Mothers of girly girls? Dolly advice appreciated.

[BroccoliSpears]

My little girl (16 mths) would like a doll.

I am due to have a baby in spring, so I thought it might be an idea to get her a baby doll with some accessories so that she can play with her 'baby' while I play with mine.

I wouldn't have thought it needed to be an all singing, all dancing, weeing, pooing sort of doll. I was thinking of maybe getting a pushchair or a changing kit or.. well, I don't know really. This is all very new territory for me.

We have a budget of £20.

Any advice, tips, thoughts, experiences? Anything not to bother getting?

dont bother with one of the named brands as they do nothing more than teh store own kind.

£20 will get you a pretty good starter doll from somewhere like ASDA or TESCO.

got DD a doll & pram from poundstretcher for about a tenner

supplemented it with a set from asda comprised of another stroller, highchair, and bouncy chair, and little accesories

DD adores it, she has just turned 2 and plays with it a lot.

i would get the small baby anabell-£10.00 and a stroler from mothercare for £5.00

She's still so little I'd just get one of those little buggies. You can get them for about £5 from ELC.

I'd also get a baby doll with a soft body and plastic head, hands and feet. We got one for about £10 from John Lewis. Don't bother buying extra clothes. My daughter has several outfits for hers but she always seems to want her undressed. She also enjoys feeding her with a toy baby bottle.

Having forked our for Baby Annabel and Baby Born, as well as many other dolls...I would say just get a normal non-functioning one. The novely of the functions wears off very quickly IME.

For 16mo I would say you need a sturdy pushchair. IME little ones struggle to keep the cheap lightweight buggies stable, and often have them toppling over. You need one ideally with an adjustable height handle too as your little one will grow loads of the next couple of years.

I agree - doon't bother with doll's clothes, although if having your own baby - some nappies might be a nice idea, so she can copy you, as well as a couple of bibs. I got some baby clothes, tiny baby size from ebay VERY cheap - or let her use the old ones from your new baby when it is born.

Traditional Tiny Tears is quite ok (various sizes) or one of the Toys R us You and Me range or elc. We have an old style Baby Born and some interactive dolls from woolies , neither of which dd is bothered about using "properly"!

Agree with mamazon. Go for Joe average doll that does nowt (maybe hole for sticking toy dummy into), and the soft body ones too. I got a bobby bargain one from TK Max (about a fiver). Don't bother with clothes, all dolls in this house are in a permanently nude state.

Little fold up stroller also used alot, not always used for transporting dolls mind, today 3 pairs of welly boots were ferried about the house for a good half an hour.

Agree - don't bother with one of the pricey ones - my dds have never played with their baby annabel, but seem to love all the cheap ones! Little buggies usually about a fiver from any shop like tesco or asda and they fold up quickly and easily so you can stick them under your dds buggy when she gets tired of pushing it. We gave first dd a doll and some bits for it when second dd was born, and it worked a treat.

the smal baby anabel i said about is non funtioning> does nothing.

dolls clothes expensive but real baby newborns clothes fit most average size dolls, so keep any you may have. we go to carboot for them

ELC do a good baby lucy - softer and more huggable than the functioning ones which have a big plastic box in their tummies. Not too dear (£15?)and I think it came with some free or half price accessories. I found they didn't really do dressing the dolls until they were a good bit older. But buggy was a hit from the start - the cheapo buggies for babies are fine - nearly every kid I know has one. The whole role playing before no 2 comes along works really well with these dolls. My older daughter and I used to change nappies/BF together!

Another thought, Corolle dolls are lovely and they do styles appropriate from 18 months www.brainydays.co.uk/brand/corolle/mon-premier.htm

The small baby annabel is called "My first Baby Annabel". DD got it for her first Christmas and still plays with it now at age 3(it is called Baby Maryin our house), because although she has a Baby Annabel that she does play with that is a bit cumbersome for taking out and about. She is now after a boy Baby Born, mind you. And the ELC pushchair has got to have been one of the best play/cost ratio toys we've got.

Argos has a set that includes a doll, changing bag, cot and more for £15. tried looking on internet but doesn't show that. If you have the catelogue you can look in there or in store.

my dd has got a Baby Annabel one but i cannot switch it on as it scared my poor DD. ALso she got Baby Born too which is brill as you can put it in the bath with your LO

I also wouldn't bother with brand name dolls. The none brand name ones are just as well played with.

Wow. So many pointers. Thank you all for your thoughts. I think a trip to Asda and Argos is due. Won't bother with clothes, but will get a little buggy. Will aim for a fairly basic baby doll that doesn't need batteries!

Thank you.

also check Woolworths too as they have a few dollies in there too

My dd is 3.8 and doesn't play with Baby Annabel much- it's really heavy tbh. Her favourite is a JOhn Lewis one she got for her 1st birthday and is probably the most played with doll in our house (believe me, we have loads). Agree about getting a little pushchair (think they're £4 in Asda) and we also got a cot and sling with accessories like dummy, bottle etc.

agree most supermarkets have good sets as do wilkinsons etc where for £20 you should be able to get doll, pram, higchair. If using disposbales get a pack of cheap asdas budgetaround £1.50 as she will love messing with them..DD1[21m] does. We have the talking baby annabel was bought for dd1 last xmas and must say she loves it!!Even dd2 has a thing for it now and often sits patting her or squealing back at the doll.