Daughter wants a doll -opinions on Baby annabelle/talking chou chou /baby born??

Peakma

My 3 year old wants a doll for xmas ,she wants one that makes noises uses a potty and can be bathed.I cant decide which to buy,as they all have different qualities.I keep nearly buying the baby born magic eyes doll,as it can go in the bath,but I am curious what sort of noises it makes,as it doesn't use batteries.

Is baby annabelle any good ?Are her sound effects robotic or realistic ?and are her legs stuck in the almost crossed possition they seem to be in on all the photos?Does she wee ?! I personally dot like talking dolls,but do prefer the look of talking chou chou.
Are they all capable of sitting up ?
Any advice from anyone with these dolls would be appreciated as I really want to get one ordered for her before they all sell out,but without actually handling them it's really hard to choose.They're all pretty awfull really,I'm surprised there isn't a nicer looking one ,with some hair,softer flexible bodies etc.These 3 seem to monopolise the doll market.

chmmy

We had chou chou last year and annabell the Christmas before that. They are both baby dolls that dont sit up. Annabell looked better for longer as chou chou had a 'soft touch' skin that cracked a bit and looked a bit grubby after a while. Annabell was easier for a little girl to look after(make her stop crying) whereas chou chou was a bit more complicated, but annabells cry did drive me mad after a while, although I think it does shut off if it's left for a minute or so.

I think annabells cries are quite realistic.

brindles01

There is a doll by Smoby called Roby. It is 65cm tall, about the same size as a 9/12 month old. It does not cry or wee but it has a flexible body, is very realistic looking and comes fully clothed even shoes. The best bit is that you can dress it in normal baby sized clothes, so you don't have to get ripped off with doll manufacturers, overpriced items.

Hazel01

My daughter (now 7) has both Baby Born and Annabell. She much prefers Annabell as she says she is cuddlier (she has a soft boy, unlike the hard plastic baby born). Baby born wasn't as good as we expected, actually. It weed, but we could never get it to poo properly. (Maybe a merciful release!)
Baby born was good for the time my daughter wanted a dolly in the bath with her, though. (She went through a time when much younger of being scared of water!) I paid full price for the Annabell but Baby born was a cheapo buy from the local paper. Because it is hard plastic, not fabric, it was not dirty and as good as new.
Hope this helps! Good luck.

tawnyowls

It's not the dolls that are the problem, it's the accessories! You will be plagued from morning to night for all the bits that come with them. Much better off getting a non-branded doll.

Chas

I didn't buy any of the branded stuff for Baby Born or Annabell when my daughters had them - I bought premature baby clothes at places like Bewise, QD, QS & Peacocks.

shirlgirl2004

My daughter has annabell. She has never cried tears like she is supposed to. Her crying can be annoying but she automatically shuts off if left for a few minutes or she has a switch if you can't stand it that long. She's much nicer than the hard bodied ones. The ones that wee are fine but then you have to keep buying nappies unless you buy waterproof reuseables from Ebay. I bought reuseables for annabell from ebay. Her arms and legs aren't poseable because her body is fabric. Her arms are in an ape like pose :rotfl: