Zapf v. Bitty Baby v. Corelle

[redhookmom]

Can someone tell me the difference between these dolls? I am planning on getting dd a doll for Christmas and have given myself to many choices. I cannot discern the difference. Any help?

[stella]

I have the same question - I was thinking about a baby doll for my 2 year old this Christmas!!

[Madelyn]

I have boys so I really don't have much experience with dolls so I can't answer your questions. However, I assume you mean the Corolle brand of dolls? I bought some at full-price on-line for our church. We liked that they were washable and seemed very durable. I later found some Corolle dolls at Tuesday Morning for more than 50% off and I couldn't resist getting some as gifts.

[vpalmer]

Jessica,

Our DD's Christmas list must be exactly the same. I am looking at play kitchens and a doll as well. So far I am leaning toward the bitty baby mostly becasue I love all the cute outfits and I think they would make great gifts as Eva gets older. Actually, I was even thinking about getting the bitty twins because I would really like to get her a baby doll with a little hair. I wish you could get the bity twin girl seperately but I guess that is another post!

Veronica
Mom to Eva

[kaitlinsmommy]

I agree! The twins are so cute but I didn't think dd needed two more dolls (and it was a lot more money). I just ordered her a bitty baby with the wildflower outfit for her 2nd bday next month. I am planning to get her the American Girl Josefina doll when she's a little older.

I looked at Corolle dolls, too, in stores. I know people really like them but I didn't like them as much, although I thought it was neat they smell like vanilla.

[zen_bliss]

there are a lot of corolle doll models. which are you considering? i can't think of one that is very close to bitty size, they are either much smaller or larger. the calins are floppy beanbag dolls and small (i think 11"), good for younger babies. the 17" soft body toddler doll is adorable and very huggable but also rather large.

the annoying thing about bitty is she doesn't 'fold' to sit, so she just juts out of the toy shopping cart seat. she's soft bodied and huggable but not very posable.

i have seen a few bitty twins sold individually on eBay if you want to give that a try.

[egoldber]

Is Bitty Baby NOT posable then? I mean can you fold her so that she sits in a chair at a table. DD loves to play tea party with her dolls and gets VERY frustrated if the doll does not fold to sit in a chair. That is a definite deal breaker for me.

If BB does not sit, are there are baby dolls that do??? (Other than the super cheap one from Traget I have right now?)

[egoldber]

If you like the idea of a Bitty Twin, how about a Gotz Maxy Muffin? Its a 16" baby doll with hair:

http://www.liveandlearn.com/gotz/maxymuffinblondeblue.html

[Jeanne]

I have Baby Annabel and both of my girls just love it. I don't find it cuddly at all simply because it's very heavy. It's also not a doll that conforms in anyway. However, the animated mouth and sounds keep them constantly interested. And every child that comes over plays with that doll - especially boys! I bought it two years ago on Black Friday for $30 but I'm not sure if they sale price it now because it's a good seller and no longer new to the market.

I can't speak to the others as we have several assorted dolls - some mine and some cheapies that I bought. They don't really pay attention to any of them except Annabel so I probably won't buy a Corelle or BB unless they get really interested in the future.

[Vajrastorm]

At least they are posed sitting in the catalog the American Girl co. sent me.

The are shown standing AND seated at a table.

[vpalmer]

I was thinking the same thing. After I read this post I looked at the catalog and at the website. They appear to be in sitting positions, so I assume it would work IRL. Although I have no practical experience.

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born 6-03

[grenicali]

Does anyone have a Lee Middleton doll?
http://www.leemiddleton.com/ourbabies/product_series.php/id=17~lid=3/index.html?PHPSESSID=1327d366fb266b3c14cbac1066870 be2
They have a variety with hair and they look very cute. I just started collecting the collectible dolls and they look so real!

[egoldber]

What I have heard from those with the doll is that they can be "stuffed" into a chair, but do not really sit. I need a doll where the legs can be bent and the doll can sit up well in a chair.

ETA: I actually went to a local doll store today. They had a BB on the floor. She most definitely does NOT sit. She can be propped up in a chair, but does not sit at all.

[LucyG]

I have a Lee Middleton doll. It was actually mine, so I don't know how it compares to the newer ones. Mine is VERY heavy! My DD has a difficult time carrying the doll around (when I let her play with it!). I would definitely find out the weight of any that you are considering. The heavy factor makes the one I have feel more "real," but it would not be good for a small child. Mine has a soft cloth body, and soft plastic head, arms and legs.


http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif[/img][/url]
19 months and counting!

[egoldber]

I looked at these today and they ARE quite heavy. Too heavy for a young toddler to tote around. But way cute to collect, LOL! :)

[dules]

My mom bought my DD Baby Huggums from Madame Alexander on the recommendation of my sisters (with 4 girls between them). They like this one because she's lighter than Bitty Baby.

http://www.matildadolls.com/fall1_39265.htm

Best,
Mary

[bricorssk]

I have older daughters who grew up with their bitty babies and still play with them (10 and 8) They have a soft body so they can bend to sit but aren't as posable as a zaph or corelle. I will tell you that we had the other brands of dolls too and they didn't keep intrest as long as the BB. The girls loved it when new catalogs came etc. Also you can send them to "the hopital" if something happens to it. HTH
Corina

[nola]

We have a bitty baby from ebay. It is very cute and Anna loves it. She is big on babies. The trunk is stuffed, but the legs and hands are vinyl. It is flexible enough to sit is a chair or stroller without a problem but it has no real joints. The clothing and accessories in the catalog are a little steep in my opinion. I got my stuff used.

[Vajrastorm]

Then those pictures are totally misleading! That annoys me.

[egoldber]

She will sit in a high chair or in a stroller, so only somewhat, not totally ;) misleading. She needs support to sit. I would prefer to find a doll that will sit up on her own unaided.

[s7714]

MIL mentioned getting DD one of the FP Little Mommy dolls for xmas--does anyone have one of those? How do they compare to the other dolls being discussed in this thread?

TIA,
Jennifer
Mommy to Annalia 03/03/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif

[redhookmom]

My dd received one of these for her birthday. The one that comes with the potty. The doll is entirely plastic and posable. My dd loves the little bottle that it came with and drinks from it more then the doll does.

I don't have much experience with dolls. My take is that the other dolls mentioned are higher quality, have cloth bodies, and are heavy and therefore are more like a real baby? Please, someone help me out here.

[egoldber]

LOL! We sort of ignored your original question. The problem is that there are MANY dolls made by Zapf and Corolle (and Gotz, which you did not mention...) as well as the American Girl Bitty Baby. They vary in size, body type and weight. All of them make (relatively) inexpensive all-plastic models up to very expensive, soft bodied dolls. It all depends on what you want.

Maybe if you describe the type of baby doll you are looking for we could help more!

[redhookmom]

Hmm, she most definitely has to be able to sit at tea parties!! I want her to have a soft body. I want her to look like a baby. I want to buy outfits for her. I want my 2 year old to tote her around forever and love her lots!! I don't care how much she costs.

I am leaning toward a Zapf doll. LuLu, TuTu, BuBu something like that. Does Zapf sell outfits. Or are outfits sold in lots of places and I have just never noticed them?

Off to look for Gotz.

[egoldber]

Zapf dolls tend to be a bit heavier than the others I think. Zapf does sell some outfits. But there are TONS and I mean TONS of outfits available on eBay for most dolls. And most dolls are standard sizes, so that clothes from one doll line are likely to fit other dolls of the same size. If you have a doll store near you, I would check one out to get a feel for the nicer dolls that are out there.

This site sells Corolle and Gotz and you can get a good feel for the full line of both dolls:

http://www.liveandlearn.com/contents.html

I am looking for a doll very similar to what you want, and I have to tell you it is VERY hard to find!

As a doll that comes pretty close, how about a Gotz Muffin (retails for $25):
http://www.liveandlearn.com/gotz/muffinpink.html

It sits very well for a soft doll. Its a "little" smaller than what I wanted, but is probably perfect for a 2 year old.

It also comes in this version, which I personally think is super cute:
http://www.liveandlearn.com/gotz/muffinbrowneyes.html

Amother lightweight doll that is super cute is the Tidoo line from Corolle (retails for around $25):
http://www.liveandlearn.com/corolle/tidoo.html

A little heavier and bigger is the Corolle Bebe Do (retails for about $50):
http://www.liveandlearn.com/corolle/bebedo.html

I think this is a beautiful doll personally. I saw it in person and it is just gorgeous. But it does not sit as well as the dolls I mentioned previously.

And then there is Bitty Baby (retails for $40). She is very cute, but she is also a little bigger and heavier yet again than the other dolls. Almost all kids adore her though. And there are SO many accessories and outfits available for her. Not just through americangirl.com, but also on eBay (for discontinued, new and second hand outfits) and also at lots of local craft shows. Bitty Baby clothes are super easy to find.

From Zapf, Chou Chou (retails around $30) is a nice doll, but rather heavy and large for a 2 year old. And a lot of the ChouChous (but not all) have functions, which I am not into personally.

http://www.zapf-creation.com/na/play/detail.aspx?id=718090&l=us

HTH,

[vpalmer]

Thanks for this update Beth. This is good to know. :-)

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born 6-03

[redhookmom]

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/bow.gif

[egoldber]

Oops! I forgot the Madame Alexander Baby Huggums doll.

http://www.babycatalog.com/cgi-bin/WebStore/indexNZ.cgi/mi=yes/srchcd=38650

A few moms here highly recommended it and its also a favorite among doll collectors. She comes in two versions, an all cloth body version and a version with vinyl hands and feet. She also comes in a wide variety of outfits. Her price varies from about $30 to $60, mainly depending on the outfit.

And it just so happens that researching baby dolls is my new current obsessions, LOL!!! :)

[tarahsolazy]

I would like a bitty twin BOY doll for DS, so if you decide you really want the girl, LMK! We could work it out to separate the twins at birth, so to speak...

[vpalmer]

Hey, that could work out nicely. I am fairly certain we will go that route but let me talk it over with my DH to be sure. I think there is a 10% off code through November 1, so that might help offset some of the shipping costs. Would that be too soon? If you are interested, PM me and we can work out the details.


ETA - You know I just thought of something as I visited the American Girl website. They have blond and brunette twins and I notice you DS is a brunette while my DD is a blondie. That might make it difficult for us to split the bitty twins at birth.

Thanks,

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born 6-03

[egoldber]

Bitty Twins are easy to find as singletons on eBay. ;)

ETA: And I know that some folks buy the twins and send one to grandma or a friend that makes doll clothes as a model. :)

[loewymartin]

Just to add to this thread (although I think Beth covered all of it!) there are "boppys" sold on ebay for Bitty Baby. She's supposed to be more like an infant in that she can't sit yet. You can get her to sit in a stroller, but she doesn't stay very well, Alia usually lets her stand in the stroller! But the boppys on ebay help keep her legs down and support the lower back. I haven't purchased one yet (I think I will for Christmas) but just wanted to mention them.

Have fun on your doll search!

Michelle - Mom to Alia born 5/16/02

[egoldber]

OK, what are these called? How do I search for one on eBay!!! :)

[Momof3Labs]

Beth, have you looked at this one:

http://www.tjmaxx.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=311&pCategoryId=1055&categoryId=2209&N=2209

I'd be happy to check our local store for you, if you want. No one has to twist my arm to go to TJ Maxx OR to go doll shopping!!

[egoldber]

You are too kind. :) But I am looking for a bald baby doll. :)

[August Mom]

I have a Lee Middleton doll from childhood. I think she is of very high quality. The features are handpainted. She is weighted to feel more like a newborn (so that could be a problem). Personally, I think that Lee Middleton dolls are more for collecting than for playing (at least mine was) and I would at least reserve them for kids older than toddlers. Just my opinion. But, if you are collecting, I really like them. Mine came with a diaper and a tiny Bible. I don't know if they still do.

[grenicali]

The Lee Middleton dolls that I posted pictures of are play dolls for kids so they should be light-weight. I just started collecting the collectible kind, and yes, they are weighted and they are not meant as a play doll. The play dolls are mostly $25-$40, the collectibles are about $130. They still come with a baby bible.

[Melanie]

In my search for the "perfect" doll for Ds (soft body, hair, blinking eyes, no bottle mouth) I tried a Lee Middleton Small Wonders doll. It is slightly smaller than a rea newborn, and I was irritated that the vinyl (or whatever) of the hands and feet did not go about wrist or ankle so the white soft body would show in shorts and short sleeves. Also, for some reason, my son just did not like it, I think b/c it's smaller. I liked it, but at $50 (or something like that) from TRU I didn't need a doll! =)

We ended up with a Berenger LaBaby soft body from TRU. He loves it a lot. No blinking eyes or hair, but he likes it. It has no bottle mouth (I think this depends upon the style) and a soft body with the vinyl head and hands/feet (goes up a bit higher than the middleton). It is about the size weight of a small newborn/big preemie. I also recently bought him the Corolle Boy Doll. He still likes his bigger one better, though.

[loewymartin]

The seller is "Bittypillow" and her store is something like "Girls and Dolls Bitty Pillows". I think I did a search for "Bitty Boppy" and found it. She makes them all and will match the sleeper colors (the one I have matches the coral sleeper our "Katie" came with.

Michelle - Mom to Alia born 5/16/02

[juliekost]

My daughter has the fisher price baby and she loves it since it smells lightly of vanilla not as strong as corelle though. It is soft body with vinyl arms,legs and head. It really is light weight and is her bang around doll. It is an inexpensive doll that is easily cleaned.

Her absolute fave is the Madame Alexander huggable doll. It is a bit smaller and is beautiful she plays with this one daily but it doesn't go out side since it is tougher to clean. It is my favorite too!

Julie
Jake 11/9/98
Jordyn 12/31/02