Mint Ookie & Mom Bonding Doll Review

This toy is fabulous. I bought it for my first daughter. At first, all the adults (me included) thought it looked a little weird and ghost-like. Plus, I couldn't imagine that big "ball" as the head being very comfortable. Still, I followed the directions, and slept with it for awhile before transferring it to her. She nursed, and I would put it in her hands to hold while she nursed. It took awhile for her to become attached to it, but then I noticed her carrying it around by its "neck" (where it's easy for little hands to grab and carry) and using it to fall asleep. The head part is actually squishy and the cotton of the "body" is soft -- like the best flannel sheets you've ever owned. She LOVES the satin binding, and puts the cotton "body" part up to her cheek and nose, and then rubs the satin "hands" between her fingers at night when she's falling asleep. I wound up buying serveral to rotate through and replace, when the others became too worn. After a great deal of "loving," the hat becomes detached from the head, and the flannel becomes thin and worn and holes eventually develop in the material -- but only after a GREAT deal of time (about 2 years worth). She's turning 10, and is on her last one, but STILL keeps it in her bed (under her pillow, safely tucked away).



I bought a "silkie" for my next daughter, and while that has the same sort of elements (satin on one side, flannel on the other), it's more of a small blanket, and doesn't have quite the same "personality" as my first daughter's "oh dough" (as she calls it). We did wind up drawing a face on the head w/ permanent marker, since I personally couldn't stand the blankness of the head, but it didn't seem to bother my daughter either way.
I bought one of these Ookies for my little boy when he was born, and slept with it so it would have my smell at night as the instructions said. What I soon learned, however, was that within a year my smell was not the important one; he loved the ookie just for what it was. I immediately bought another one (having made this mistake with my older daughter's blankie four years earlier!) and put them into rotation so I could wash one while the other was "loved". He wore through one and I bought another which I still have in reserve. He is now six years old, a rough and tumble boy, but if he doesn't have his ookie to "sniff" and cuddle with he has troubles sleeping. This piece of blanket wrapped around a ball seems like nothing, but if it can be safely held by babies and loved by 6-year olds, it has to be magic!
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