Recently, I have met a few reborn doll collectors that are new to the hobby. It’s quite nostalgic discussing those early beginning stages of collecting and it reminds me of why I fell in love with it so quickly. However, when you’ve collected reborn baby dolls for awhile, sometimes you fall out of love with a certain doll. Once you can pin point why you aren’t enjoying that doll in your collection, then you can figure out what to do about it. I’m here to say, some techniques are a remedy for your bonding woes. One is changing the gender of your doll!

Common Reborn Baby Bonding Issues

The following is a list of issues I’ve had over the years as well as those friends in the community have had with dolls that keep them from bonding and enjoy having a certain doll in their collection:

• Lack of quality or preferred level of realism
• Sculpt is too small or large for your preference
• The desire to have a new doll, altogether

These are just a few broad points! However, many of the issues I’ve had in the past fall under one of these. Currently, I have been feeling dissatisfied with reborn baby Caleb. It’s sad to admit as the Realborn Johannah Asleep sculpt by Bountiful Baby is one of my very favorites! I was able to identify why I wasn’t bonding with him…it’s his hair quality. The texture of his hair is much coarser than that of my other dolls, so more care and patience goes in to styling and making sure his hair is presentable. Recently, I decided to wash, moisturize and give the hair a trim. This helped tremendously in managing it from tangles and matting.

Somewhere along the way, I thought, “I wonder how Caleb would look as a baby girl?” I picked out a girly onsie and matching head bow and whisked away to the natural sunlight for photos. I did the same in a boy outfit, so I’d have photos to compare and figure which gender I preferred more. Here are my photos!

Baby Girl, Caleb

I was really surprised at just how adorable baby Caleb looked as a girl! It definitely changed my perspective on this doll. However, I initially fell in love with Caleb as a boy. At the time, I only had one reborn baby boy (Adrian) in my collection and I was excited to welcome a new one. Despite Caleb being home for over a month, I still had not taken an “official” photoshoot of him. This was my opportunity to do so and fall in love with him all over again.

Baby Boy Caleb

This little gender swap was just what I needed to remind me of all the things I enjoy about this huggable work of art. I have put in a little bit of time to make him just right for me. When he first came home I ordered supplies to reweigh him and make sure he was extra cuddly. Now that I have worked out my issues with his hair (and learned how his hair needs to be styled/manages) I find him much more enjoyable. As for the gender, Caleb will remain a baby boy. I have to admit though, I really like him as a girl as well 🙂