basic baby doll

[Katherine]

Hi, want to buy DD a straight forward baby doll for Christmas to go in her new buggy. hing is I HATE THEM ALL! Can't stand the thought of dolls that cry or giggle (would drive me mad) and as for drinking and weeing, well I can see all the puddles, damp clothes and endlessly filling the bottle. Call me a misery but I just want a straight forward doll. Imagination can do the rest. I've really struggled to find one that isn't all singing/all dancing and they've mostly been not very realistic. I want one that can wear all our old newborn baby clothes rather than buying new outfits as well. Baby Chou Chou seems to be the only contender. Any suggestions?

I beleive Argos still do anatomically correct newborn twins - a girl and a boy. I bought the little boy for ds ages ago, can't remember where. I want to get a little girl for dd but in the local toyshop where they sell them individually they've changed the look of them and their faces are all squashed - very strange.

A couple of years ago I bought an anatomically correct boy doll for DS1 from Poundstretcher, it was very cheap but seems to have lasted the pace. I think they do a variety of basic dolls, might be worth a look, although I would imagine you would have to be discerning as some may not be great quality.

We got dd a straightforward doll (no weeing, speaking, pooing, doing scary facial expressions, singing or moving) from Toys 'R' Us. You can get male or female, but I didn't check if the boys were anatomically correct. Their clothes can be taken off and you can get other sets of clothes for them too. I don't know what the doll was called I'm afraid, I don't bother with things like that, but it was pretty cheap.

My dd has had a Chou Chou since she was 2 and 2 1/2 years later is still in love with her! It is a basic doll (i.e. does not wee, cry, burp etc!!!) but is really soft and cuddly and so baby like, just perfect to play 'Mummy' with. It wears all the old newborn baby clothes (Chou Chou clothes are so expensive) and still looks as good as it was when we got it. We also have Annabel - but that crys - drives me mad although my dd is very sweet with her and spends ages getting her back to her cooing stage! Can completely recommend Chou Chou

Indie, Thanks for the reassurance. Have ordered a little chou chou from John Lewis.com (they were great as I forgot to enter my first order disoucnt code and phoned up, answered straight away and just refunded it, great CS). Its a bit smaller than the normal chou chou but has nicer clothes on. Thought I might put some of the baby vests I've got (100's) on a boil wash in the hope they will shrink to fit. Thought about buying some premmie ones but that seems to defeat the object of reusing clothes I've already got!

Just wanted to add that little chou chou has just arrived. V. Pleased. She's got closing eyes, her own dummy and a nice soft body but she's also a decent weight despite being a small doll (38cm) - just right for a toddler. I got her from John Lewis.com reduced from £19.99 to £14.99 with a £10 discount on my first order as well. Not bad eh! And the best thing is she doesn't cry, wee, poo or any other annoying habits. The perfect baby