American Girl Bitty Babies?

[cristen72]

My 2.5 yr old daughter is really getting into baby dolls. I've started looking around and I'm considering getting her a bitty baby. They are expensive but every one I know with girls that have AG dolls says they are very durable. But none of those friends have Bitty Babies, they all have the larger size dolls.

Are Bitty Babies as sturdy as a regular AG doll? My daughter isn't rough on her toys, but in reading reviews I saw a few people saying the painted hair comes off way too easily. Like if your child just drops it on the hardwood floor it will knock the "hair paint" off.

Des anyone here have any experience with these?

I'm looking at eBay as well to see if I can get a decent price on a "gently loved" baby. Has anyone had any luck buying AG dolls from eBay?

I really hate I missed out on the Today show deal. I was at work and couldn't get to a computer.

Thanks for reading! It's such a big investment that I just wanted some opinions

 

[epsmith921]

We got our daughter a bitty baby for her 2nd birthday almost a month ago. Her hair paint seems fine, though we got blonde so there doesn't seem to be a thick layer on there or anything. She is heavier than a lot of other babies, so she kind of gets tossed around by my daughter. We also have hardwood floors and that baby has been dropped I can't tell you how many times already. Still looks new. Her cousins have tons of bitty baby stuff that's at least 5-6 years old and still is in good shape where some of their other baby stuff looks significantly more worn. The other good dolls are corolle dolls. She has a smaller one from when she was a baby and you can toss those ones in the washer!

 

[katiee37]

I still have one in the house that we got in 1998 and she's still in great shape! Some of her clothes didn't live as long though, so I wouldn't advise getting too many of the overpriced outfits from AG.

 

[Samar]

Well yes, the hair paint will come off just like any other toy that gets dropped on its noggin The dolls themselves are sturdy and are meant to be "loved on". I got my 4 year old a My Life doll from WalMart because she wanted an AG doll like her sister but I just couldn't watch a $100+ dollar doll get smacked around.

If you are on FB, check out American Girl Doll BST. It's a group where ladies post dolls and plenty for less than retail Also I have heard that certain sized baby clothes work for bitty babies too

 

[mickeymaker2003]

I bought a blond baby when I got the package that was on the Today show a few weeks ago because of the hair paint issue. The used dark hair ones I saw for sale were noticeably missing quite a bit of hair while the blond one (BB3) didn't show the marks as much. Now, I just have to be good and wait until Christmas to give it to my DD.

If you really don't want to have to worry about the hair paint, you can go to an American Girl doll store and buy a single Bitty Twin doll (they have the real hair instead of painted hair).

 

[Gracie09]

Dd has one that is two years old and goes everywhere with her. Her hair looks fine. Her eyes had to be fixed (for free) but the hair is fine

 

[Kae]

DD's is almost 10 years old & she looks fine. We never had problems with the clothes holding up.

Kae

 

[goingtowdwwithkiddos]

we got darker skin and darker hair when DD was 1 she is now 3 hair and doll still look great andhave been tossed around plenty

 

[cristen72]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't live near an AG store so I'll be ordering online regardless of purchasing through the official site or a second hand doll. I did look at the twins and they are cute but right now I think the painted hair baby will work better for DD.

I did put in a request to join the Facebook page that was suggested but haven't heard back yet regarding approval.

 

[Samar]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't live near an AG store so I'll be ordering online regardless of purchasing through the official site or a second hand doll. I did look at the twins and they are cute but right now I think the painted hair baby will work better for DD.

I did put in a request to join the Facebook page that was suggested but haven't heard back yet regarding approval.

If you want to PM me your FB name, I can let the Admin Berry Styles know.

 

[fabulousfive]

We love Bitty Babies! We have three of them -- all blonde. They are in great shape and we've had them for years. But if the paint comes off, it just shows they are well-loved. I will say though that my littlest actually prefers a ten dollar doll we got at Target once as its a lot smaller, lighter, and easier for her to carry. But I personally love all AG dolls.

 

[snoopy5386]

We have two bitty babies, a dark haired one and a red haired one. The dark haired one has tons of missing hair spots from very little hard play. I was really surprised at how badly the doll has held up in that regard. When it was time for DD2 to get one we went with a light haired one and it looks much better.

 

[cristen72]

If you want to PM me your FB name, I can let the Admin Berry Styles know.

Thanks so much! I'll do that right now

 

[katclicks]

They are very durable. I have an original bitty baby (back then she was a cuddly baby doll) that is 22 years old that my dd has now had for 5 years. My other dd has her own bitty baby that is also in great condition. You can't go wrong with any of the ag dolls!

 

[Fab4@disney]

My girls got the twin boy/girl bitty babies about 5 years ago and still play with them more than they play with their American Girl dolls The bitty babies are very durable and of good quality. Yes, they are expensive but they have outlasted all other baby dolls we have ever purchased.

 

[skw444]

We have 2 Bitty Babies with the painted dark hair and there are some marks but overall the dolls are in great condition. One we've had for 8 years. We also have the Bitty Twins and AG dolls. My girls still prefer the Bitty Babies.

 

[Ravensorrow]

My oldest daughter's bitty baby is almost 16 years old and been through two little girls and my two year old son is hauling it around nowadays! My youngest daughter's bitty twins are almost 5. These dolls are extremely well made!!!

 

[allaboutaprincess]

We have 2 bitty babies and they are both very loved and still look great compared to other dolls. You may want to think about the bitty baby twins. My daughter has a set and they are great too. Their hair still looks like new. You just can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[DisneyElite4]

I still have my bitty baby from 1993 - I think it was the first year they were out! She is in excellent condition, as all are her clothes. I am saving her at my parents house in case I ever have a daughter.

 

[scrapquitler]

We have a bitty baby (the one with the blonde painted hair) that my DD got when she was 5, she's now 16 and "Little Fella" still looks great. We also have a boy/girl twin set (with blond regular hair) that we got when DD was 7 and "Merry" and "Chris" both look almost new, too. Both DD and DS (now 10) played with them for years, and even now when our other young family members come to visit all three of them get played with. I think they are definitely worth the price. I would pick them over the other 18" dolls again in a heartbeat.