Corolle vs. American Girl baby dolls

[kristenk]

I'm starting to ponder Christmas possibilities for 4yo DD. (Yes, it is a sickness.) She'll be 5 in Feb and is currently obsessed with baby dolls. She prefers dolls with a soft body and plastic/vinyl/whatever-it-is head, arms and legs.

Does anyone have experience with any of the Corolle soft-bodied baby dolls AND the American Girl Bitty Baby? How do they compare?

I'm considering the Bebe Charmeur, the Bebe Cheri, or the Baby Amour from Corolle. The Bebe Charmeur is 14", while the other two are 20" and wear baby clothes.

[AngelaS]

We have a 12 inch Corolle doll and she's floppy. The Bitty Twins are stiffer and sit in the doll stroller and high chair better. :)

[brittone2]

I'm not sure if you consider phthalates a concern, but the AG products have phthalates in the plastics (at least, that was the case up until recently). I recently spoke w/ someone quite high up at Corolle and their dolls are phthalate free (at least the plastic is. The "scent" they come with...I'm not so sure. It might or might not contain some sort of phthalate in the scent).

Kathe Kruse and Gotz make phthalate-free dolls.

[traciann]

Why would phthalates be a concern? Just curious as my dd has a bitty baby and adores her.

[brittone2]

Phthalates are a hormone-disrupting chemical found in certain plastics (especially vinyls, as they are added to make them "smooth" in texture) as well as in cosmetic products (component of "scent" and usually not labeled, other than being part of the generic ingredient "fragrance").

There are tons of old threads on the topic if you are interested. They dissolve in saliva.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/phthalates-47020418

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/121/fat

http://www.newsweek.com/id/105588

http://www.ewg.org/node/25964 (right hand margin has many more links)

You can also do a search. There are many threads here on the topic and they contain many more links.

[squimp]

We have a 15" Bitty Baby, 12" Corolle Calin and a 14" Miss Corolle. The Corolle dolls have sweeter faces, in my opinion. Bitty Baby has weird spray-painted black hair. We like her, but our faves are the Corolle dolls. Our 14" Corolle is not floppy at all.

My DD is the same age, and she loves her 14" Corolle from the Miss Corolle series. She is like a younger and less expensive version of the American Girl dolls.

[ellies mom]

I agree that the Corolles have sweeter faces. The Bitty Babies were just a touch creepy for my taste. We ended up with the Corolle Calin Darling because it was the prettiest "multi-cultural" one I could find.

[kristenk]

Thanks for all of the responses. I think that we'll go with the Corolle Bebe Amour and wait a little longer on American Girl dolls.

[teeniebeenie6]

Thanks for all of the responses. I think that we'll go with the Corolle Bebe Amour and wait a little longer on American Girl dolls.
I'm curious if you ended up getting the Bebe Amour? We just got one and I was surprised to find one eye was bigger then the other and the eye looks like it could fall out on the right side. We own 6 other Corolle dolls and they have never had a flaw like this. I :heartbeat: Corolle dolls.

[kristenk]

I did get the Bebe Amour. She's currently airing out in the closet and will be given to DD for Christmas. (The scent was nice, but a little overpowering.)

I think Bebes Amour must have eye problems. The first one I received had one eye that would stick. It was sort of freaky b/c you could tilt her back and one eye would close but the other would stay open until she was completely prone.

I contacted the seller and received a return shipping label from Corolle. Corolle sent out a replacement doll and it was in good shape.

You might want to contact the seller and see about exchanging the doll (assuming it's not a holiday gift that's needed soon!).

[teeniebeenie6]

I did get the Bebe Amour. She's currently airing out in the closet and will be given to DD for Christmas. (The scent was nice, but a little overpowering.)

I think Bebes Amour must have eye problems. The first one I received had one eye that would stick. It was sort of freaky b/c you could tilt her back and one eye would close but the other would stay open until she was completely prone.

I contacted the seller and received a return shipping label from Corolle. Corolle sent out a replacement doll and it was in good shape.

You might want to contact the seller and see about exchanging the doll (assuming it's not a holiday gift that's needed soon!).
I might not be able to exchange it because I bought it new in box on ebay. But I did contact Corolle, we'll see. If I can't return it, it isn't the end of the world. I don't know if the eye issue will bother my DD, just me. That is weird they seem to have eye problems. Ours has one small eye socket and one big eye socket and you can see the metal rim of the eye ball. The bigger eye socket shows more of the white of the eye. It is kind of freaky. I know what you mean about the smell. I noticed it on ours too. It is not a bad smell just strong. I put our Calin and Tidoo's by the window overnight and it seemed to help them smell less strong. I really do love Corelle dolls though. We own a bunch and this is the first one we've had with an issue. I hope your DD loves hers!

You can see what I mean in these pics:
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/ktsls82/P1010009.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/ktsls82/P1010017-1.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/ktsls82/P1010018.jpg

[ellies mom]

Oh that would really bother me. I'd contact the e-bay seller too. I don't care that my kid might not notice or care. It would piss me off everytime I looked at it.

[kristenk]

I know we should all embrace each others' differences, but I think that, in this case, the doll needs to be returned. :D That would definitely bother me and I can see how you'd be worried about the eye actually coming out of the socket.

Corolle was really great when I contacted them. I initially contacted the seller and she contacted Corolle for me. Corolle mailed me a return UPS label to use. I shipped the box back but didn't hear anything or receive a replacement for several weeks. I contacted customer service and they shipped a replacement doll out the same day. Evidently my replacement doll got lost in the warehouse shuffle. The lady I spoke with was incredibly helpful and friendly. I can't imagine that they'd have a problem replacing the doll b/c it is obviously a manufacturing defect. Good luck!

Oh, and I really, really, really, REALLY hope that DD likes her Bebe Amour. I'm a little concerned b/c the dolls/animals that she plays with most are probably about 10". That's a far cry from the size of a newborn!