Thursday 12 July 2018

Maternal Instincts with My First Baby Annabell *review*

My daughter, Elarna is an incredibly caring girl, from a very young age she would stroke, cuddle and care for our cats and even today makes sure they are fed, looked after and regularly cuddled. Plus she utterly adores babies, especially newborns! It's adorable. I had a feeling when we started to introduce dollies and babies she would make a wonderful 'mother'. I haven't been wrong, she has several babies in her collection and she mothers them all. Her particular favourites are the Baby Annabell range and we were recently sent a 'My First Baby Annabell' for us to review and to continue to encourage Elarna to continue to nurture, love and care for them.


This gorgeous little baby is the perfect size for cuddling, is super soft and light weight. She comes dressed in a little pink sleepsuit, hat and comes with a little bottle, we were also sent another  outfit to change her into which has been well used already! She has the loveliest face and she is well loved in our house, I will often find Elarna putting her into her baby cot and covering her in kisses and telling us to shhhh when baby is asleep!



As mentioned above we were sent a lovely little dress, hat and bib to change Baby Annabell in to, Elarna loved being able to dress her, it really added to her role play  and mothering the baby, she took it all very seriously. We had her changed for bed in her sleep suit and then took her to bed with her and then changed her into her day clothes when she got dressed for the day. So cute!


At three years old I am aware that it is a crucial time for learning and developing, I love encouraging her nurturing side and I often hear from nursery that this is something she is great at, as well as building friendships. I have genuinely found that I haven't had to 'teach' her much in terms of caring, she really is such a loving girl, sometimes I have to gently remind her to not smother 'real' babies with too many kisses and to make sure she gently handles them but otherwise she is so lovely mothering them.


Quite often we find her having tea parties with all her babies, one in a high chair, one in a cot and one ready to be pushed around in the pushchair we get roped into playing aswell too! I don't mind at all, I love it.


This particular Baby Annabell retails for around £15.00 and although a basic doll it is absolutely great for a three year old or older. I would like to add that although this is all about Elarna playing, my eldest Alfie who is 6 occasionally shows interest and pushes babies around in the buggy, I am all for encouraging development of the modern man so love seeing him showing his caring side. It's not very often however as he'd much rather play with Lego or trains!


Baby Annabell (Zapf Creation) is a great brand and what I like is that there is a variety of items available that you can purchase to enhance the role play element and play. There are also other dolls that can be bought that are more interactive and these are also fab (we also have a Baby Annabell that wets her nappy, sucks a dummy and makes baby noises). I can honestly say that these are some of our most played with toys.


What did we love?


  • The price, such a good retail price for a toy that is played with over and over and will last the test of time
  • Just how cuddly she is, she's so soft and easy to hold
  • A perfect size for a child to hold, although not necessarily true to real life in a small childs eyes they are the perfect size
  • Ideal for encouraging role play and building relationships, also for introducing the concept of responsibility 



Anything we weren't so keen on?


  • I think it's a shame that the doll only comes with the outfit worn, it would be great to include another outfit instead of having to buy separately
  • Other than the above we loved everything about My First Baby Annabell.




If you are looking for a baby to purchase for your child I can highly recommend this one, it's an ideal starter and I think any child would love being a parent to My First Baby Annabell. Available from leading retailers and online there shouldn't be an issue trying to purchase one. Have you got a Baby Annabell? What are your thoughts?

* Please note we were kindly sent this free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review, all thoughts and opinions are our own.


4 comments:

  1. Ah this was my youngest's first baby too. She loved it! Elarna does look so caring. Bless. x#bloggersbest x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Baby Annabell is gorgeous! She does have the loveliest face.

    #BloggersBest

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah, isn't she gorgeous. I have a little boy - Cygnet. I bought Cygnet a baby doll when my niece was born so that he could pretend that he had a baby too. Cygnet was not too bothered about the doll. In fact he shoved it under his bed and left it. Oh well. Boys! Pen x #bloggersbest

    ReplyDelete
  4. Its amazing to watch children progress into role play. Seeing and doing is how they learn. Your little one looks like such a loving little lady. #bloggersbest

    ReplyDelete

I absolutely love it when someone leaves me a comment, I will always reply back when possible! You can also follow me on twitter for more beautiful chatter: @Helsy_1983