Another cloth diaperer here! We also used prefolds and covers until my DD was about a month or a month and a half old. I looooved the Thirsties diaper covers. They fit well over the prefolds (cloth square that is fastened with pins or a plastic snappi) and we didn't have a single leak. I also had both a Prowrap and a Litewrap cover--I didn't like the fit on these as well. They seemed small for the size and were harder to use. We used several Dappi covers (think nylon pants that our mothers used to cover cloth diapers). These were extremely cheap, but not as user friendly, because they slip on over the prefold instead of utelizing velcro like the others.
If I could do this part over again I'd still use prefolds but buy all Thirsties covers to go over them. They come in lots of cute colors and work so well!!
After DD grew a bit we bought 21 BumGenius diapers. I
them. So much.
I caught a special at my local cloth diapering store (not too many of these around!) and bought in bulk so the price wasn't too bad. I think I got them for around $12-$13 a diaper--much better than the $18 they go for full price! BumGenius is a pocket diaper. This means there is cover that has a pocket where you insert a super absorbent liner. I use the liners that came with the diapers, and at night use a regular liner and a newborn insert for extra absorbancy. Both of these liners come with the diapers so I haven't been out any extra money, but you can buy others that absorb better if you have a super soaker
We may need to move up as DD grows and wets more. We have very few leaks with these diapers--usually I've done something stupid when I put them on DD and that's why they leak. I have no complaints about this product at all, but I suspect I'd love others as much. I just got a good deal on these
We, too, do laundry every 3 days or so. I wash on cold with no soap, then on hot with 1/4-1/2 of the recommended amount of detergent for the load size and then I do an extra rinse. On all cloth diapers you want to make sure you're not using too much detergent or detergent with any additives--it can cause buildup on the diapers and they won't absorb as well. Ewww
I use Ecos detergent , but there are a lot of others you can use. You can find lists online and even order in bulk from Amazon if you want!
If we go out I grab a plastic grocery bag (we always accumulate these even though we mostly use cloth bags--darn Walgreens and Target!) and just put the diapers in there until we get home. Then they go in the diaper pail with the others.
We also use cloth wipes. I can describe these more if you're interested, but I've already written quite a novel here so I won't. Let me know if you want more info! You can also PM me if you'd like, but I have limited product experience, so others may come along and be more of a help.
HTH!