Which doll to buy?

[gorgorita]

I want to buy a doll for DD. My dilemma is which one?
I would like a soft waldorfy doll but the prices for a 10 inch doll is over $70. I can't really justify this much money on the doll that might not be played with. I looked at Haba dolls but didn't like their expressions, the extremely white skin.
any other options out there?
Corolle? Not my favorite either (and we have one)

What dolls are really played with?
Should i look into baby doll or a friendship doll?
The only option to buy waldorfy or similar doll is by making it? I don't know when i'll finish it - I am not too crafty.
Please help me find a doll that will be played with. My budget would be $50.

[fustian]

If you really want to make sure that a doll will be loved, I think your best bet is to take your daughter out with you when you go shopping for it. You never know what a child will end up loving.

That having being said, there are several other soft doll choices out there that are not as expensive as some Waldorf dolls can be. Baby Stella by Manhattan toys (http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-Toy-...3933796&sr=8-2) comes in various skin shades, is soft, and has clothes that are easier for a young child to manage (velcro & elastic). She has a magnetic pacifier, but you needn't give that to your daughter if you don't wish to. (My DD is obsessed with pacifiers, even though she never used one herself).

Pottery Barn Kids has a selection of soft baby and girl dolls (http://www.potterybarnkids.com/shop/...ts/girls-toys/). I've never seen these.

I've heard good things about the happen green bee organic dolls (http://www.happygreenbee.com/shop.cfm?c=5&p=17), although the white doll is paper-white.

Finally, there are some Waldorf type dolls that are in your price range. For instance http://www.rosiehippo.com/p-259-orga...doll-jill.aspx http://www.novanatural.com/baby/todd...-little-friend

I'd get your daughter involved in the shopping - even if it's only looking at pictures online.

[Dreamy]

There was a huge thread about this in December - the concensus seemed to be (much to the chagrin of many mothers) that most children prefer dolls that look like "real" babies over any cloth doll: http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1174018

ETA: I have the HABA Lukas doll for DS, and he never Even looks at him. He LOVES the plastic babies at daycare though, he carries them around, puts them to bed, feeds them, etc...

[SparklingGemini]

Do you live somewhere that has an independent toy store with a selection of dolls?

That's how we settled on a doll for DD, taking her in several times and seeing which ones she gravitated to more.

I also made her a Waldorf doll, which was much less than buying one. So that's an option.

I have to admit though, we have several dolls. DD loves her babies more than anything right now, and I think having a few works well for us. She does have one or two that she doesn't play with as often but she still plays with them.

How old is your LO?

[elleystar]

I noticed in that thread before Christmas that the reason a lot of the LOs preferred Corolle dolls was that the Waldorf ones they were given looked like bigger kids, not babies. (Lots of hair, etc.)

I really wanted a Waldorf style too but couldn't see forking out the $ because they can be so expensive. I took a chance on this sweet 13" doll because it is only $23, and it looks more baby like:
http://www.novanatural.com/toy-manuf...pa/cuddle-doll

After a couple of days of uncertainty DS absolutely adores it. He's never cared for any kind of lovey but he really loves to hold the doll while we nurse, and to sleep with it. It really seems to be a little friend to him. I'm glad I got it because with him not caring for anything doll-like at all it was a total gamble. Anyway just an idea if you want to try something without breaking the bank. HTH!

[junipervt]

My DD's favorite doll (she has a few) is her Happy Green Bee Amber doll. She loves to dance w/ her b/c she has long floppy arms & legs. http://www.happygreenbee.com/shop.cfm?c=5&p=17

I don't feel like a doll needs to 'match' a childs coloring. We have dolls in a rainbow of colors.

I got her for her in Oct & DD is now 21m. She has been the favorite since she arrived.

[tug]

my daughter loves her softer dolls, and for a baby doll, prefers them to some of the "realistic" looking hard dolls that her grandmother has given her (including a $200 super realistic collector doll that's not meant to be a toy at all).

Check out dolls on www.etsy.com. There are lots of talented women on there, lots of cloth dolls, and the prices vary widely from "art" expensive to realistic toy prices, imo. and, you know the labor conditions are fair, which is a big plus to me.

good luck!

[gorgorita]

Thank you all for wonderful suggestions. I really loved the amber doll from happygreenbee but afraid DD won't like it. I think she is ready for a baby doll and then the PBK doll is perfect. I hope she'll appreciate it although I noticed that she is getting onto trains. We don't have any as well as none of our friends and she doesn't go to day care or anything like that but every time she hears a whistle she gets excited. So we maybe should buy her a train)

[rach03]

I got DD the cuddle doll from Nova Naturals that elleystar linked. She likes it, but unfortunately she likes the plastic dolls that everyone decided to get her for Christmas better. Seriously, she got 4 plastic dolls for Christmas. Ugh!

[tumblebeee]

When he turned 2 last year, I got my DS a Rosy Cheeks doll by North American Bear Company. It is the exact same doll that PBK sells but is only $25 instead of $40. I suspect that NAB is the actual manufacturer of this doll and PBK is just a marked up a distributor.

Anyway, I love this doll and so does DS. Even though he is a boy, I wanted him to have a baby to love, nurture, and care for and it has been especially helpful now that we are expecting another baby to join our family in March.

Features that I like about this doll is that you can choose to get a boy or girl doll with light or dark skin, blue or brown eyes, and blond, brunette, or red hair. The facial expression is gentle, lending itself to very open ended play. The doll is very soft, unlike the hand-me-down cabbage patch kid we were given which had an awful hard plastic head that was cold and hurt if it knocked into you and was not so pleasant to sleep with. I also like that it is machine washable (it says surface wash, but we machine wash).

The only modifications we made is we cut off the ID bracelet and snipped the thread that held the hat on so it would be removable.

[SparklingGemini]

Originally Posted by tumblebeee

When he turned 2 last year, I got my DS a Rosy Cheeks doll by North American Bear Company. It is the exact same doll that PBK sells but is only $25 instead of $40. I suspect that NAB is the actual manufacturer of this doll and PBK is just a marked up a distributor.

They're actually different.

[gorgorita]

Originally Posted by SparklingGemini

They're actually different.

I noticed the difference only in the material. otherwise, very similar.
Thanks for recommending the Rosy Cheeks. I'll try to decide by the end of January when Dd's birthday is

Any other suggestions or words of wisdom on what dolls to get are greatly appreciated!

[CaliforniaMommy]

I was in the same boat you were before Xmas, trying to buy my 21mo DD her first doll. I ended up going with the Camden doll at Palumba. She really likes it. I initially wanted to get her a baby, but I couldn't find anything I liked in my price range, so I went with this one. She really likes it so far, and will often hold her in her arms while falling asleep, nursing (along with a bunch of her other stuffed animals, ).
I was a bit nervous buying it without seeing/feeling it first, but I showed it to her online a few times, and she seemed to like it, so I went with it. I would buy it again.
I also got her a cheap $7 stroller from K-mart. She looooooves pushing her doll around the house with it, or on the way to the park...

p.s.: I also liked that the doll is made fair trade, in Peru.

[gorgorita]

Well, I went to the PBK store today to have a look at the baby Lucy/Abby doll and I wasn't impressed to say the least.
It's way under stuffed and kinda ugly to me. The bottom is empty and saggy. The face is not that cute. I don't know how they did such great photos when the actual thing is so not pretty. I can't imagine paying 40 bucks for it.
Again, off to research more.
Do kids (2-3 y old in particular) play with small 10" dolls like the ones suggested above?

[olien]

We got a kathy kruse waldorf doll, 14in for DS for christmas. It was around 45 or 50 from www.babybunz.com They have boy & girl dolls.

[elleystar]

Originally Posted by gorgorita

Well, I went to the PBK store today to have a look at the baby Lucy/Abby doll and I wasn't impressed to say the least.
It's way under stuffed and kinda ugly to me. The bottom is empty and saggy. The face is not that cute. I don't know how they did such great photos when the actual thing is so not pretty. I can't imagine paying 40 bucks for it.
Again, off to research more.
Do kids (2-3 y old in particular) play with small 10" dolls like the ones suggested above?

I live nowhere near a PBK so this is good to know. It's hard sometimes when you can't examine each toy IRL before purchasing!

Our cuddle doll is 13" and I think it's the perfect size for our almost 2 yr old DS. I don't think I'd want anything smaller.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I haven't seen them in real life, but I like the look of these dolls

ds has this one (but its a hard plasticky one)

[Ruthie's momma]

As a thread lurker , I just had to say thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions. DD has at least 3 plastic dolls that get zero action. I may get her one of those cute 'Cuddle Dolls' from Nova Natural. DD might like to add it to her bevy of stuffed animals. While she ignores her dolls, she spends a lot of time caring for her stuffies (nursing, diapering, swaddling, etc.).

[Girlprof]

We have the first girl in 3 generations on my husband's side of the family. She just turned two and as you can imagine, she has a LOT of dolls. She has a smaller Corelle doll and Baby Stella, a variety of cheaper plastic ones, some other soft ones - I would say 8-10 in all, if you count the Ugly Doll DS picked out for her, LOL. No Waldorf as I don't like them and no one else would spend the $$.

She almost never plays with any of them. The small Corelle might be her favorite, but it could be she just likes the doll stroller and someone stuck that particular baby doll in there.

[boigrrrlwonder]

My daughter has a Haba Lily doll that she absolutely loves, far more than her other dolls. She does mostly pretend that the doll is a baby, though, even though she has other baby dolls.