Karen,
There are many battings available and at a variety of costs. The ladies in my quilt chapter really frowned on my using the polyester but that's what I started with years ago and still prefer today but then, I've not tested any others. Why change if the results I get are what I want. The ladies in my quilt chapter are testing all of the new ones out and love the bamboo and there is another new fiber out. When I started my first quilt 46 years ago, we couldn't find quilt batting anywhere. We even drove to nearby Peoria, IL and they had no clue how I could get my hands on quilt batting and I was told to use a blanket for the inside of my quilt. Tried that and that's why it took me 38 years to complete the quilt that's in my avatar. The blanket showed through and it was the ugliest quilt on the planet. Eventually through a snail catalogues it was possible to order a variety of quilt supplies as quilting once again became more popular but back then in rural, small town IL, quilt supplies were hard to find. I can see why the machine quilters prefer the cotton batting as it does lie flatter and for those who do free motion, that's better than the puffy polyester. The day I went for my free class on the Pfaff, I took a section I'd prepared for the teacher to use and I quickly noticed that the puffiness was a problem for her but even so, she made my Pfaff sit up and take notice - of course she should as it's her job. Next time you go fabric shopping, check out the different battings available. It's truly amazing. At Joann's, in addition to the variety they sell on rolls by the yard that have to be cut, in another location are bins full of several other battings including some with adhesive that you place between the fabric and press so you don't have to baste. I believe that isn't recommended for hand quilting but could be wrong on that but for some reason, that sticks in my mind.
If you don't live near a quilt shop, got to JoAnn's online and do a search for batting and see what comes up. I've never lived close enough to quilt shops to use them. I used to buy at kmart way back when and later at walmart but the walmart closest to me no longer carries fabrics so it's JoAnn's. There are a 3 quilt shops with in an hour of me but I avoid driving outside of The Villages - too much traffic.