My Daughter was Cloned Today!

02/11/2011

Four years ago my husband and I decided to grow our family from “us” to “us + 1” and we began to try to conceive. At that time I was obsessed with fertility and researched (what seemed like) 24/7! I joined a support group online for people who were “TTC” and visited there every day. There was a small group of us who talked regularly through our journey to conception — some of us got pregnant right away and for some it took a while. But we stuck together for a long, long time.

I connected with a couple of moms in particular and we are still in contact today. One of those moms is Lauren, and she makes handmade Waldorf-inspired dolls. She just opened her Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlewrendolls

I’m not sure you all know how passionate I’ve become about handmade items in the last little while. If there’s something we need that we can find handmade, it’s always my first preference to give my business to a WAHM (work-at-home-mom) or mom-preneur or just a small, home business before a big department store. I’m so passionate that I’ve started a website that will bring together those who love to shop handmade with those who create beautiful works of art…but more on that another time. Plus we know how much I love to shop online and sit on my butt! 😉

I find that the cutest, most original things on Facebook & Etsy! Who doesn’t like owning something that is one-of-a-kind? Everything you purchase that is handmade is ONE OF A KIND. And it’s been sewn, glued, put together with love — usually by someone who is happy to share their craft with you, in the hopes you get enjoyment from it!

So when Lauren told me she was making these dolls and asked if I would want to buy one, OF COURSE I said I did! She worked with me to determine the overall look of the doll (eye color, hair color, hair style, etc) and the specifics I requested I hoped would resemble my daughter.

The dolls are Waldorf-inspired dolls. From wikipedia:

“Made of wool and cotton, using techniques drawing on traditional European dollmaking, [a Waldorf doll’s] appearance is intentionally simple in order to allow the child playing with it to improve or strengthen imagination and creativity. For instance, it has no facial expression. Its legs and arms are flexible, allowing natural postures.”

The reason I love these dolls, too, is that they are soft. Natural and cuddly, they’re perfect for sleeping with at night so that your child doesn’t wake up in the morning with a plastic foot print on their cheek! (Yes, this has happened to us.)

We (A & I) have been eagerly anticipating the doll’s arrival in our mailbox for a couple of weeks now but today our wait ended!! We took the doll out and A said, “Wow Mum, it’s ME!”

They’re in love. She went to bed with A-Doll (yeah, she wouldn’t name her something other than her own name) tonight in matching doll-kid pajamas. It was the MOST. ADORABLE. SIGHT. EVER.  I feel like every single doll out there has plastic this or fake that, and it’s nice to see something come back to basics AND HAVE MY CHILD STILL LOVE IT. It’s not commercial; it’s one-of-a-kind, and she can enjoy it for a lifetime.

Thanks, Lauren!