Which doll would you pick??

[egoldber]

I am looking for a baby doll for DD for Hanukkah. I am also looking at it as a "big "sister" present. I was thinking of getting her a Bitty Baby, but disovered that BB does not sit in a chair, and that is a deal breaker for me. So now I am looking at these dolls:

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

http://www.liveandlearn.com/gotz/mel.html (more baby-ish and she comes with a lot of accessories)

http://www.liveandlearn.com/corolle/poupettes.html

But none of these really strike me, mainly I think because they are not really baby-ish. I would like to find a soft bodied BABY doll that sits up well. Is there such a thing??

[momtoemma]

I have to say that none of these dolls really strike me either. I don't know if this doll is jointed or not, but have you considered the Corolle Emma doll that drinks and wets? We have a BB, and DD just loves her. You are correct that she isn't jointed, but she is soft-bodied so you can sort of get her to sit in a stroller. I can't see her sitting very well in a chair although American Girl does sell a high chair specifically for this doll.

[egoldber]

I can't find the Corolle Emma. Do you have a link?

And the baby needs to be able to sit in a CHAIR at a table, as in for a tea party. Tea parties are big around here....

[MamaKath]

Hi Beth,
I read your post below about sitting in the chair, and thought immediately of two dolls that dd enjoys very much. She has the Bitty Baby (Bitsy is the name of ours) which she likes alright, but it is not her favorite. She has a couple favorites though that might work well for Sarah. I love also the second one in your list (babyish with extras) as it seemed like it would be fun for her with a new baby on the way into the household to have something babyish that she can dress, feed, and change diapers for.

Madame Alexander is a favorite in our house. Her baby dolls are just wonderful! We still have a couple from being kids, and the quality is wonderful. DD really likes this one http://www.fao.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=121 It is a good size and weight to play baby with and I think sits pretty well, though I probably need to check it out tomorrow while she is at school. ;-) It is a bit larger than a Bitty Baby, but she still manages to stuff it into Bitty Babies outfits, lol. It is a great size for preemie baby clothes though. She also loves the Baby Huggums series. We had one with an all cloth body when she was an infant and just last year got her one that is bean (pellet) filled with vinyl hands and feet. It sits nicely, and is a smaller doll (I believe about 12 inches) making it very nice to bring with when going out. It is very managable for her, and also for me if I end up carrying it or storing it in the diaper bag or stroller basket. This is her first one with the cloth body http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?cid=46815&PAGE=PRODUCT&PROD_ID=7370&fp=F&kid=209578&cid=46815&GTSE=goto&GTKW=Huggums+Baby and the one she has now is more like this http://collectibledolls.babycatalog.com/madame-alexander-dolls/baby-alexander-play-dolls-collection/grandmas-love-huggums-35495 (actually the same as this one) though you can find them cheaper depending on the outfit. I have a couple as well that I have started collecting of these. They are probably amongst the most durable, lovable dolls for a little girl.

Zapf's Baby Chou Chou http://www.zapf-creation.com/na/index.asp has also been a hit in our house. They have the animated baby Annabelle http://www.zapf-creation.com/na/play/detail.aspx?id=716090&l=us(cries, talks, eats, giggles) as well as non animated versions http://www.zapf-creation.com/na/play/detail.aspx?id=720352&l=us and http://www.zapf-creation.com/na/play/detail.aspx?id=718090&l=us . For Sarah the non-animated would probably be a better bet. DD got the non animated as a young toddler and dragged it everywhere, lol. It is a bit heavy, filled with pellets. It is jointed however, like a teddy bear, so having tea parties would be a snap. They also make Baby Born which can be bathed, but it has a harder body. Apparently a neat doll as well though. DS also has a Zapf and it has held up to some MAJOR abuse!!!! I can't find a picture of the one he has (it was a Jolly Dolly, but like the giggling ChouChou), it is very basic (non jointed, eyes are always open, etc) but it does laugh which made it interesting enough that he will leave DD's animated one alone.

Okay and just for fun, lol, this was probably my altime favorite doll. It was named Baby Beth and manufactured by Fisher Price. Had a pattern for a sleeper that my mom made out of pink velour with grey, white, and pink striped biased trim. All the looking around brought back memories, and I thought I'd share. ;-) She was jointed, so she felt like a really baby and sat really well! http://www.dollinfo.com/images/70misc/fpbethfl250.JPG

HTH~

[Momof3Labs]

Ahhhh - I had a baby Beth, too!!! In fact, she's probably still at my parents' house.

[momtoemma]

Here's a link:

http://store.yahoo.com/kidsurplus/cor24049.html

[lisams]

Here's a picture of DD's Madame Alexander Baby Huggums (in a pink outfit from Target) and her Corolle Tidoo doll. The Huggums sits up very well, but the Tidoo doll is more floppy. Both are a good size (I added a LP Michael for size comparison), but I'm not sure if you want a larger doll that fills a chair more. Right now at almost 2 this is a good size for DD, as she can carry them under her arm and such.

HTH!
Lisa

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/15423.jpg