Baby Annabell Baby Brother Doll | Review ♥

I'm a mother of two boys, but that doesn't mean that I don't allow them to have or play with things that would stereotypically be described as being "for girls". In fact, I encourage them, especially my eldest as he's at an age where he can play with things and choose his own toys, to play with what they want, not what they think is expected for their gender. I wrote this post about my hate of gender stereotyping quite some time ago now and everything I said still stands. I think children should be allowed to play with what they want and be who they want - let toys be toys and let kids be kids and the toy I'm reviewing today is one that can be loved by girls and boys alike.

Tyler Lee was recently sent a lovely toy to review, the sweet little Baby Annabell Baby Brother doll from Zapf Creation. I think this is one of the most adorable little dolls on the market, he's just adorable. When Tyler Lee saw the doll he was delighted and found it such a novelty that mummy had a baby boy and now he did too. He's named his doll Sammie and Sammie now "lives" in his bedroom - he's even tucked him in and taken him to bed with him, which was adorable to witness.

The Baby Annabell Baby Brother doll comes dressed in a beautiful blue velour babygro with matching, removable hat. He also comes with a dummy, a bottle, a bib and a heart shaped pendant. The doll is about the size of a very small newborn baby and has a very realistic face - complete with opening and shut eyes and very soft skin, perfect for little ones to cuddle and mind to their hearts content.

This doll is very true to life - something which delighted Tyler Lee as he was like a real baby to him. It cries, babbles and gurgles, as well as having mouth motion and sucking noises for when it's being fed a bottle. The doll also closes it's eyes to sleep and makes sleepy, snoring baby sounds too. The doll can also cry real tears, so it really is a realistic doll for little ones to play with. The doll can't sit up unaided, just like a normal newborn baby, but can easily be propped up with a pillow for playtime.

The only downfall about the doll for me is that we found it quite hard to get him to stop crying. My mothering instinct told me he needed a bottle, a cuddle or his dummy but they didn't really work to soothe him all the time so I had to turn him off (sorry Tyler Lee!), but when he's happy he's an absolute joy to be around - just like a real baby!

The doll has an on/off button on it's back, located underneath his clothes (these can be opened easily at the back as they are just Velcro fastened). However, even without the batteries in or being turned on, the Baby Annabell Baby Brother doll is still great to play with.

Tyler Lee loves his Sammie and has asked for a playhouse off Santa for him and Sammie to live in. He even lets Sammie cuddle with his Puppy comforter and that's a big thing for him. He finds it so funny that mummy has a baby and now he does too. I'm so glad he was sent this doll for review as it's of such fantastic quality and it's been great for teaching Tyler Lee all about how to act towards a baby - having to be gentle, feeding the baby, getting it's dummy, etc. I only wish I had gotten him one before Beau was born so he could have gotten some big brother practice in beforehand.

The Baby Annabell Baby Brother doll requires 4AA batteries, these aren't included in the box. The doll is suitable for children aged 3+. The Baby Annabell Baby Brother doll is €69.99/£49.99 and is available from all good toy shops.

*We were sent the Baby Annabell Baby Brother doll for the purposes of this review, however, as always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

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