Earlier this week I introduced you to “Little Peanut” our Ashton-Drake Baby Doll. In part 1 we talked about everything from what factors went into choosing her, to her arrival. All along the way, I did not know what to expect and kept wishing I would bump into a source online that was more detailed about these dolls. Hoping I could detail our experience with this doll from our perspective, a series of posts were born. Today we are going to get a “feel” for this baby doll. We will talk about some of her touchable features, and what makes the baby feel real in your arms. As I write this, I’m realizing there will need to be a part 3. I need to show you more about what the basic body construction is like (without the onesie) and the pose-able features of this doll, something I did not understand before our baby doll arrived!
Here is Little Peanut. She is a So Truly Real® doll from Ashton Drake. That means that although she is a collectable doll for adults, she has some touchable features.
In part 1 I explain how my 12 year old daughter and I came to buy this doll together. She has a younger sister, and this little one, gets all moony eyed over her sister’s doll. Today, moony eyes, is my little helper. Usually I take pictures while she naps, but today she is here to help with the photo shoot. She finds it no trouble at all! 🙂
Of course, since this is a collectible doll for adults, she gets to hold and touch the doll only with supervision.
This little one always has a baby doll of her own tucked under one arm. It’s always one that is huggable…
and tough enough for toddler play. At this stage she comes up with all kinds of ideas for her dolls. Hmm, let’s see what happens when I put grass on the baby doll! 🙂
Back to our new baby doll, Little Peanut. In part 1 you can see what outfit she came in. Soon after she was out of the box and in our arms we wanted to try her in regular baby clothes. Having the flexibility to choose the outfit and change the clothes was one of the features my 12 year old daughter was looking forward to. This is a Carter’s newborn onesie. The onesie is too long, so it bunches around her middle, to accommodate for the extra length. The onesie fits nicely everywhere else. We will have to do some more exploring to figure out what clothes will fit this doll best.
I love the light brown of this onesie with the baby doll’s complexion and hair. What also stands out are her lovely blue-lavender eyes. The Ashton-Drake website says they are a soft brown but in any light I don’t see brown, no it’s more of a blue with a hint of lavender at some angles.
No complaints here, her eyes are beautiful. Surrounded by those full, long lashes, they will melt anyones heart.
Now let’s look at another feature. This open hand is a touchable feature, unique to this line of dolls. This is a So Truly Real® baby doll. You really get a feel for what that means by touching her hands and feet. Her hands and arms are made of a soft bendable vinyl. That being said it does have a certain rigidity to it because there are no joints. It makes for a soft squeezable hand to hold.
Don’t resist, those pudgy arms are also very squeezable!
A closer look at the hand highlights the attention to detail given to this baby doll. See the slight blush to the back of the hand? What about the white-tipped shiny nails? I think these “hand-painted features” come together well. She also has a subtle rosy blushing on her face, legs and arms. Her toenails and lips have the same glossy finish as her finger nails.
The feet have the same soft and flexible vinyl as the hands, but they have a different feel. They are filled with a heavier material. This doll is “weighted to feel incredibly real in your arms”. The weight is distributed in different parts of the doll. I think this is what makes it feel like a new baby.
- Head: The soft vinyl covers a hard, rigid, heavy head. The extra weight makes the head feel slightly tipsy, like you should support the baby’s head! Don’t mistake this description as the doll being flimsy. The doll feels very stable and well made.
- Bottom: I think it is heaviest in it’s bottom. It almost feels like there is a sack of sand right in the middle of her body from the waist down.
- Legs: They are filled with a heavier material from the calf to the foot.
Now that we have explored the touchable features, we need to highlight what I see as the single most fragile aspect of this doll. It is the doll’s “hand-applied hair”. The hair is glued to the scalp, so of course it is not brush-able and you worry about it coming off with casual handling. Since we purchased this doll for our own collections I don’t feel inclined to do a pull test, but I’m sure over time we will see how durable it is. After thinking about it I feel this is what totally bumps the doll into a category for adult collectors only. It could be ruined with too much handling and definatley with play.
Seeing the doll’s hair in person there are two experiences. Just like a newborn’s hair, this doll’s hair is thin, wispy and fuzzy. When the baby is at a little distance (i.e. someone else’s arms), I can’t believe how the hair is just right for a new baby. That fuzzy little head could pass for a real baby if you are a few feet away!
On the other hand when you get up close you can see how the hair is glued on and we can’t help but notice what is not-so-real about that. It is kind of amazing that we are very, very keen as humans, on noticing what is decidedly not human! At close inspection, it’s not horrid it’s just not lovely either. So my recommendation is, just don’t look too closely. 🙂 In looking back on why my daughter chose this particular doll, she thought it was adorable in it’s little beanie hat. So if the hair bugs you you can also slip on a hat.
That little hat is also a great solution to protect that fragile hair. Perfect for the smallest doll handler at our house!
Time to whisper sweet things to the baby.
This little one knows baby dolls need lots of hugs and loves.
Who can resist a little snuggle?
That’s all the touchable features from head to toe!
This is a beautifully made doll! If you haven’t seen a So Truly Real® doll from Ashton-Drake, I hope you find this information useful!
I will work on putting something together to show you how this doll is constructed and what makes it pose-able.
Until next time!
Anna
Aww… the temptation to get this sweetie! She is so precious and realistic, but so expensive! I love your pictures of her! What is her name? I also love your own little daughter, she is so sweet!
I have an ashton drake baby doll too and i absolutley love her! The one i have is perfect in every way, little grace. By linda murray. I got mine when i turned 13. Thank you for your info on this doll! I might be purchasing her soon!
Madison, Little Grace is so cute! I like how her body is all vinyl. These are lovely dolls for collecting!
The little girl with pink with leopard spots what is her name and how can I get that one
I want to know what size diapers littlemail peanut wears because I don’t know what size to put on her.
Do You Know If This Baby Is A Reborn?
Also, What Did Your Daughter Name Her?
She Is So Cute! I Bet Your Daughter Really Likes Her!
she is from the Ashton Drake Galleries she is $129.99 and shipping to the USA is $14.99 i have this doll also give her 5 stars yay
no she is not a Reborn but is like one
Her baby is so cute what’s her name?
How Much Does She Weigh?
I have that doll I named her Ella
I just bought this baby doll about two weeks ago today I just wanted to ask you if she will be worth my birthday money?
It is so good and helpful to find someone prepared to give an in depth description of an Ashton Drake baby doll, especially with photos of the real doll. I have bought A.D.baby dolls in the past and sometimes the pictures advertising the doll are not very like the real thing at all. When we spend a lot of money, we do not want to be disappointed when the baby doll arrives – that means paying for the return postage to send it back! Thank you very much!
I have been trying to purchase an Ashton Drake doll for years but never found the right one for me.
can a ten year old have this doll
i want to purchase a Ashton drake baby doll i was wondering if u could give me a phone number a price or a location cause my daughter really want it but i’m willing to pay anything bellow $200 dollars but otherwise ill take it at any price
Navah- They are sold online at http://www.ashtondrake.com. They have lots of info on their website about all of their dolls!
Hello! My name is Serena Edwards,I just ordered the Little Peanut Doll by Ashton Drake a few days ago for my 14th birthday and i will be expecting her in 4 days.I plan to name her Kinsley Ray-Ann and I am so excited!!! I have a huge obsession with babies and i am so excited to be ordering her!!! I have a few questions though…does her hair fall out easily? How do you care for her hair? And also what size clothing and diapers fit her the best? I have bought her a lot of clothes in sizes preemie and newborn i think those sizes will fit her… and i will be taking her shopping once i get her to purchase her some diapers.Please answer my questions soon.Thanks and Bye!!!
Congrats Serena! We have loved the Little Peanut Doll! We haven’t had any of the hair fall out but that being said, we try not to really touch it because it is glued on. We do carefully put hats on her. The preemie size hats fit her snug. I actually think hats help protect her hair. We really haven’t tried different diapers on her. If I remember right the preemie onesies were a little long and separates fit better. Good luck! You will have a lot of fun with her!!
Hello I was wondering what are you suppose to do with her hair? We got ours and it was all crazy and matty almost and super fuzzy what to do with hair? Please help
Hi Serena! I’m sure you’ve had a chance to give your Little Peanut lots of lovin’ by now 😊 I just wanted to answer a few questions. I have many So Truly Real dolls. Some of them came to me needing lots of TLC and work! Although the hair appears as though it will come out quite easily it is actually glued well. I always wet my baby’s hair with water and use a soft baby brush, gently comb, and use my fingers (I like to twist the hair around my finger to make little curls when it’s long enough. I’ve never had issues of hair falling out UNLESS, the doll was stored in an area not climate controlled. Then, the glue dry rots and no longer holds the hair to the head. I’ve seen this more often with the full vinyl dolls that wear little night caps. I think the cap creates moisture in hot temperature. I also will wash the vinyl parts with a mild baby wash and water when I receive a doll that feels kind of sticky or just dirty. It works! Gets rid of the sticky feel and makes them feel fresh and new ☺ be very careful to not get any cloth part wet. If you do, I’m sure a blow dryer would take care of that.. I’ve actually had to take some of my dolls apart. The ones that came to me in very bad shape. The vinyl limbs are filled with polyfil (adds to the squishy feel) and cloth part of the limbs have a metal wire wrapped with material inside (this allows her to be poseable). There is a little sack of tiny glass beads in their bottom (giving them weight). Hope some of this was useful! Enjoy your baby! God bless!!!
Hello. My 11 year old also fell in love with all of the Ashton Drake “So Truly Real” dolls. we now have a nice collection started. When we got the dolls in the mail I opened them right away, they were Christmas gifts so I couldn’t wait till X-Mas to see them, I was shocked at how real they looked. After she opened them and played with them for a bit I noticed how the hair messed up easily. I went to the store and got a brush intended for newborns and brushed their hair gently. This worked great. The hair did not fall our nor did the ones with curl lose the curl. We saved the little hair net they came with and use that when they are put away. I agree with you these dolls are not intended for little hands but for an 11 year old they are ideal.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the Ashton Drake doll hair. That is a really good idea to store the dolls with the the hair net. You have a good point maybe it’s not so much about age but the personality and responsibility of the child. That probably has more to do with whether they are ready to take care of this doll. Thanks for sharing your experience Jenn!
Do any of you have may god bless you grace?
I don’t have the May God Bless You, Little Grace doll. She looks like a sweet doll though!
Anna I just want to say I do have the one you want and she is so gorgeous and I love her I renamed her though and her new name is Kori
I was wondering if I could wash her body and hair I have one baby grace but I didn’t know if I can get them wet thanks
Aniya I have one they are gorgeous
I see that you have Ashton Drake’s Peanut. I’m glad that time has gone by because I would like to know about how the hair is holding up with your younger daughters play. I am looking for a boy doll for my grandson who is about to become a big brother. He has an older sister, 5 yrs old, and she has Aston Drakes Katie.
She doesn’t really play with Katie. I thought is was because of the weight so I took out the sand and beads. I did have to repair Katie’s seams. It may be that Katie can’t sit up. She likes the Beringer realistic looking 15″ the best. He is beautifully sculpted but so hard and stiff. She wanted a bathable doll so I got a retouched Beringer 18″ boy doll with rooted hair. Had to super glue his eyelashes on after first bath. Neither play with him. All vinyl, sits up but is very stiff.
Your review of the new Baby of Mine was so detailed that I think that model will be my choice. The comparison picture of your 3 15″ dolls sealed the deal. Ashton Drake dolls never look like the stunning pictures so you have to seek other reviews. The hair is the biggest problem. Doll are never shown without their hats on either. So this little one is the right size, has beautiful painted hair and sits.
Questions: is it huggable for a toddler? Does the hair paint wash off? How heavy is it?