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MummyGruetzie
member
A.G. Bitty Baby in washing machine?
MummyGruetzie
member
DD1 got sick over the weekend and had an accident in her bed while she was getting sick. Her new bitty baby doll has urine on it and I'm finding very inconsistent stuff about washing them. I get that we wouldn't want to wash the actual American girl, but has anybody ever put their bitty baby into the washing machine and had her survive? One of the things I read said that you could only spot clean, but that definitely wouldn't work. I'm really surprised that they'd market these to the 3's crowd, but not be able to wash them (?). DDs both got these as their big presents for Christmas and DD1 is heartbroken over this.
P.S. Its one of the individual dolls, not the twins that have "hair"--she just has a plastic head.
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Re: A.G. Bitty Baby in washing machine?
I wouldn't put DD's Bitty Baby in the wash without calling AG first. They have a doll hospital and might be able to do something there if they can't give you good info on the phone. I'd rather risk paying the doll hospital an arm & a leg than ruining DD's favorite doll.
FTR, I think it's a perfectly appropriate doll to market to 3-year-olds.
Yikes, that's a tough one. I have washed many stuffed animals that said spot clean only, and for the most part, they've come out fine. But I second what the pp said about calling AG first. They might be able to help at the doll hospital (but you'd have to check the cost of that vs. the cost of just telling dd you were sending it to be cleaned, and then buying another exact duplicate of the doll.
While I think this toy is appropriate for 3 year olds, so is a 20 dollar doll you can get from any retail store, and without the heartache of money wasted when this stuff happens. We don't have a bitty baby, because 3 year olds are sometimes rough with toys, and I can't justify the cost. I think spending this much money may be more appropriate when they are a little older and have more of a "pride of ownership", over their toys.
Good Luck.
Ditto this. It would be a horrible day if Bitty was ruined.
This is a little harsh. "Pride of ownership" has nothing to do with getting sick. A child of any age can get sick all over a favorite toy. It's not like the OP said her child took a marker to the doll's body.
Thank you all for your replies. I called AG. They said that they don't recommend washing the doll, because the eyes have hinges inside that will rust in the wash (they open and close). I could send it to the hospital and get a new body. I think total it was about $30 for the body with the cheapest shipping option.
I decided to try washing it with the idea that if I screwed it up, I'd take her and let her pick out a new one (we live near a store). I really didn't want to wait a few weeks to get the original one back. With DD in the other room, I untied the strings, removed her head took out a chunk of stuffing from the top, and closed the top the rest of the way with a safety pin. I then put her in a lingerie bag on the hand wash cycle with some sheets and then wrapped the bag in a towel and added a few pillows to the dryer so DD wouldn't hear her clunk so much. When she was dry, I put her stuffing back in, reattached her head, tied the string back in a knot, and she was good as new! So glad it wasn't her sister's doll (one of the bitty twins with hair)!
Thanks for your help!
Holy moly. You are a super hero and I feel like I should cut and paste this method into a document I will save on my computer forever and ever. It would have never occurred to me to take the doll's head off. I've seen those pesky strings hanging out plenty of times, but I just never thought you could untie them to release the doll's head (a sight that would be terrifying to my DD, so I can see why you would do it with your DD in the other room).
So glad it all worked out!
Well yeah, if you take it that way, it does sound harsh, I meant NOTHING of the sort in regards to OP's child getting sick and having an accident=not having pride of ownership. You took my comment completely out of context and turned it into something mean. OP stated that she is surprised they'd market this doll to 3 year olds and not make it washable, I simply meant that though they are marketed to 3 and up, that I would never spend so much money on a doll for a 3 year old, because outside of accidents, a 3 year old can't be expected to care properly for something so expensive, and I'd feel better getting dd a 20 dollar doll from Target. I think AG dolls are adorable, but they are overpriced and I think it's a status thing to have one for your kid, a little bit.