Luvabeau Interactive Doll – **REVIEW**

AD – Luvabeau Interactive doll is the boy version of the mega popular Luvabella doll by Spinmaster. We have reviewed one of these last year and were totally blown away by how realistic this doll was.

I know previously there was a little speculation that Luvabeau was TOO realistic but for us not at all. My eldest finds the more realistic the better! She loves any product that she can use her imagination and copy me or all the YouTube videos she watches. We loved these dolls.

I am currently pregnant with my third baby and we know we are having a little boy this time. The Luvabeau Interactive Doll will be perfect for my girls to get used to having a little baby boy around. The feeding, the sleeping, the giggles and the cries . I also know I need to teach my 2 year old to be very gentle with her new baby brother and she can get some practice with Luvabeau.

More About The Luvabeau Interactive Doll

The features of the Luvabeau Interactive Doll are amazing! He does so much. He has true to life facial expressions and a little personality. The movement, talking and games are just like a real baby. You can tickle his tummy and feet and he giggles and play Peek-a-Boo. What is so sweet, is you can hear his heartbeat if you place a hand on his chest. If you hold his feet he says Mama or Dada, depending on the settings. Luvabeau learns up to 100 words and phrases if you play with him lots. You can also feed him with his spoon and when he’s full he will refuse more. He learns new animal names and  sounds with his Lamby toy and you can lull him to sleep with his bottle at the end of a tiring day. So much fun to be had!

I was pretty keen to get him out of the box!

Luvabeau is currently retailing at £89.99 and can be purchased from Argos and he is aimed at children aged 4 and up. It does need 4 C batteries which are not included. Bear this in mind if a Christmas present. When we received this to review, hubby had to nip to the shop, as we had a couple of very whiny girls!

My 2 year old has had a look at Luvabeau but always been fully supervised.

More About the Features

Luvabeau is a blonde doll.

• True-to-life facial expressions and movements. His eyes actually seen the light or dark.
• Tickle him and he giggles – if you tickle his feet or belly he really laughs.
• He plays peek-a-boo – gently cover his eyes with you hands or material. He will start to make curious sounds and when you move your hand or material away, he will say “Peek-a-boo!”
• He reacts to her spoon, bottle and dummy. You can spoon feed him, give him a dummy to soothe him to sleep and bottle feed him too.
• Luvabeau will tell you he is hungry by saying “eat please” or “me hungry” and you can feed him with the spoon.
• You can burp him by gently patting his back a few times.
• Luvabeau loves to play with his Lamby. You bring the animal accessory to his mouth and you should hear a kissing sound signalling he has entered playtime. The animal helps him to say new animal name.
• He will say Mama and Dadda if you hold both his feet. It is possible to change from either Mama or Dada, depending on who is playing with him. This is an easy button on the back.
• Luvabeau is capable of learning over 100 words and phrases! He will learn new animal names, sounds and new types of food, as examples.
• The more you play the more he learns ! As you interact with him he’ll expand his vocabulary from baby babble to over 100 words and complete phrases!
• Kids will have a natural nurturing experience as they feed, burp, play and soothe their own baby. This is great for any expecting a baby sibling soon!
• Contents: A Luvabeau doll, a removable overall, a set of removable bottoms, 4 interactive accessories: Spoon, Bottle, Soother, Lamby and instructions.

The Luvabeau Interactive Doll – Our Thoughts

The Luvabeau doll was pretty easy to set up and the instructions are really clear. Once hubby had panicked and gone out to buy batteries, it was a case of unscrewing the back and turning Luvabeau on! It has two volume settings and A is English and B is French. You are recommended to turn Luvabeau off to save the batteries (it does make sounds if you leave it for a while).

There is a circular back button to wake up Luvabeau if he has gone to sleep.

My girls are now at the age where they will fight over EVERYTHING so I was wondering how I was going to pull this review out of the bag. However, my youngest mainly was after Luvabeau’s dummy, so my eldest managed to have a good play. I think she had forgotten how realistic and amazing Luvabella is and she was completely wowed by Luvabeau.

I was surprised how soft the skin on Luvabeau’s face was – just so realistic.

By far her favourite feature was feeding Luvabeau with the spoon. She liked how he turned his head away when he’d had enough. She wanted to feed Luvabeau all day!!

I think as she is a little older now (5) she could get to grips with some of the features. We had a go with Lamby and she was so wowed when Luvabeau made different animal sounds.

She also could tickle Luvabeau’s toes and got lots of giggles!

She struggled a little with the peek-a-boo feature a year ago but this time nailed it and her little face when she had the response was priceless!

She found it easy to put the bottle close to Luavbeau’s mouth and wait for the “aaaaaah”. Then she could feed him and lull him to sleep. I felt she was a lot more gentle.

She also loved hearing the heartbeat and watching Luvabeau fall asleep.

Overall Thoughts

I do like to list the pros and cons on most products I test out and here we go:

Pros

– Luvabeau is SO realistic. For kids who love using their imagination and taking care of babies it will blow their little minds, as it is like having a real baby. They can look after it, like it is.

– It is great for kids who have a sibling coming along. I’m hoping to use it for little Piglet to help her be more gentle and not poke her new baby brother’s eyes!!

– There are so many features and I love the way Luvabeau talks more, as you play with him. It’s like a real child learning and growing.

– The price has come down a little over the last 12 months, which I think is good. I thought Luvabella was worth it last year, as so amazing for kids.

– My gremlin could get to grips with her really easily. Bear in mind she is 5.

– I like the way Luvabeau is a boy! You don’t always get boy dolls and either sex may want to play with him.

Cons

– Luvabeau is quite a heavy doll and there is no way I’ll be letting my 2 year old lift him. I’m having to tell my eldest to be careful.

– The parts do make a noise as he moves around. I noticed this but don’t think the girls have.

– You have to buy batteries. Hubby said these were about a tenner on top of the price of the doll.

– I think younger children do need a little help with the features to get the best out of Luvabeau. I had the help out my gremlin a lot more last time with Luvabella, so the year has made a difference.

Overall this toy is a complete joy to children. As we speak my eldest has put Luvabeau into her crib and tucked him in. Luvabeau is completely loved and treasured and he brings a lot of joy to both my girls.

I think on Christmas Day, it is an amazing present for little ones to receive and will keep them engrossed for hours.

Thumbs up from us.

Disclosure – we were provide with this product and compensated for our time in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.