MamAmor: handcrafted birthing and breastfeeding dolls

At this year's Lamaze/ICEA conference in Milwaukee, I saw these gorgeous, handcrafted, colorful MamAmor dolls and fell in love.

I'd been looking for a "birthday present" for Zari when the new baby is born. I chatted with Adriana, the creator and owner of MamAmor, about ordering a doll. She does both ready-made and custom dolls. You can specify eye & skin color; hair color, texture, and length; type of clothing (nursing dress, skirt & shirt, pants, etc) and several different accessories, including glasses, hand bags, scarves, jackets, and ring slings.

Each mama-baby pair takes 12+ hours to make from start to finish. Adriana has detailed the doll-making process at It takes more than Vitamin "L". She uses yummy materials--environmentally friendly, often organic, and local if possible.

For Zari's doll, I requested medium brown skin, blue eyes, and long strawberry blond hair with lots of color & texture variation. I asked for a nursing dress--something "beautiful and colorful"--as well as a ring sling. While Adriana was making the doll, she sent me 4 choices for the nursing dress. Zari immediately picked the green.

Two weeks ago, this package arrived from Alberta, where Adriana lives, works, and makes her dolls. Zari was so excited! I told her she could open it and play with it for a day, then we had to wrap it back up. She could open it again when the new baby was born.

She immediately arranged the mama and baby dolls into this or that position, narrating as she went.

Look at the amazing hair! It's made of alpaca, merino, and cotton wools:

MamAmor dolls are designed to go through pregnancy...

 birth... 

 and breastfeeding. 

 

Adriana also makes VBAC dolls that can give birth either vaginally or through an opening in the abdomen.

Thanks to the strategic placement of snaps, the mama doll can nurse and cuddle her baby with no outside "help". The baby's mouth fastens to the breast, and the mama's arms snap together to hold the baby securely.

The baby comes with a detachable umbilical cord and placenta, diaper, and receiving blanket.

Of course I had to make several extra blankets for the baby doll at Zari's request! You can see the multiple layers of blankets in this picture.

 I love the Zen expression on the mama's face.

 A tiny ring sling carries the baby securely. 

Making extra baby blankets wasn't enough--Zari requested another dress, too! She pulled out just about every fabric in my stash, wanting a whole wardrobe full of dresses. I told her one was enough for now! I made this one with a matching blanket. Like the original dress, it has nursing slits in the front of the bodice.

The MamAmor doll was definitely worth saving up for--a great use for Zari's birthday & Christmas money from grandparents & great-grandparents. Now we're just waiting until she can open her present again on the day the baby is born!

For more information/to purchase:

• Visit MamAmor for more information about ready-made ($135 and up) and custom dolls ($145 and up). 
• Some ready-made dolls and accessories are available here. 
• You can also browse MamAmor's Facebook page for hundreds of photographs of the dolls she has made. There's also a giveaway for the 5,000th person to "like" MamAmor on Facebook!