Based on the focus of this blog so far, you might be surprised to learn that I got my start as a doll enthusiast by collecting baby dolls. Actually, to be perfectly accurate, I got my start as a doll enthusiast the moment I received Madame Alexander's baby "Victoria" as a gift from my grandmother. Victoria and I were inseparable for the better part of my youth:
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| My mom made us matching outfits! |
As an adult, baby dolls started to appeal to me again around the time I got a yearning for real babies. Even after I had my two boys, baby dolls served as reminders of the most precious stages and expressions of my little guys. As my kids got older, I moved into collecting
Himstedt child dolls, but that stage couldn't last too long because Himsetdts are big and expensive. These days, for whatever reasons, I am much more interested in fashion dolls. It might have something to do with shelf space.
Despite not acquiring a lot of new baby dolls at this point in my life,
I still retain many and strong opinions about these dolls. Recently, someone asked my opinion on what would be a good realistic baby doll for an older child. I had a great time thinking through the options. For this special girl, I ended up recommending Zapf Vivian or Lilian, by master sculptor Cathariena Teunissen. The process got me pondering what the best realistic baby doll choices are for each price range and age group and I thought I'd start sharing my thoughts about this topic here.
