Bitty Baby - VERY cute & well made
Written: Jul 23 '02 (Updated Jul 23 '02)
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Pros: Cute, well made, larger than expected, nice packaging
Cons: can be pricey!
The Bottom Line: Great quality, good price for what you get (which is *A LOT*), accessories are much better than anything store bought. Highly recommended & well worth the money.
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| newmom's Full Review: Bitty Baby |
I originally wrote this under the general American Girl category because a Bitty Baby category was not offered. I'm in the process of moving it to the correct category, but my review remains the same.
Oct 18 '00 (Updated Aug 05 '01)
My daughter will be getting Bitty Baby for Christmas this year. She'll turn 3 in January. I skimmed over the catalog & visited the website before making my purchase, & found that Bitty is the most reasonably priced doll in the American Girl collection, but still very pricey! In the end I decided to get the Bitty Baby starter set because I felt it was a much greater value for the money. I'll explain how the current prices break down first.
~Bitty Baby with Bitty Bear- was $38 at the time I purchased it, but is now $40.
You have your choice of the following:
*Caucasian Bitty Baby with blonde hair & blue/grey eyes.
*Caucasian Bitty Baby with dark brown hair & light brown eyes.
*African American Bitty Baby with black textured hair & brown eyes.
*Asian Bitty Baby with black hair & black almond-shaped eyes.
*Hispanic Bitty Baby with dark brown hair & dark brown eyes.
~Bitty Baby Starter Set - $98
Comes with the following:
Your choice of Bitty Baby doll comes with Bitty Bear, the Birthday Set ($24 on it's own), the Sunny Day Play Set (around $22), Suitcase ($32 by itself), make-believe bottles of lotion, powder, milk, and orange juice, and a cozy knit receiving blanket (not sure of the price. These contents come w/ the diaper bag set which sells for $32).
Bitty Baby does not fit inside closed suitcase.
~Any of the Bitty Baby Special "sets" that come with the doll - $50
Right now you can get the Snowy Day Set Special with doll for $50, but they alternate the specials periodically. Last month they had a circus special & the Birthday special. Here is an example of what you get:
"Snowy Day Set Special Offer - Save!
Keep Bitty Baby toasty in the hooded snowsuit and mittens. Bitty Bear has matching hood. Includes a snowbear rattle with a roly-poly bottom and a tinkly chime inside. Also comes with a book, Bitty Bear's Frosty Fun - and press-on pictures for the book.
You save $12 when you buy the Snowy Day Set with a Bitty Baby doll!
In effect you're getting two outfits because Bitty Baby comes in a cozy velour sleeper."
Now I'll talk more about the doll itself. She's much bigger than I anticipated (15" tall & very solid)! She's very cute, has sleepy eyes that open & close, vinyl head, arms, & legs, & a snuggubly soft body. At the moment she comes dressed in a teal velour sleeper (used to be a cute red print, but they changed the fabric recently), & Bitty bear who is roughly 5" tall.
I bought a couple of accessories to go with the doll, in addition to the ones that came in the starter set. You could go crazy over all of the accessories for Bitty Baby! :o) I bought a baby carrier, so my daughter can carry her Bitty Baby easily through the airport when we go to visit family in England over the holidays. The carrier is adorable! It's a bright red color, & VERY well made! It looks just like a real carrier - with a difference. In addition to your child being able to carry her baby, her baby can carry her bear too! There's a cute little "pouch" for Bitty Bear.
I was very impressed when I opened the box. Everything is individually packaged - doll, clothes, accessories. American Girl is very detail & quality oriented. Each box had an individual AG wrap around tag on it.
The accessories can range from reasonably priced to extremely expensive. They have everything from the carrier I mentioned earlier, to crib, mobile, diaper bag & accessories, changing table, little red wagon, stroller, etc.
The clothing is high priced, but it's also high quality. It looks like real baby clothes that have been shrunk in the wash. PLUS, the clothing doesn't typically include just the clothes, but also has a book, & a toy or two for Bitty Baby & Bitty Bear. As an example I'll list a quote from AG's website for one item:
"Gardening Set
Spring is the time to sow seeds for carrots, beets, and daisies! Dress Bitty Baby in her gardening coverall, white socks, shoes, and shady straw hat. A sprinkling can is just what Baby needs to water the seeds. But watch out for weeds! Keep Bitty Bear cool in her little straw hat, too. Color the pretty pictures in Bitty Bear’s Spring Fun coloring book with a set of four crayons. Doll and bear sold separately.
BSS $22"
I've noticed that there are quite a lot of artsy craftsy types on eBay who are hand sewing Bitty Baby clothing, & selling it there. I've even purchased a dress or two from them. While the quality is good in most cases, it really isn't comparable to what you get from AG in most cases. As stated earlier, you don't just get the clothing from AG, but toys & accessories that go with the clothing.
Now you can even dress your daughter like Bitty Baby! So far AG only has one outfit added to this collection, but I'm sure they'll add more as time goes on.
All in all I think Bitty Baby is a very nice doll for the money, but I wouldn't have purchased her on her own. I saved approximately $50 by buying the starter set!
*NOTE* Although for some strange reason it says "Not available at online stores" to the left of this epinion, it IS available at the AG online store. That's where I ordered my daughter's doll from.
*MY DAUGHTER'S OPINION*
It's now almost a month & a half since I gave her the doll. We gave her the doll before we left on our England trip so she could bring her with her. Bitty was a HUGE hit with Amanda! She named her Patty, & Patty hasn't left her side hardly at all since Christmas. She sleeps with her every night, enjoys undressing & dressing her, & especially seems to enjoy diapering her. I almost fell over in hysterics (& amazement)the first time she informed me that her baby was stinky, grabbed a wipe, took the diaper off, wiped her bottom, & put the diaper back on while saying "Baby is ALL CLEAN!" in a sing song voice. My child looses interest in toys very rapidly, but Bitty continues to hold her interest.
8 months after Christmas, & Patty is still going strong. Amanda still loves her, & in fact, slept with her last night. Patty still looks new, except that there are a few scuffs on her head, where her hair has been painted on.
*UPDATE*
July 2002
Patty aka Jay (yesterday she informed me that this doll's name is now Jay) is still among my daughter's favorite dolls. She has quite a few babies now, but I don't think she would know what to do without Patty, ummm Jay. Unfortunately, our 7 month old puppy also enjoys my daughter's toys. About a month ago she teethed on Bitty Baby's hand, & amputated it. My daughter has gotten used to playing with amputees, so this hasn't upset her too much, but being the doting Mommy that I am I've tried to replace the wounded babies when possible. Last week I asked her if she would rather another Bitty Baby that looked just like the old one, or maybe the blonde haired one for a change. She informed me that she wanted one identical to her old one. It arrived in the mail yesterday, but Amanda doesn't know about it yet. She still plays with the baby that has a "bo bo", & loves it as much as ever. I might wait until a very special time to surprise her with the new one. I have the feeling that she'll still keep the amputee, & just play doctor with it.
Money well spent!
Amount Paid (US$): 98 for starter set
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 98
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: Kids to Teens
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Epinions.com ID:
newmom
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Location: Metairie, LA
Reviews written: 42
Trusted by: 8 members
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