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Good Questions: Sweet and Old Fashioned Baby Doll?

dollcoaster040209.jpgJenny sent in an email: My 15 month old daughter really needs a baby doll. She keeps trying to put socks and hats and clothes on anything with a face (pillows, wooden push toys, etc.) She talks to them and kisses them and cradles them… it’s so sweet. But where can I find a baby doll that doesn’t totally creep me out?

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Are there any tasteful, non plastic, non slutty, non creepy baby dolls to be had? I’m looking for something kind of sweet and old fashioned, preferably made out of natural materials, and I could really use your help. Thanks!!!

Please share your suggestions with Jenny in the comments below....

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Comments (34)

Amazon has some fabric "fair trade dolls" that come in different types and colors:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&search-alias=toys-and-games&field-brandtextbin=Peppa

posted by LaneC on April 2nd 2009 at 1:03pm
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Search 'Waldorf dolls.'

posted by BambiJo on April 2nd 2009 at 1:17pm
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I love these dolls by etsy seller, Little Big Pants. My 5 year old daughter loves make new skirts for her doll.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5029336

also can be seen at

http://www.littlebigpants.typepad.com/

posted by lolalola on April 2nd 2009 at 1:19pm
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I'm not sure on their environmental standards, but our daughter (similar age) absolutely loves her Corolle doll (www.corolle.com). And it has a soft body, so is completely machine-washable. Which I like, as she brings it almost everywhere she goes.

posted by Sarav on April 2nd 2009 at 1:21pm
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I agree with the Waldorf doll. They are a bit spendy, but worth it. My daughter has one and loves it. Very "non-creepy".

posted by hjalbers on April 2nd 2009 at 1:22pm
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My daughter is 17 months and she LOVES soft cloth dolls she can cuddle with at night.

She really likes her "Lucy" doll - I found it at a consignment store, but they are available from Pottery Barn http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/zf944/index.cfm

posted by loraena on April 2nd 2009 at 1:31pm
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I agree! I've been searching too and haven't found much. I'll try Waldorf too. I've been searching for one that doesn't have batteries nor computer chips. I'd also like it to have a plastic torso so we can give her a bath. The closest I've found to a "regular" dolly is a Fisher Price from a grocery store.

posted by ilovemylucy on April 2nd 2009 at 1:47pm
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Kathe Kruse has some lovely baby dolls in varying sizes. Some can be quite expensive, but most of the ones appropriate for such a young child aren't too bad. The Nicki babies might be good, or the "Baby it's Me" dolls, or the "Sweetheart" dolls. There's a larger version of the Nicki babies that's a Sweetheart doll, but it's expensive at $55 or so. However, they're wonderfully well made dolls, out of all natural materials. My baby has a couple of the Rainbow baby dolls and she loves them. They have the sweetest faces. (They're the smallest, for real babies.) Check out Blueberryforest.com, or oompa.com for them.

posted by Pencils on April 2nd 2009 at 1:56pm
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Our daughter picked up and, surprisingly, still loves her "Dolly," the organic cotton doll, Jill. We have machine washed her multiple times on delicate and she still looks great. We got "Dolly" for about $30, but most online retailers list her for $40, which isn't bad compared to similar Waldorf inspired dolls.

http://www.walkingsticktoys.com/index.php/ID/930182b5795b3dd56c727ce9a6f46bc5/item/Under-the-Nile-Jill/sID/1b1d6e3c/fuseaction/store.detail.htm

posted by herz9160 on April 2nd 2009 at 2:17pm
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My niece has the Little Lady Doll from Jump Up and Down (etsy). Adorable!

And, my daughter is still pretty little to enjoy dolls, but she has a Baby Huggums (Madame Alexander). Might possibly qualify as creepy, but I still like them and they are huggable and classic.

My son has a Raggedy Andy that he adores and sleeps with at night.

Good luck!

posted by elizarock on April 2nd 2009 at 3:06pm
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There is a nice selection of dolls at oompa.com, moolka.com and childtrek.com . They are all very sweet and not in the least creepy.

posted by JudiAU on April 2nd 2009 at 3:09pm
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I second the corolle dolls. I got one for my niece and she still loves it, 3 years later. They are very well made and they smell really good!

posted by AndreaU on April 2nd 2009 at 4:34pm
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Also, the American Girl dolls line does have a baby doll-- called Bitty Baby or some odd name-- it's about $30-40 and very well made. Plastic head and limbs (i.e. washable after being drawn on with markers...) soft huggable body. I bought one for my daughter when she was born and 'though she's now 6 and the baby doll's still in good shape and still played with. Good luck!

posted by IronBetty on April 2nd 2009 at 5:26pm
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If you are looking for something made out of natural materials, then corolle dolls will not do it. We have received a few for presents and they are made of plastic and have a very artificial smell to them (fake vanilla scent). One we received did have a soft body, but was made out of polyester stuffing and fabric. Nova Naturals carries a doll called a Kusi doll. It is a small soft fabric doll with all the facial features sewn on and real hair made of wool. They are 50 dollars (last time I checked) but are very well made and made in a cooperative in Peru that you can read bout on their site. This type of doll will last a long time and will always look timeless and definitely not creepy. We also have their large version of the doll and they are wonderful companions to my 2 and 4 year old girls. Good luck!

posted by sar3j on April 2nd 2009 at 5:48pm
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My friend bought a baby doll for her daughter from Nova Naturals. http://www.novanatural.com/

Very sweet doll (but not cheap).

I have the American Girl baby (yes, it is called Bitty Baby) and it's very well made. My girls have loved theirs.

posted by MollydeA on April 2nd 2009 at 9:06pm
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For sure the best baby doll out there: http://www.liveandlearn.com/gotz/muffinred.html
These are made by a company called Gotz, a German doll company who originally designed high end dolls and also the American Girl dolls. While we have 2 Corolle baby dolls, and really like them a lot, we also have the 13 inch "muffin" doll made by Gotz, and it is better. The body is more substantial and huggable, but it can still be machine washed no problem. Both corolle (tidoo is the model we have) and Gotz can be bath babies (Gotz also makes a doll called an Aquini which is specifically a bath baby, all vinyl). The 13 inch size is the right size for a toddler to cradle, not too big. My kids always love dolls whose eyes open and close, so they can put the babies to bed etc. These are really classic looking baby dolls and their faces are cute, baby-doll faces. They're not as expensive as the Bitty Baby and they are really durable. Anyway, in looking for the link for you I just read that Gotz is going out of business despite having won tons of awards like the Oppenheim Toy of the Year award. So if this is the sort of thing you're looking for, I'd jump on it. I'm thinking about getting another one for kid #4 just in case....

posted by adriennep on April 2nd 2009 at 11:06pm
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Look at the Groovy Girls:
http://www.groovy-girl.co.uk/gallery.asp?class=groovy_girl_doll
They also have clothes and accesories.

posted by gelena on April 3rd 2009 at 2:16am
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My daughter loves her "Rubens Barn" doll (Ruben's Children). They are made by a Swedish company and are all soft and cuddly, and not all all creepy. (Am I not the only one who gets nightmares from Baby Born, then?)

http://www.rubensbarn.com/

posted by Mirthful on April 3rd 2009 at 4:33am
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I fell in love with Haba's Lotta doll - they do a whole line - and hope my little girl likes it too! They just seem like a proper doll to me and an ever ready companion for little adventures. I love the way they feel in your hand - kind of floppy and huggable. I also like how they are a bit like Waldorfs in that they don't have a creepy expression, just slightly happy. You can change her clothes and redo her hair. You can find them here: http://www.oompa.com/cgi-bin/item/HA1578

posted by bkloungealot on April 3rd 2009 at 6:24am
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I love the Bla Bla dolls. They're fair-trade and made from cotton. So cute! http://www.blablakids.com/Online-Shopping/Classic-blablas?range=43%2C78%2C78

Also, there's a doll at the hunger site that is also fair trade from Africa. One doll goes to an Aids orphan and one comes to you. And Ten Thousand Villages has a similar program.

posted by djheathermarie on April 3rd 2009 at 6:53am
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I love the Corolle dolls too. They used to sell exclusively at expensive toy stores, but I just got one with points from a Visa and it was about 25. Love that it's washable, no hair to ruin, perfect for an 18 month old granddaughter. Our daughter, now 20, had a similar doll for her first baby doll. She named it "No", which we joked was short for Noel. At that age No was her favorite word!

posted by housefulloffur on April 3rd 2009 at 8:43am
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We have the Baby Stella doll: http://www.geniusbabies.com/baby-stella-doll-manhattan-baby-toys.html
(but also available on Amazon and a million other places, just google).

All fabric (sort of velour-y), and just a nice classic baby doll with a sweet expression (not creepy or stare-y). Similar to the Pottery Barn dolls listed above but a little less expensive. She has a belly button, which my daughter loved (we got her around the time she was obsessed with her own belly button.

posted by jk2 on April 3rd 2009 at 9:22am
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Another vote for Baby Stella. My daughter loves her! There are also lots of fun Baby Stella accessories - clothes, carrier, high chair etc. Her favorite is the summer outfit that comes with a plush "popsicle" that can magnet to Stella's mouth...sounds weird, but it's really cute.

posted by lizabel on April 3rd 2009 at 9:36am
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My daughter has Baby Stella too and and loves her. She also has two of the other dolls from Manhattan Toy, Miss Doria and Miss Dottie. She plays with them every day and sleeps with them too. They're super soft and sweet!

http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-Toy-Miss-Doria-Cuddle/dp/B000E4FDKE

http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-Toy-Miss-Dottie-Cuddle/dp/B000E4FDK4

posted by ArtLibrarian on April 3rd 2009 at 11:33am
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Magic Cabin has lovely dolls in a variety of styles and ethnicities and a bunch of them are currently on sale.

http://www.magiccabin.com

Please hurry and buy some before I buy them all.

posted by bundeleh on April 3rd 2009 at 2:43pm
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Glad I this thread came up, timely - we have a very nice (and very expensive) fabric 'Waldorf' doll that was given to our baby as a gift, but she's fascinated with the plastic baby dolls; she cradles and hugs them whenever she sees them. Cloth ones are maybe less realistic to her or something? I've been resisting buying a plastic one, but my husband finally persuaded me to get her one, since that is what grabs her.

As a side note, on the Waldorf-style dolls, I recommend avoiding mohair 'hair' - it sheds endlessly, including while being snuggled!

posted by p_capucine on April 3rd 2009 at 9:19pm
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I wanted to follow up my last comment with a helpful (hopefully) link on the BPA-free front, for others hunting for plastic baby dolls vs. fabric:

-Article listing safe plastic dolls:
http://thesoftlandingbaby.com/2008/11/10/which-dolls-contain-pvc/

Hooray for Madame Alexander! I just ordered up a 'Baby Cuddles' and hope it's a winner...

posted by p_capucine on April 3rd 2009 at 11:14pm
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We have the North American Bear Company's baby doll, which is also sold at Pottery Barn under the name "Lucy." Our local independent toy store had these dolls, for about $10 less than PBK.

posted by wrenx on April 4th 2009 at 1:01am
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It's ALL about the Corelle dolls! They are the best, and worth every penny.

posted by mrsvioletleigh on April 5th 2009 at 1:31am
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Our 3-year-old daughter has always loved her Baby Stella:
http://www.geniusbabies.com/baby-stella-doll-manhattan-baby-toys.html
My mother originally bought it for her because my daughter's name is Stella, but it definitely fits your bill!

posted by BadJuJu77 on April 5th 2009 at 1:39pm
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These dolls come with a choice of facial expressions, some of which are better than others. The good ones are really good though - personality without the creep factor : ) (Seeing them in person makes a difference, too.) http://www.jctoys.com/

posted by Jessica Poundstone on April 5th 2009 at 9:54pm
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my daughter also loves her Corolle doll. her's has a soft body and old fashion eyes that open and close. everything can be washed and unlike most of the dolls she's been given, i don't find this one creepy.

posted by ml1003 on April 6th 2009 at 3:52am
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I really like the Abby and Lucy baby dolls from PBKids. My daughter loves her Lucy and dresses her in her newborn knitted gear from Nana.

I actually bought a second one cheaply on ebay when PBkids had sold out, as Lucy stayed at the beach on vacation when we returned home.

http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/zf944/index.cfm?clg=49&bnrid=3560601&cm_ven=HGTV&cm_cat=Shopping&cm_pla=Home%20page&cm_ite=Datafeed

posted by Shasta on April 6th 2009 at 7:32pm
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What about this cute little girl?

posted by ms amanda on April 7th 2009 at 12:37pm
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