I ordered a bunch of earth-friendly disposables from diapers.com the other night. This suddenly feels much more real. Our daycare place doesn't do cloth, so we're going to do a mix of options. I have a couple different kinds of cloth that various people have gifted us, and I might order a touch more, depending on sizing. I've heard I should have the diapers pre-baby, so I ordered diapers in the 8 to 14 pound range. If our baby is smaller, we have some newborn diapers that were gifted, and then we'll have to run out for more.
I have done a lot of reading, including trying to go to the primary literature, to learn about diapers and what is best for the kid and the environment. Strangely, the best researched stuff I've found included this thing from yahoo voices and baby gear lab. Turns out the earth-friendly ones might not be the cheapest, but they were the best performers in many metrics, including health and environment.
I have also learned that the diaper that works best for one baby will not work the best for another. With that in mind, I ordered normal packs (40ish diapers) of Earth's Best, Nature Babycare (recommended by a friend), and Bambo Nature. I also have a few different brands of wipes, even though we intend to do cloth wipes at home. Disposable wipes will be nice for when we are out and about.
As a side note, mothers (or soon-to-bes) that I know out there, diapers.com is having an excellent sale right now on little-one sized diapers (newborn, stage 1, and stage 2). They seem to regularly have good sales, and I've seen the site recommended by more than one mom. I saved 20% on my order and also received free shipping, and I think that will add up over time if I can keep working various deals. Bargain-hunting moms I've read about usually like to pay in the 15 cents per diaper range. I did pick slightly more expensive diapers, but the discount brought the cost to 21 cents per diaper for the cheapest and 32 cents per diaper for the most expensive, and I didn't even buy the bulk cases of diapers.
Even the Sierra Club does not take a straight stance on diapers, though they do point out that cloth diapers are the most cost-effective choice. Since daycare has made some choice for us, we're just going to see what works. I am sensing that will be a theme throughout child-rearing.