# Remember those "premees" dolls? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 7, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735 "2003-05-07T19:12:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/1 "2003-05-07T19:12:43Z")
The Cabbage Patch doll line featuring premature babies? I remember the commercial started with a little girl shouting “Premees!” with joy and awe. Isn’t that an odd thing to make a doll about? Do real mothers covet premature babies? ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/2 "2003-05-07T19:30:28Z")
:eek: There are dolls of premature babies? ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/3 "2003-05-07T19:38:58Z")
Am I stuck in a timewarp? Didn’t they already hit the market then get pulled after a few months? ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/4 "2003-05-07T19:40:26Z")
Real mothers covet all types of babies 🙂 I remember the preemies… they were just littler dolls and encouraged you to buy more dolls and a whole new set of clothes. _cynical consumer speaking_ I don’t think it is all that odd to make a preemie as a doll. We have dolls that cry, pee, get diaper rash, rollerskate, talk, crawl, even one that has her own potty. Dolls help small children to address issues they cannot yet verbalize. Maybe mommy or auntie had a preemie themselves and the doll helps the child deal with a new sibling/cousin that requires a lot more attention than a full term baby would need. ---
**Author:** ![Contrary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/db5fbb/32.png) [@Contrary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrary)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/5 "2003-05-07T19:42:31Z")
I remember the premee Cabbage Patch dolls. I thought they were a lot cuter than the regular ones. Plus they were pretty much bald, with just a tuft of yarn hair on top. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/6 "2003-05-07T19:45:06Z")
I remember those. They were just like Cabbage Patch dolls, but smaller. And cuter. I didn’t really know what a preemie was, but I knew I was born a couple weeks early, and I remember being disappointed to learn this did not make me a preemie. Cause preemies were cool, kids! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/7 "2003-05-07T21:13:34Z")
I work with a woman that looks like a Cabbage Patch Doll. ---
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/8 "2003-05-07T23:35:37Z")
Don’t knock the Preemies 😉 My 21 year old daughter was about 3 when they came out and she told Santa she wanted a bald headed preemie with brown eyes and she wanted it to look just like her. Are any of you guys old enough to remember the absolute rampage that occurred for Cabbage Patch dolls that year? Mothers standing in very, very long lines to get a number to enter a drawing for the privilege of buying one! My daughters guardian angel was guiding me one day while shopping at Sears. I was in a completely different department from toys, glanced behind some stuff on a shelf (automotive dept maybe?) and THERE IT WAS. Her custom ordered Cabbage Patch Preemie, complete with bald head and brown eyes. I quickly snatched that doll, marched to the checkout while holding it protectively, paid and left. You’ve never seen a happier child on Christmas morning. That doll has gone everywhere will her ever since, including out to eat dinner, to amusement parks, to the movies, miniature golf, sleepovers - they were inseparable. Recently, we custom made the doll an Air Force uniform and brought it to her when she finished boot camp. You’ve never seen a happier reunion 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/9 "2003-05-07T23:41:28Z")
Aw, that’s so cute! I still have my Cabbage Patch doll-“Shelly Rawna.” She’s in the attack, I think. No lines-my uncle brought her back from England for me when he was stationed there. I also had a horse for her. My grandmother used to buy me diapers for use with my Cabbage Patch doll. How cool is THAT? ---
**Author:** ![Peg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Peg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peg)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/10 "2003-05-08T00:10:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Adoptamom\_II \* > \*\*Are any of you guys old enough to remember the absolute rampage that occurred for Cabbage Patch dolls that year? Mothers standing in very, very long lines to get a number to enter a drawing for the privilege of buying one! > > \*\* Yes! I didn’t do the buying, but my little cousin was absolutely crazy for those things back then. She had a girl CPKid, and a Preemie, which, as far as I could tell, was really an infant, but I guess the marketing folks thought that “Infanty” or simply “Baby” wasn’t cute enough. Or maybe you were supposed to give them extra love (and accessories) because they were premmies. I’d never thought about the name implications, however. Good point. Creepy. Anyway, I distinctly remember one night, we were all in the same room having a slumber party. My older cousin was lying in bed and held one up over her so that the arms extended down. In the moonlight, it looked like the Preemie was evil possessed and out to stranger her. Make the Cabbage Patch Kid face! Purse your lips, and squish in your cheeks. It helps if you have puffy cheeks. ---
**Author:** ![insomnia4AM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@insomnia4AM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insomnia4AM)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/11 "2003-05-08T00:44:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*My grandmother used to buy me diapers for use with my Cabbage Patch doll. How cool is THAT? \*\* Mine did the same thing! I originally had “Diane Kristen” and “Elspeth Arlene”. My mother had originally bought Elspeth for my cousin, but she didn’t want the preemie, so I got it! I felt really lucky considering most people couldn’t even get one. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/12 "2003-05-08T01:04:00Z")
Is this what inspired the trend of names discussed in the “irksom childrens names” thread? Cabbage patch mommies have reached childbearing age? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/13 "2003-05-08T01:18:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > **I still have my Cabbage Patch doll-“Shelly Rawna.” She’s in the attack, I think.** That leaves one with quite an amusing mental picture, Guin :D. Man, I know the word preemie, and I remember the dolls, but I’ve never associated the two until I saw this thread. I guess I was too young to really think about it when they came out (added to the fact that I’m a guy and I’ve never touched a doll.) Who was the marketing genius that thought of this gem? ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/14 "2003-05-08T04:31:23Z")
Cisco: > [@](#): > > Man, I know the word preemie, and I remember the dolls, but I’ve never associated the two until I saw this thread. I guess I was too young to really think about it when they came out (added to the fact that I’m a guy and I’ve never touched a doll.) Whew! I’m glad another guy remembers dolls. Now I feel slightly more secure in my masculinity. ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/15 "2003-05-08T04:41:51Z")
Hey now, I was a preemie, and I was a kick-ass baby, if I do say so myself. 🙂 As for the dolls, I don’t remember ever wanting one as a kid. I _did_ want anything Barbie, though. I think I was the only kid in my class who didn’t have a Cabbag Patch Kid. Here’s a bit of trivia. Does anyone remember the name of the boy who oversaw all the “adoptions?” ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/16 "2003-05-08T07:32:50Z")
I’m pretty sure the guy who did the “adoptions” was Xavier something. I really should know this, seeing as I had 4 Cabbage Patch Kids, and I’ve still got all of them. Unfortunately, I can’t remember their names, and I lost the adoption certificates ☹ I’ve got one of the originals, one of the preemies, one of the newborns (they had a beanbag body and the head smelled like baby powder. Whatever they treated the head with hasn’t aged too well - it’s now got white spots all over it so it looks like it’s got some deadly disease :D) My favourite though was one with “real” hair because it looks like me (auburn hair, brown eyes) And someone (can’t remember if it was my mom or my grandmother) bought real diapers for my dolls too! ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/17 "2003-05-08T07:52:18Z")
My CPK’s name was Tamara Kiri. I remember the day my mom took me to the store to get her. We lined up with about 100 other people outside the store an hour before the store actually opened, and when the store opened, everyone RAN to the aisle. I actually had a grown woman of about 30ish years try and WRESTLE mine out of my hands as the shelves emptied…seriously…I was about 10 at the time. She didn’t get it though. I kicked her really hard in the shins and she let go. I also remember the toy store down the road where a pregnant woman got knocked down in the rush to get at em. It was in the paper. Craziness. ---
**Author:** ![phraser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e4f/32.png) [@phraser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phraser)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/18 "2003-05-08T11:05:51Z")
Xavier Roberts oversaw the adoptions. I had two unwanted gifts of cabbage patch kids- Jessica Avril and Dinah Elza. Dinah may have been a preemie, because she had absolutely no hair (although i was 5, didn’t watch TV and had pretty much no idea). Jessica was a toddler. I wasn’t into dolls- i would much rather have had books. I think the CPkids were put into a bin to be sent to children of our sister primary school which was flooded (we did a toy drive). People praised my community spirit, but I didn’t really care about them so I figured someone else might as well have them. ---
**Author:** ![kiddokat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ce7236/32.png) [@kiddokat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiddokat)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/19 "2003-05-08T13:02:05Z")
Yep, I remember them. And the CP rampage. My daughter received a CP doll (not a preemie) from her godparents for her 3rd birthday (14 years ago). _ugh_ It had red hair, blue eyes, freckles, and was named “Elva Buelha”. A real beast. It looked like “Chucky”. Last doll left on the shelf after the “rampage”? Probably. Anyway, her grandmother also gave her a doll for that birthday, an old -fashioned, dark-haired, dark-eyed baby doll. With eyelashes & “sleep eyes”. (Eyes that open and close) WHOA, you shoulda seen that CPdoll go flying after she opened the “real baby” (that’s what she called it.) She clutched it for the rest of the party & wouldn’t let go. She slept with it…she pretended to feed it & bathe it. I figure it’s because it looked more like a “real” baby, and it looked like her. And because she was really too young to be drawn into Cabbage Patch mania. So, she still has the “real” baby doll. (when she got older, she applied makeup & nail polish to this doll. It stained, and now the dolly has a disturbing, child-prostitute look…) And what of the nightmarish CP doll ? It disappeared long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Vixenation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/278dde/32.png) [@Vixenation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vixenation)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735/20 "2003-05-08T13:13:50Z")
I had a Cabbage Patch preemie. I threw it out the window when I was five. It got ruined in the brush and bushes and I haven’t seen it since, though it is probably still out there. ☹ Speaking of dolls, does anyone remember the dolls that cam out in the early/mid 90s that you would buy that came in a big bag (I think) that you’d soak in water, and it would tell you the gender? Sometimes you’d get twins! I believe it had the word “Surprise” in its name. I loved that doll so much. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-those-premees-dolls/173735.md?page=2)