, booger suckers, receiving blankets for swaddling, washcloths, lotions, soap.

Things I have that I rarely used:baby monitor since we coslept, diaper genie since you can’t put cloth in there, the diaper stacker that hangs off the crib.