Throwback Thursday review: Madame Alexander Kathy Cry Baby

"I don't have too many baby dolls," she said. 

I don't know if my aunt knew it or not, but she owned two dolls during her childhood named some variation of Cathy.  There was Chatty Cathy (the same one that I scared my sister with), and this doll.  She is from Madame Alexander, and her full name is Kathy Cry Baby...or Kathy Cry Dolly.  I think either one is correct, but I just call her "Kathy."

In the immediate aftermath of Daddy's untimely passing, my aunt (his sister) went through her childhood house and dug up two vintage baby dolls.  She took the larger one home with her, but she left little Kathy with me saying that it would be good to know her childhood companion was in good hands.  I promptly gave Kathy (who was grubby) a bath and a shampoo, and she's been part of my dolly family for twelve years now.  I often display her either with Chatty Cathy and Kissy, even though she's smaller than both of them by quite a bit.  She's closer in size to my My Child doll, Morgan, though their scale is completely different.

When I stand Kathy up she's the same height as my Hearts For Hearts girl, Mosi.  Again, their scale is different, but this will give y'all a better idea of Kathy's size.

Kathy is all-vinyl, head and all, and her hair is rooted.  It is styled in a bob and has a slight wave to it, something of a mature style for a baby OR a baby doll.

The color is honey blonde like Kissy's...and Tammy's...and Wendy's...and several of my vintage dolls.  Seriously, what was with toy companies and this hair back then???  Was there just a lot of it?  It certainly feels like the same stuff, as Kathy's hair is stiff and wiry like Kissy's...and Tammy's...and Wendy's...and I think y'all have got the point.  This hair cleans up very well though; when I gave Kathy her first bath the hair shone like a freshly minted coin.

Kathy's face is pretty typical of a baby doll's.

Sleep eyes with rooted lashes?  Check.  These eyes were once silver blue like a great many of my dolls from this era and have light brown brows that match Kathy's hair.  I was a little too cautious about cleaning them, so there's still some grit visible.

Bottle mouth and rosy apple cheeks?  Check.  Kathy's mouth is painted pink and has a little smile, like she's giggling at something.

Kathy came with a small pacifier that fits into this mouth.  When she wears said pacifier she tends to look a little like Maggie Simpson.

The ribbon is for tying this pacifier to Kathy's wrist, for when I get in the mood to see her whole face.

Interestingly, Kathy doesn't look much like Madame Alexander's other baby dolls.  Victoria and Pussycat both look fairly realistic.  Kathy on the other hand...well, to me she looks like your stereotypical baby doll.  She looks more like Ideal's Betsy Wetsy than she does her Madame Alexander sisters, and she also bears a passing resemblance to American Character's Tiny Tears as well.  Indeed, before I found the Alexander mark on Kathy's neck I thought she WAS Betsy Wetsy!  Oh yes, the mark...here it is.

Nope, definitely not Betsy Wetsy!  She'd be marked "Ideal" if she were Miss Betsy, but the resemblance is definitely there!

Kathy's body is your typical baby body, being chubby with short little arms and legs.

Kathy's backside is mostly smooth with a few creases to suggest fat rolls and the prerequisite butt crack.  Her front has a nice little bellybutton with a molded bellybutton and...boobs???  I know it's normal for some babies to have fat rolls on their chests, but this little gal is a little too well-endowed!  Since Kathy is a drink-and-wet doll she's got an all-vinyl body, and there's this to be seen; it's located between and slightly below her shoulders.

I thought that this was some sort of drain to remove excess water, but that turned out not to be the case.  In truth, when this doll is squeezed gently she...well, it's supposed to be a crying noise, but my mother thinks it sounds more like someone ripping a big one.  I tried to get a video of this, but it turns out that I can't hold my phone and squeeze Kathy hard enough to make her make the noise.  It takes both hands!

Kathy's limbs are appropriately shaped for a baby doll's.  Her arms are short and plump with dimpled elbows.

Her hands have fat little fingers with molded and dimpled knuckles, creased palms, and indented fingernails.

Kathy's knees are bent so there's no way she'll be standing on her own.

The molding on these legs is about the same as the arms, with dimples and fat rolls in the appropriate places.  The tops of the feet are just as detailed as the hands.

The bottoms of the feet, on the other hand...well, they are completely smooth.  A real baby's foot is usually wrinkled, but most of the baby dolls I know of have smooth soles.

Interestingly, Kathy has a separate big toe.  I only own one other playline doll like this, and there's a clear-cut reason why Rael has a separate toe.  I don't know why Kathy's big toe would be separate since babies her age don't commonly wear sandals, but no biggie, I suppose.

When I first got Kathy she was wearing socks, shoes, and a diaper.  I made the incredible folly of washing the diaper and shoes, which of course stretched the elastic out and contributed in me losing one of the shoes.  So It would be safe to say that this doll has none of her original clothing.  The red dress and bonnet that she's wearing are not original, and I don't know who made that dress or where it came from.  All I know is that it came in a set of clothes that appeared to be largely mommy-made.  Most of the stuff in that bag ended up fitting my other Madame Alexander dolls (Gracie, Natalie, and Alissa), but the red dress fits Kathy very well.  I'm not sure what else she can wear, though, as the majority of my baby dolls are either bigger or smaller all over than Kathy is.  Pussycat, being an Alexander doll, might work out well.

To my delight, this worked out quite well!  Even Pussycat's crocheted little booties fit Kathy, even though they are a little too big.

I also tried on Morgan's original My Child dress for giggles.  It proved to be short and a little tight across the chest.  Kathy couldn't wear this without something covering her bootie, and wouldn't y'all know, she doesn't have anything ATM.

Morgan's Magic Nursery dress is longer and more appropriate, but it's a bit big around the shoulders.  I can live with that though, because Kathy's red dress is too big too.

Basically I'd say that clothes for Pussycat and the Magic Nursery dolls are a good call, but I'd skip My Child clothes on the grounds that they're tight and short.  I wonder now if Betsy Wetsy clothes will fit, or the clothes of Alexander's OTHER baby, Victoria, or maybe Baby Crissy clothes?  No, Baby Crissy is unfortunately too big, and that's a bummer because clothes for Baby Crissy are ADORABLE!!!  Victoria is the right size, though.

Normally this is the place for good and bad stuff, but there's nothing particularly bad OR exceptionally good about this doll.  She's well-constructed and cute, but that's about it.  She's just another drink-and-wet doll, of which there were plenty during the sixties.  She can share clothes with her Alexander sister Pussycat and that's a good thing, as it means I don't have to scrounge for stuff to fit this doll.  So I can't say that I'd recommend Kathy Cry Baby over any other drink-and-wet doll of the era, unless you're a die-hard Alexander fan or if you owned this particular doll yourself during childhood.  At the same time I don't NOT recommend here either, as she's cute and provides a nice alternative to the more realistic faces of dolls like Victoria and Pussycat.

Quick update on my life now.  The dog that I was grief-stricken over yesterday probably has a good two years of life left in her, maybe more, as her chest X-ray came back clear.  I unfortunately won't be able to foster this dog due to my cats, but the rescue lady promises to keep us up to date on her.  Better still...MY SISTER PASSED HER MASTER'S DEFENSE!!!  She's slaved over that project for the past two and a half years and praise God, all that work paid off.  She has a couple more things pending, but if all goes well then she'll be leaving for an internship in Edmonton, Alberta in January.  I've always wanted to see Alberta so I'm a little jealous of that, but I'm also very relieved and very proud of her!

Live strong,
RagingMoon1987