L.,
I use cloth diapers and cloth wipes and I think they're great! I purchased mine from
http://www.clothdiaper.com/
You can order package deals that include diaper pail, cloth wipes (which I love!), diapers and a mini shower that you attach to your toilet (which I also love!) to clean off poopy diapers and rinse out my baby's potty.
Another thing I've bought are diaper liners
http://www.diaperaps.com/home/dp1/page_9/Flushable_Liners...
These are flushable and washable. When you have a poopy diaper, you can just peel it off and flush it. I've washed some of them many times and the three rolls I've bought seem to be lasting me forever
For cloth wipes, you can take any diaper wipe container and fold the wipes in a zig-zag overlapping pattern (like a box of tissues) and put them in there with a homemade wipe solution (1 cup water + 1 tsp baby body wash + a few drops tea tree oil). The tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and smells clean and fresh. You can buy it at Nature's Bin (kind of pricey, but it will last a long time and think of the money you save on not buying nasty wipes?). You can modify the recipe to add some aloe as well. I found recipes when I did an on-line search. Now when I use store-bought wipes they feel slimy and nasty to me.
I also practice elimination communication with my daughter. Since the age of 4 mos, I've been putting her on the potty. It got easier once she could sit up on her own. First we just did timing (after naps, after meals), now she has learned to let me know when she has to go. My nanny does it as well and we both think it's great. Sometimes we miss, but most of the time we catch pees and pos. Right now my baby has diahrea and its so nice to have most of it end up in the potty instead of smeared all over her bum and diaper.
There are some excellent books on the subject:
Diaper-free Before 3: Jill M. Lekovic, M.D
Diaper Free: Ingrid Bauer
The diaper-free baby: Christine Gross-Loh.
It's not about toilet training, but about recognizing that your baby has to go and that they don't want to do it in their diaper/pants. Out society trains kids to use their pants as toilets for 2-3 years and then wonder why our children have a hard time breaking this "habit". I see so many posts on this website about 3 year olds who won't use the potty. My little girl WANTS to use the potty.
Tell your friend not to worry, there are a lot of people and a lot of resources available to help her use cloth diapers and practivce EC if she desires. Good luck!
N.