Breastmilk Baby Doll launches – it eats, it drinks, it turns people into idiots

by Mom101 on 07.19.11
in big gay liberal post, funny to me at least, things that make you go argh

breastk milk baby dollThe second I got wind that the Breast Milk Baby Doll, already popular in Europe, was launching in the US, my first thought was…hoo boy. Here come the crazies. And yep. I was right.

On Cool Mom Picks, the dissenters have, almost without exception, been sane. Because our readers are, almost without exception, awesome. Most of them like the message it sends, but if they don’t like the doll, it’s because they don’t feel that a parent needs to spend $89 for a battery operated Chinese-made doll for a kid to be able to “nurse” her (or his) dolls. I buy that 100%. We don’t have dolls that pee or poop or talk around our house either.

For a brief while, we did own the doll affectionately known as Lead-y Betty, who was rescued off the tough streets of Chinatown in 2007 by a well-meaning relative. She wore a sparkly pink Daisy Duke number dipped in six layers of premium grade lead paint, for extra sparkle. And she didn’t speak so much as she shrieked. In some crazy Chinese-English-Parrot hybrid language. At any given moment, with or without human intervention, she could be heard flailing her arms and legs and yelling WAH-OOH! WAH-OOH! WAH-OOH! before launching into a frenetic rendition of TINKLE TINKLE LITTAH STAH…WAH-OOH!

It was worse than even a Sing-a-ma-jig.

So I do get the point that we don’t need our dolls to actually do the things that our kids’ imaginations already make them do.

What I’m having trouble understanding are the people who say things like “this crosses a dangerous line” or “it sexualizes our little girls” or “Jesus is going to be SO MAD!”

(I did respond to one person who suggested that the doll is upsetting because little girls don’t actually have boobs. I reminded her that little girls don’t actually have babies, either. Still haven’t heard back.)

But really the toughest for me, was understanding my own initial discomfort when I first heard about the doll. I wholly admit: my first reaction was “Hm. That’s a little weird.”

So I asked myself…would I okay with a baby doll that simulates drinking milk from a bottle? Of course.

Would I be okay with a baby pig doll that sucks milk from the mommy pig? Why not.

Would I be okay with my kids simulating breastfeeding under their shirts? They already do.

Hm.

That’s when I realized…it’s a gateway doll.

It’s a doll that leads to other things!

Let your kid have a Breast Milk Doll and the next thing you know, she’ll want a co-sleeping doll. Can you imagine? A doll that is made for you to sleep with it! The downfall of independence in our country! The end of democracy as we know it!

And then? I imagine your formerly sweet little girl will be wanting to carry it in a sling instead of pushing it in a stroller like God intended. Before you know it, she’s feeding that baby doll homemade organic baby food from some communist food CSA, pre-registering it for a Waldorf preschool, selling the family TV, and refusing to shave her armpit hair.

Stupid Breast Milk Baby Doll.

I’m just glad I figured it out.

{189 Comments}

189 thoughts on “Breastmilk Baby Doll launches – it eats, it drinks, it turns people into idiots”

  2. You have no idea. Next thing, there will be cloth diaper dolls. Do you have any idea what would happen to our society if Pampers wasn’t filling landfills every day? Anarchy, that’s what. You laugh, unbeliever. You just wait.

    1. No! Not the cloth diaper dolls! How will the safety pins ever make it through the CPSIA testing?

          1. Or a nappi nippa. We used nappi nippas to hold our beautifully folded terry squares together, before we moved onto velcro fastening stuffables.

            And yes, my girls have a dolly sling and tiny cloth nappies for their babu dolls, which they nurse. Still can’t get them to stop spoon feeding them though, BLW has not survived the doll accessories brain washing…..

          2. Just so long as they never get onto the Elimination Communication doll!

            1. They have the EC pants doll already in China.

              And the baby doll I got my daughter for Christmas that wets? He totally came with a cloth diaper.

              And he has a penis. Of course, now she’s ONLY going to want sons. Daughters will never be enough, because her doll had a penis!

    2. LOL, my grandmother made cloth diapers for my baby dolls. And look at what it did to me as an adult!!! I’m a cloth diapering hippie!!!

      1. I’m a 36 year old preschool teacher, and I remember a baby doll when i was little that had a penis. It really didn’t phase me.

        I’m not saying we need to promote breastfeeding at a young age, but it is a natural and beautiful part of being a female. I’d rather have my daughter aspire to be a breast feeding mom than an anorexic barbie doll!

        1. Ben, you said, “I’d rather have my daughter aspire to be a breast feeding mom than an anorexic barbie doll.” THANK YOU!! 😀

  4. Exactly. And if we let people marry who they want to marry regardless of gender, they will start marrying animals and inanimate objects.

    That little girl will want to marry that doll for God’s sakes! AND IT’S A GIRL DOLL.

  5. I’ve decided to tell my MIL that my daughter really wants this for Christmas. My MIL who, when hearing that I was going to breastfeed said “Why? Who does that?”

    I’d rather have her spend money on a plastic China-made doll that breastfeeds rather than one that poops or pees.

    Oh wait, she already did that.

  6. Does it come with a pump…for when you are too busy coloring, watching Dora etc….

    6. Noelle, I just about peed myself!

      I wouldn’t buy this doll for my kid ($89 in a depression, give me a break), but I do think it should be in every motherhood store for those first-time moms!

      1. Noelle-
        I figured that even commenting on this was astronomically stupid, but then I saw your comment and realized that a great sense of humor is the answer to everything! You made my evening!!

  7. Clearly I was ahead of the trend. I made my daughter a baby carrier to carry her Cabbage Patch doll in nearly 20 years ago. And I don’t even particularly LIKE to sew. I’m not sure that the breastfeeding doll is necessary, though. Most little kids I’ve known with any particular experience with breastfeeding seem to nurse their stuffed animals, their dolls, etc. without any special equipment. Grosses out some non-breastfeeding grandmothers though.

    1. It is particularly distressing when your little girl is wearing a dress and decides that her baby koala is hungry in the middle of Stuff Mart and then lifts her entire dress to get at her chest…. yes, can you imagine the looks?? Yes, it does gross people out who have no idea…

        1. See? You were right! Now they’ll start breastfeeding *anything*; puppies, a cup… even humans… O.0

  8. HAHA!! I have a son with one on the way. I wish I had a babygirl to give this doll too. Its ROCKS!! If people cant see the REAL message behind it, then they are missing the whole point. I also like the cloth diaper baby as well that you guys was talking about! WE can start a movement! 🙂

    2. My son had two anne geddess dolls…he named them “hot dog” and “ikea”. Not the most stellar name choices, i’ll admit. But he did nurse them, often at the same time!
      Many adults can’t pull off nursing twins…so i’ll give him credit for that.

    4. My son breast fed his dolly when I was feeding his brother. My hubby thought it was weird and would show him “how daddies feed their babies” but at home with me, I let him. I thought it was sweet. He is 12 now and hasn’t been permanently damaged nor is he gender confused. he was TWO!

  9. All of you have me splitting at the seams! bahaha 🙂 great post 🙂

  11. wow, i had kind of the same reaction that you did to this doll. my first reaction was not to be angry or anything but to think that this is a little bit creepy (and also, who needs a $90 piece of crap toy). but ultimately you’re right – i don’t find the baby dolls who drink from a bottle creepy, and probably not the baby animals who feed off the mommy animals. so when i really think about it, this doll isn’t creepy, it’s just overpriced. luckily i’m certain my son would think this toy is “for girls” and would not want it.

    when i was a kid, i actually had a stuffed sheep who gave birth to a baby stuffed sheep – there was a velcro pouch and the baby came out. the baby actually came out of the mommy sheep’s butt so not really anatomically correct. frankly my friends and i always thought that was pretty creepy and weird. haven’t thought about that in a long time so thanks for bringing back that memory!

  13. I wasn’t okay with a doll that simulated drinking from a bottle, being pushed around in a pink stroller (yes, it MUST be pink), sleeping in a pink crib (MORE PINK!), and being carried in a pink car seat.

    So we bought a doll. A simple doll that came with nothing but some clothes and a (SHOCK!) a cloth diaper. She nurses the doll. She sleeps with the doll. She wears the doll in a sling.

    We’re doing our part to make mainstream society crumble apart without having to rush out to buy the breastfeeding doll.

    2. Hey my son has a pink stroller to push baby elmo in! He loves it!

    3. It’s interesting really, I remember hearing from my lecturer in sociology that it wasn’t to long ago when the whole ‘pink for girls, blue for boys’ was actually the other way around; pink (and red) were considered far more masculine colours, being more intense, and light duck-egg blues feminine. It intrigues me the symbolism people place on colour. (Please don’t eat my prosthetic ‘u’, I’m from Australia lol)

  15. awesome! I would totally let my little girl (if I had one.. I only have boys) breastfeed her doll. my sons have either asked if they could breastfeed their baby brother or have pretended they were nursing my shoulder. ha! and I remember trying to nurse my doll when I was 2 as my mom breastfed my younger sister. might as well let them pretend. why not? I think it’s the fact that it’s a doll made specifically for breastfeeding (if I’m understanding correctly) that freaks everyone out. a little weird, but whateva..

    1. My son used to bring his trucks (and plastic lizard) to bedtimes and they had to ‘have some minnou’ (his word for breastfeeding) before he could. I’m not really into the doll specifically for breastfeeding, but then neither am I for the peeing pooping doll.
      But bet your sweet bippy I would’ve been at three or four!

  16. Well we shouldnt leave the boys out ! Next we will have a Fertilization Doll, where your son can put decals on his privates and fertilize an egg. Why not, its natural. Sure he will figure it out eventually but why not give him a head start like everyone else does.

  21. This doll is TERRIBLE and RIDICULOUS. If I EVER got this doll for my daughter, which I WOULDN’T, she would have to use it while locked in her bedroom because breastfeeding should be done in PRIVATE and little girls should know that from day 1! Anyone who gets this for their daughter should WATCH OUT because it sends the wrong signal that breastfeeding is OKAY, which is surely isn’t.

    I would write more, but I’m tired of using ALL CAPS. Plus, I need to go drink some milk that came out of a cow’s boobs (that’s perfectly natural) and then go to the toy store to buy a barbie for my daughter, so she can learn what real women are like. And a toy rifle for my son so he can learn to be a Real Man.

    4. I hope that’s RAW cow’s milk not that nasty pasteurized stuff… 😉

    5. You are obviously a turnip that fell WAY off the truck! Sir, I feel sorry for you because you are obviously also ignorant. I suggest you educate yourself on the benefits of a breastfed child, such things as less likely to be overweight as an adolescent or adult which a lot of adults could benefit from and for all I know you are probably one of them. At any rate, I am sickened by your post and that’s what I wanted to say. Oh, one more thing…..I proudly breastfeed my daughter, and I do use a cover but that’s out of respect for my husband for any lurking perverts, not because of anything else.

      1. Proud,

        I’m pretty sure he was joking, in much the same vein as the other comments on here. 🙂

      3. Normally I wouldn’t reply, but sometimes I feel like I have to. As “A” and Dana said, I was joking.

        Also, to Ruthiemari, ha ha, I should have said bathroom dang it! Next time…

  22. In the immortal words of my 7 year old, to the judgemental, silcone enhanced cougar at the school play: “They’re boobs lady! Get over it!”

  23. My first reaction was a bit I’d discomfort-only because my kiddos are adopted and what the hell do I know about breast feeding? But I agree the message is a good one.

    Next thing you know we’ll have vegetarian mixed race dolls too. I love to watch society fall apart at the uptight seams.

        1. Wait… bring on the natural birth doll! Complete with birthing pool and midwife doll (doubles as a lactation consultant). Optional extras can include a picture book version of Ina May’s Guide, aromatherapy set (do not use without an adult’s supervision), and Placenta (TM) for those lotus birth mamas…

          1. If there was a natural birthing doll, I’d probably play with it more than my daughter would!!

  26. The real question is who’s going to start selling nursing bras first, Gymboree or Children’s Place?

    Awesome post!

  27. I never in a million years would have thought there would be a need for a breastfeeding baby doll. I am not sure why, but like you, I am initially a little creeped out. It seems odd that it would be necessary for young girls to want to simulate breastfeeding – but then again, there are people out there that want a doll that pees and poops. I personally find all these dolls with bodily functions ridiculous.

  28. Every doll is a breastfeeding doll – if you just throw away the bottle it comes with. My sons “nurse” their dolls and stuffed animals. OH NO!!! That means they’ve caught teh gayz! Now they’re making Baby Jesus cry for two reasons.

  29. When KathyLee and Hoda showed the Bebe Gluton on the Today Show a few years ago there was an uproar and I thought, “cool!” but I wasn’t going to spend $100 on a doll when my children already nurse their other dolls and stuffed animals. If you want to buy a good nursing, birthing, sling wearing, mama holding doll, made of cloth, not pvc or other crap, get this doll.. http://www.facebook.com/StewMommy/posts/10150390772954129?ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment_reply#!/pages/MamAmor-Dolls-Pregnant-Birthing-and-Breastfeeding-Dolls/51965979125

    The dolls are gorgeous and they even do custom orders!

  30. I was laughing and crying at the same time reading this!

    Indeed…the gateway doll!

  31. ~a “friend’s” Facebook status:

    the breast milk baby. the latest doll. seriously?

    ~a response from one of her friends:

    sorry but i think thats disgusting! next thing you know they will have dolls with periods!

    ~my response:

    I think they should make one that pees on stupid people.

    2. That one will come with overpriced pretend tampons that change colors when it’s time to change them out. And don’t forget the 5 page warning about Toxic Shock Syndrome. Because, all kids who can’t read and don’t know what a period is need to know it ALL.

  33. I just snorted VERY loudly at my table at Second Cup!! And I think I may actually LOVE you for writing this!

    Off to share everywhere I can!

    @Nicole-YES, the peeing on stupid people doll is a brilliant idea!

  34. Genius. Am now a devout Mom-101 follower.
    Thanks for the laugh. I needed it.
    Cheers,
    Kat

  35. If people think this doll sexualizes little girls, they’ve obviously never seen breastfeeding breasts. Nothing sexy about them, I assure you.

    And for all the religious wackos, how do you think Mary fed sweet wittle baby Jesus? If my memory serves me, Similac didn’t hit shelves until 1000 AD. Idiots.

    Btw, I WISH someone had taught me how to breastfeed. Would’ve saved me and my nipples A LOT of grief.

    1. Depends on your idea of sexy I guess.
      I think breast feeding breasts are awesome sexy, in the same way that pregnant bellies are sexy, and men cooing over a newborn is sexy.
      There’s something wonderfully primal about watching someone nurture.
      But that doesn’t have to be creepy…
      You know?
      *I* think we need to reclaim sexy from the creepers. It is totally possible to appreciate someone’s beauty without needing to make them feel violated! You hear that, society!

      1. Bravo, JMH!! And bravo, Mom101!!

        We have breastfed, EC, sling worn, co-sleeping, cloth diapered dolls around here, and they didn’t cost an arm and a leg, just took a pinch of child observation of adults looking after babies, mixed with a dash of child imagination, and a rubbish bin full of unnecessary toy catalogues!!

        My eldest got a baby doll for Christmas when she was 2.75yo, and got so excited because it came with a tiny potty also. She decided it was *just* the right size for her 6mo ECed little sister. What more could a girl want for Christmas; a baby doll *and* a potty for her cherished sister! 😀

  37. Great post! My girls love their dolls, but we do not yet have one that breastfeeds, pees or poops (though my oldest has started asking for a Baby Alive, hopefully she’ll forget . . .). My oldest already breastfeeds her dolls on occasion, usually if she’s playing with one when I’m nursing my youngest. My husband thinks it’s kind of weird, but doesn’t discourage it. He really didn’t like it when she wanted to help me pump! Yet, he was the one who really talked me into breastfeeding in the first place 🙂

  40. Love this post. So smart, Liz.

    I’m thinking of marketing a C-section scar bandaids that girls will be able to apply to their tummies.

  42. I am the gateway parent. I am giving myself a title. Great articles and point. You did make one mistake the doll would be unschooled or home schooled. Everyone is doing it

  43. Okay you guys, stop! I keep startling my nursing baby, who needs to have a nap, with my laughing!
    My initial reaction to this doll is exactly why it needs to exist. I reacted to the halter actually, that it was innapropriate…
    My kids all breastfed their babies, my daughter would pull up her dress in the grocery store to nursey her bear.
    I remember having a dolly that came with a soft carrier when I was young, and breastfeeding her. I was so mortified when my Mom came in and said, ‘What are you doing?!’ that I never did it again. My mom breastfed us, was nursing my baby sister at the time, (not the norm then) but was always so uncomfortable with anything that sexualized us or meant we were becoming women… (I didn’t have breasts yet, she was uncomfortable with me pretending to have them)
    Sadly, after nursing 6 babies, I am still uncomfortable nursing in public, but we need to. We need to normalize it for our kids, for our daughters and their children. And if an over-priced breastfeeding doll helps to do that, then I am all for it.

  44. How much does the indignation and contempt from the bottle feeding 3 year olds cost? Or is that free with purchase?

  45. A friend posted about this doll on FB this morning, saying she didn’t want to see her daughters breastfeeding their dolls, because she’s trying to teach them how incredibly difficult it is to raise a baby at a young age. O.o Not exactly sure how breastfeeding dolls gives the idea raising babies is easy, but bottles make it a real experience and show the difficulties. Hope she just doesn’t have dolls in her house at all.

    Lovin this post!! I want a co-sleeping doll for my daughter!

    1. We got the most awesome co-sleeping doll for our daughter – a little sister!! They love sharing the bed in their room, and the older often refers to the younger as her “special wheat bag” coz they can cuddle up and keep warm on cold nights! (They are currently 5.5yo and almost 3yo)

  46. My only issue with it, is that it’s $89. I do believe that kids have enough of an imagination that they don’t need dolls that do things. Maybe that’s me being a brat though….I always wanted the peeing doll and my mother would never go for it.

    There are people still arguing about it on Twitter. Whatever. It’s a doll.

    1. My favorite argument is that it’s “not necessary.” Unlike those other, oxygen-dispensing dolls.

  48. Amen! Kristen. I agree breastfeeding should not be seen as taboo! I covered my first 4 practically head to toe while nursing, lol! With the last 2 I ‘ve been a little more laid back. I do jokingly say “Don’t worry I’ve never had a wardrobe malfunction or a Janet Jackson moment”. Half of the time no one knows that I am even nursing. If I had daughters(God has blessed me with all boys) I would buy this doll.

  49. The post… the comments… priceless. Liz, I hope it’s okay that I say that I love you and your readers. (trying not to get between you and your chair)

    1. You do know the next logical step is a polygamous marriage to inanimate objects, right? So maybe me, you, the chair…

  50. I have a recent photo of my 4-year-old “nursing” her teddy bear. We were getting ready for bed (we co-sleep) and she had to nurse her teddy bear before bed. She pulled down her sleep-tank and nursed. It was precious…and natural.

    I think the Breast Milk Baby is a good way to make breastfeeding more accepted (as we know, some people think breast feeding is anything but natural). However, my daughter certainly doesn’t need an $89-nursing-baby. She has good ol’ stuffed animals and dolly’s that have already taken to the breast 😉

  52. LOL!

    For the people who think this “sexualizes our young girls,” what do they think those Bratz dolls do? And some of the slutty-looking children’s clothing out there, like shorts for 8 year olds that say “hottie” across the butt?

    And they already have cloth diaper babies… many baby dolls come with reusable cloth diapers that velcro. Uh oh… 😉 Although yes, I have seen a children’s toy/boutique store in which you can actually go and buy preemie-size disposables for your baby dolls. ..

  53. Liz, damnit, you nailed it again! Laughing out loud. I’ve always been interested in learning about this doll, and I wouldn’t be opposed to having one in our home.

  54. Since my kids are older, I missed the brouhaha about the breastmilk baby doll. This was fabulously funny!! Thanks for the intro – I shall warn folks about those gateway dolls.

  55. Hilarious post and all so true … I didn’t understand the crazy hype about the doll – it’s a marketing wonder … it’s just like any other doll just packaged to breastfeed vs. bottle feed.

    I eagerly anticipate the arrival of the co sleeping doll … woot! 🙂

  57. Anyone that thinks this doll ‘sexualizes’ young girls has obviously forgotten what breasts are for… If anything it *DE*sexualizes them, and little girls learn from a young age that boobies are for babies.

    1. Thanks for weighing in. I’m going to disagree that breasts are exclusively for babies; of course they have a sexual purpose too. But not in this case.

  58. This is amazing. I’m all for nursing and teaching my daughter about it but I’m not spending 89$ for it! I’ll buy her a doll form the dollar store and pop it on her little sprouts before I drop that much. The main reason I nursed was to save money!

  59. WHY ARE PEOPLE HAVING SUCH A COW OVER THIS DOLL… THERES NOTHING SEXAL ABOUT NURSING…. I THINK IT IS WONDERFUL.. I THINK MORE WOMEN SHOULD BREAST FEED. EVEN THE BIBLE SAYS HOW BEAUTIFUL N WONDERFUL NURSING A BABY IS…. THE LITTLE GIRL PUTS ON A VEST THAT HAVE SENSORS IN IT N THE BABY STOPS CRYING WHEN PUT TO THE VEST.. PERTENTING TO NURSE IN PRIVATE OF COURSE… AMERICA ISNT READY TO EXCEPT A MOTHER FEEDING/NURSING HER BABY NATURALY… LOL

  60. What are people so afraid of?
    Their toddler having a more succesful breastfeeding experience than them?
    I mean seriously.
    Bratz dolls over sexualize young girls daily… and some stores can’t keep them in stock they sell out so quickly. I saw grown women fighting over them on Black Friday 2 years ago.
    I won’t be buying the doll… but only because I don’t buy dolls that do things. My girls can breastfeed, and do breastfeed any of their dolls. They have learned by example.
    13.3% of women are still exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months in this country…
    Maybe if more moms would breastfeed for the MINIMUM recommended time we wouldn’t need a doll to teach their daughters how to nurture their babies.

  62. People are flat out ridiculous; my daughter (and son) nursed whatever they could-whether it was a doll, a truck, or a stuffed bear. No need for an expensive doll; all dolls are breastfeeding friendly 😛

  63. I think the doll is a great idea. With all the harmful toys out there why not one that at least demonstrates something healthy and natural. Love the comment about the pump!!! As a work out of the home mother (by necessity) who still tries to do a semblance of attachment parenting, I pumped religiously with both of my kids!!! Totally and completely worth it!!!

    My son got a doll before our daughter was born and I got him a stroller and carrier for the doll (they were blue but only because that’s his favorite color). My daughter’s favorite book is Bob the Builder. She also likes her princess book because it plays “If your happy and you know it”. My son puts the hairbows that I make to sell in his hair. Nothing wrong with any of that.

    As long as there are toys like Bratz dolls, Garbage Pail kids, candy cigarettes and tweens wearing and using pacifiers then we need some toys promoting positive healthy behaviors!!!

  64. This is my first visit to your site. I am LMAO.

    If breastfeeding dolls are a gateway, then someone please tell me why we sell toy guns and knives as I am WAY more concerned about that gateway.

    My daughter is 16 months and so far shows no interest in dolls but I CANNOT WAIT to see her breastfeed and BABY WEAR! That’s a gateway I can get behind!

    1. But Babe, don’t you realize that guns don’t make children think about breasts? Really. Use a little common sense about the greater dangers to our society next time.

      Or wait, guns is actually a euphemism for breasts. Damn. Maybe we should think about it some more.

  65. Perhaps I’m a bit *dumb* here, but why does my daughter need a doll that specifically breastfeeds? I mean, really. Put the doll up to your non-existent boobie, little girl, and voila! Breastfed baby doll. (Exactly what my daughter did when Boy was born.) Moms – save yourself the Ka-ching.

    I’m not even going to come near the whole, “sexualization of little girls” thing. ‘Cause that’s just plain stupid. I’ve breastfed two babies. Nothing sexy about it.

  66. I read an article about this doll by someone who has her doctorate in child psych. Her stance was that it “prematurely socialized” children. I wanted to bang my head into a desk because WTF does she think playing house and school are for children? Play is part of the socialization process, DUH! I didn’t love this specific doll because A) the price and B) I thought the nursing top looks like it has pasties on it. But, I like the idea of it. I’m one of those strange moms who will buy cloth doll diapers though so what do I know

  67. Oh too funny….a gateway doll. I don’t have any problems with this doll other than its cost. My daughter has breastfed all of her dolls and stuffed animals without any need for a $90 doll with a “special bib”.

  69. The most idiotic argument I heard against the doll was from a lady who professed her Christianity and quoted Proverbs 22:6 :
    “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” All I could say was ” I am about 99.9% baby Jesus was breastfed.

  70. This is hillarious! I like your snide humor and it really does call out the truth about people’s prejudices. Thanks for sharing!

  71. Ut-freakin-oh….. no joke… as today is my daughter’s birthday she just got her much begged for Breastmilk Baby Doll and we just took a smiley picture of her with it in a SLING… and the CLOTH DIAPERS for it are in the mail!!! Gateway baby doll – you aren’t kiiding —- I have photographic evidence!!!! OMG! bwaaahhahahahaaa

  72. I barely managed to read this out loud to DH through gales of laughter. This baby glotton thing has been going around for months (or more) and every now and again a new group of people get wind of it and write about it. Yours is by far the best I’ve read!

  73. When I was breastfeeding Fable, Archer used to sit next to me on the couch and nurse his trains.

    Now? HE’S REALLY INTO TRAINS!

    Gateway indeed. Fuck!

  74. HI-friggin-LARIOUS. I hate this doll and all the crap it has brought along with it. Any doll can be a breastfeeding doll. It’s like saying some babies are made for breastfeeding and some aren’t. I guess we should start educating our kids and letting them decide which route they’re going to choose 😉

  75. Until there is a spinster-of-the-future baby doll rending its garments and saying “dammit, my boobs will be as good as yours regardless” I will not rest.

    You’re always right there, Liz. It’s why I love you.

  76. ???
    I’m hoping to be breastfeeding for the first time in a bit less than a month. Didn’t know it was going to be all super-sexy and stuff.

    Actually, I’ve heard it might make my nipples raw and oozy at first.
    Sexy!

    Wait, will this doll make a child’s nipples raw and oozy at first?
    It better come with some lanolin cream, or I’m four-square against it.

  78. You all are priceless! I wish I could have every one of you over for coffee at my house 🙂 What a time we would have.
    That’s it: Lactivitst Coffee Hour at my house, tomorrow at 10am – BYOM (Bring your own Mammaries) 🙂

    My two sons were breastfed, and my daughter is adopted *and* breastfed 🙂 and nursed her baby dolls. The funniest one was a plastic, 8″ gray skeleton that we used for decoration at Halloween. She claimed it and it became her favorite “baby”. She treated it like a real baby, including nursing “skeleton” LOL! We got some seriously disturbed looks.

  80. hahaha this is totally hilarious! You cracked me up! Good point here: “So I do get the point that we don’t need our dolls to actually do the things that our kids’ imaginations already make them do.” I totally agree.

  82. I did this same thing – do I care if it drinks from a bottle? No. Do I care if the kids pump milk and feed it with a bottle? Hey, you can play with my old Pump In Style, I don’t care! So what is my problem?

    I then envisioned my daughter, a little older, wandering around the local grocery store with a nursing tank on, one strap undone, feeding the baby. And I’ll admit I cringed a little.

    Then I got mad at myself for following societial norms.

    I decided I’m okay as long as she isn’t flashing people. 🙂

  83. Even if I wasn’t ‘for’ breastfeeding (and I am, proudly breastfed my first two and still going on the third), as far as I would be concerned it’s hardly embarrassing or uncomfortable for my daughter to pretend to breastfeed a doll in public. For crying out loud, she’s already given detailed accounts of ‘how my brother was born at home’ to a full doctor’s waiting room (PAHAHAHAHA, that was priceless! As it turns out she was my impromptu support person, my wee angel!). Personally I feel embarrassed for stepford bottle-feeder parents who don’t allow their children to behave (gasp) like children.

  84. I find it a little creepy too – I think it’s the apron with the flower patches that’s required to make the baby eat. Either that or the disgusting sounds it makes while nursing- talk about a poor latch!!!

  85. My husband (!) points out that this actually DEsexualizes breasts by teaching children what they are REALLY for.

  86. Also, my nephews are fond to nursing their dolls, so what could that mean???

  88. Ooh, someone mentioned this on my site a couple months ago and we discussed it briefly in the comments here: http://becomingsarah.com/index.php?%2Fbecoming_sarah%2Fcomments%2F1264%2F

    The thing is that my initial opinion actually stands on this, which is something of a miracle given my general ability to waffle on a topic like nobody’s business. I’m the best waffler around, but I still don’t care about the doll at all. I mean, it has benefits (hello, I was 19 before I figured out what boobs were for, and that’s just pathetic) and it has pitfalls (restricting a child’s creative play), but my biggest beef remains the way it is produced, packaged, and marketed. I think there are many worse and more offensive and concerning toys out there, things like dolls toting guns or dolls made with traces of all sorts of carcinogenic chemical crap, and I’m not sure why a doll about breastfeeding is getting more attention than those, honestly.

  89. I have to say that I totally agree with your gateway doll theory, I think it’s brilliant. I told my DH about this doll and his first reaction was also ‘Hmmm’, he believes that it might be a little excessive, as you can use any doll to “nurse”. I agree with most parents that $89 is too steep a price, but would not be opposed to having the doll in my house.
    It has been said that this is a great way to spread the word about breast feeding, and it is so true. I breastfeed my 8mth old daughter still, and I have no shame in doing so in public. The dirty looks don’t bother me, I just look at them and smile 🙂 My DH is a tiny bit annoyed that if I dont have a blanket it doesn’t stop me, he’s worried I might offend someone 😉 I do not whip it out to flash the passerbys, I am feeding my daughter, and honestly, I don’t know how women find the time and patience for bottles and formula. How do you heat a bottle if you are out? What if you forget the formula? The convenience and ease (now) of breastfeeding is unbeatable.

  90. My kids, son and daughters, “nursed” and bottle fed their “babies” without any special doll. They bathed, changed cloth and disposable diapers, potty trained and even co-slept those babies or put them in portable cribs! They carried them in “pouches” and pushed them in strollers. And before their baby was “born” they even hid it under their shirts to pretend they were expecting a baby too! As the “babies” got older they went to Sunday School and home-school and even public school. Sometimes they ate home cooked meals, sometimes they ate out. Depending on what their Little Mommies felt like playing that day. OH, the tragedy. My children are scarred for life! I must have confused them as to the “right way” to care for an infant. Good grief! (I so wish there was a sarcasm font.)

  91. Well, I’ve found a new favorite blog. And based on the comments, I can’t wait to see what random inanimate object my daughter decides she should breastfeed… she’s 16 months and could care less about dolls, but thanks to all you commenters, I now know it’s only a matter of time. Look out Liz, she may come after your chair!

  92. totally stupid, just let them use their imaginations, what ever happened to that??
    My little girl has mini cloth nappies for her doll, I own my own nappy business, so naturally she wanted them for her dolls so I made them for her, though she will happily use a face washer as a terry square when all her MCN’s are ‘in the wash’ we all know that feeling dont we!

  93. Count me in the “my kids ‘nursed’ their dolls and I didn’t even have to spend $89” camp. I am all about breastfeeding, but if I want my kids to learn about it I’d probably take them to a LLL meeting, because that’s just the kind of hippie I am. But if the doll floats your boat, I see no harm in it and more power to you.

    As long as it doesn’t lead to my kids wearing tie-dye. THAT would be unforgivable.

  94. So funny… I definitely wouldn’t spend the money for it. My daughter has always just pulled up her shirt and fed her babies the way babies were meant to be fed. And… she uses all our old cloth diapers on her babies, and lions, and bears and anyone else she can get a diaper on, and has a sling she carries them in. *sigh* what’s the world coming to. I swear. 🙂

  95. You are absolutely awesomely brilliant – this has made my day!

    I so want the Play-Doh version of the armpit hair growing doll.

  96. I think they need to make a breastpump accessory for the doll, just in case the little girls want to pretend to be working mom’s.

    My son used to pretend to pump when I was building my stash before going back to work with my youngest.

  97. LOVE IT!! I do find it slightly weird, though. Not for any sane reasons~ your post was straight on! I would love to expose my girls to this concept but… I just can’t help but think it’s weird… 🙂
    Tiffany

  98. I had a boy doll as a kid, with a penis. Busybodies who probably called themselves well-meaning, told my Mum it was bad and would be bad for me and she not so discreetly sold it in a garage sale along with my prettiest doll that went on a potty.

    🙁 I came home from school to see her doing that and I thought I had done something awful to have have my babies taken away. They were new, gifts, and my favourite.

    That’s all…

    Open-mindedness and peace to you all.

  99. As a soon to be Dad I just find this doll absolutely CREEPY.. This coming from a laid back and comedic type of person.. Does it have value in a SNL skit on a Saturday night?? SURE!

    But why would a kid need to walk around with a doll like this? I can’t see how this helps make public breastfeeding more acceptable or really do anything but give people a laugh. If I see a 5year old kid nursing a doll I’m going to have to re-evaluate time, space, and marshmellow roasting.. My brain is filled enough with crazyness this will just put it over the top!!

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  101. My kids nurse their babies, and so do their Barbies. All these people scandalized by this doll would have died a few years ago when in a park my three year old, two year old and I all nursed our babies together after a picnic lunch.

  103. I have no place in this conversation. I didn’t breast feed and am therefore going to hell.

    But just a thought: do you think I could buy it as a form of contraception? I’m thinking when Hannah turns 15 or 16ish I’ll buy this doll for her and make her carry it around school with her for a couple of weeks.

    Also, I’m kidding. I don’t wanna get yelled at like Bill did, haha.

  105. My, now 7 1/2, then 3 yo, took the barbie (that I wasn’t allowed to have when I was a child for fear of something that has yet to be explained) and used to pull up her shirt and place it over her nipple. She would then rock the doll and murmur to it while smiling, and singing and looking perfectly contented.

    My heart exploded, as I sat nursing my son and realizing she was mirroring me.

    i don’t know why we have to create dolls and toys to do what children’s imaginations already do for them. Lets quit taking the beauty and imagination out of childhood already, shall we.

    I still prefer writing and reading and the creations of my own imagination over those of another, and I pray daily that my children are the same.

  106. Pingback: Babeworthy: The Breastfeeding Baby Doll! | Best for Babes

  107. Being woefully behind in my reader I didn’t catch this awesome post until Best for Babes linked to it! (yay them)

    If we’re going to start pushing for the rest of the gateway doll series, I suggest we add the ‘stay at home’ vs ‘working mom’ doll, just think of the wardrobe and accessory options!

  108. Im so pleased i found this website! When i was a child most people bottle fed there babys, and i bet as kids they bottle fed there dolls, it was the norm ,we havebecome so brainwashed, if id had my children younger than i did, i think i would of bottle fed because all the young mums were doing it, but i am so pleased i saw through it all and breastfed for 2 years, it was wonderful and naturel, my daughter sometimes breast feeds her baby dolls, she sometimes uses the bottle as she saw her aunty bottle feed, that side of family are very old fashioned, dont really like the breast , brainwashed thats wot i say! I always remind m’y daughter that breast is best!

  109. I have nô problem with this doll ,i think she is very cute! the only thing wrong with it is the very high price , thats shocking !!!

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  114. co-sleeping doll… brilliant. But I do have a question… even though we can logically understand it’s not a “gateway” toy, what is the necessity of buying a doll to teach the roles of nurturing an infant… for a toddler? I’m not fighting it, just curious…

    Robert.

    1. Good question, and thanks for your comment Robert. I don’t think anything is a necessity when it comes to toys, but kids like their dolls to do things. Especial things that real babies do: blink, coo, babble, pee, burp…so it makes sense that eating is one of those things too. For years baby dolls could take bottles or even a spoonful of food (ugh remember Baby Alive?) so considering babies also nurse it makes perfect sense to me.

  115. I am just now reading all of this 6 years later. I remember when this doll came out… my only reaction to it was the price. My girls were never really interested in dolls. Instead they were more interested in stuffed animals and stuffed baby animals. They always made pretend that the mommy would breastfeed their babies. Which is what they do in nature!
    However, I just wanted say I really enjoyed the article and all the lovely comments! The comments really had me laughing!!! It’s so funny how hilarious moms can be when talking about parenting and knowing your child is not the only one that does certain things while playing.

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