Sunday Surprise: My Mini Baby by Zuru!

I don't collect a lot of baby dolls these days, but when I was younger, realistic babies were the primary focus of my collection.  I loved the glass-eyed, life-sized babies from Götz and Zapf, and even had a few one-of-a-kind clay babies that would startle guests with their realism.  I also love surprise-themed dolls (especially babies!), as many of you probably know from my adventures with things like Sweet e.baby, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Magic Nursery toddlers.

Given my fondness for babies and surprises, when I learned about Zuru's My Mini Baby surprise balls, I knew I would have to review them at some point.  These babies have been incredibly popular since their introduction in 2023, and have been on-and-off hard to find (or simply too expensive) for a lot of the time they've been on the market.  I managed to accumulate several Series 1 balls by waiting and watching for good prices, and when I finally saw the Series 2 balls hit the shelves a few weeks ago, I grabbed a few of those, too, knowing that the time had finally come for my review.

My Mini Baby Series 1 and Series 2 surprise balls by Zuru ($9.99).

These balls retail for $9.99 at most places, but the high demand has pushed the price up to as much as $20+ per ball at times.  Right now, the Series 1 balls can be found on sale, while the Series 2 balls are at or just above retail.

My plan was to open six balls for this review: three Series 1 balls and three Series 2 balls.  That represents a $60 investment, which is a lot to pay for mini silicone babies.  However, I was extremely eager to see these ultra-popular little tots for myself.

The Series 1 My Mini Baby balls have a bright minty teal theme color that my grey backdrop hates.  There's an outer layer of white shrink-wrapped plastic with some colorful decorations:

One section of the ball has a photograph of three babies:

These babies demonstrate the three different skin tones in the collection, and also the three different accessory colors.  I wish there was a softer blue or purple in the mix, to replace the bright teal.

The other side of the ball has the Zuru 5 Surprise logo:

Zuru is known for their variety of 5 Surprise balls.  The early versions of these balls had five orange-slice compartments that held five different surprises.  And there were different balls for boys and for girls.  I know I had one of these balls years and years ago, but I think the toys were too cheap to feature on the blog.  Zuru still offers something like this:

And the toys still look pretty cheap.

More recent 5 Surprise balls have had the little compartments, too, like this Toy Mini Brands ball from about four years ago:

But other Zuru products, like the Mini Fashion balls, don't have any compartments, just paper bags to separate the surprises.  I assume that the My Mini Baby balls will have paper bags, not compartments. 

There's some small print at the top of this ball with the 2023 copyright and a choking hazard warning:

No sad babies.

Underneath the white wrapper, there's a teal wrap declaring that the capsule is made with certified recycled plastic:

That's good.

Underneath the wrappings, the recycled plastic ball is all white with no decoration:

I was very excited to open this first ball!  Having never seen any of these babies up close before, I didn't have any preference for what I got:

Everything's a winner at this stage.

Inside, I found four paper bags, a birth certificate, and a collector's sheet:

The birth certificate is made out of cardboard and is written in five different languages:

There's a line where the name of the baby can be filled in.  I wish these babies came with surprise names, like the Cabbage Patch Kids, but that's okay.  As usual, I'll find an online name generator to give us that surprise.

The collector's sheet has a nursery scene on one side:

And a list of all the different options on the back:

Here's a closer look:

Within each of the three skin tones (light, medium, and dark) there are four possible accessories: a pram, a changing table, a cradle, and a bouncy seat.  And it seems like each skin tone has an assigned color: light goes with yellow, medium goes with teal, and dark goes with pink.

So, in fact, this nursery scene:

Would require getting three of the pink sets, but then replacing those babies with a light-skinned kid from a yellow set.  So, basically, you'd need four different balls to make this one scene.

Anyway, my photos of the collector's sheet are hard to see (those pictures are tiny!) so I'll include the promotional shot for reference:

Judging from this picture alone, the accessory I really want to get is the yellow bouncy seat.  I like the cheery color and the seat looks very realistic with those little hanging toys.

Let's find out which set I actually got!

There were two larger bags and two smaller bags inside this ball.  One of the larger bags looked like it might have something teal inside:

One of the smaller bags had a blue tinge, too, and the other one was pink-ish:

I opened the small pink-ish bag, hoping to get the baby first...and I did!

Oh, my gosh.  It's SO cute and small:

It's a genderless medium-skinned silicone baby with painted features.

Let's have a baby name generator choose the name (and the gender) for us.  I've always enjoyed the Baby Name Genie for its humor and simplicity.  You can enter a last name, and let the Genie choose the gender and name:

The Genie says that this baby's name is...

Mia Shaniya!  I like that.

I propped Mia up against a white disc so that I could get a better photo of her face and body:

She has a dark area across her upper chest that looks like a bruise.  I'm not sure if it's intentional or not?  It looks strange.

Here's Mia from the back:

Her painted features are very faint, which works for such a tiny baby.  But the hair is nicely done.  I can even see some fine brush strokes:

From the side, you can see that Mia's left hand is pale--like there's pigment missing from the silicone:

I used a macro setting to see if I could capture more detail:

This setting seems to make all of my photos more red, but it's easier to appreciate Mia's facial features:

It's also easier to see all of the lint that's stuck to her body!

Mia needs a bath.

The hands and feet don't have a lot of detail, so zooming in super-close doesn't reveal much:

I love the overall shape of the limbs, though--especially the little legs:

Mia is just shy of 2.5 inches long, so she fits easily into the palm of a hand.

My new prop is this life-sized wooden hand, which can demonstrate scale, and hold things for me while I take photos!

For another size comparison, Mia is a half inch shorter than a Barbie baby:

Barbie Babysitters Inc baby (left) and Zuru Series 1 My Mini Baby (right).

Here's a different perspective:

Barbie Babysitters Inc baby (left) and Zuru Series 1 My Mini Baby (right).

If Mia is a newborn, then I guess the Barbie baby is about five months old.

I pretty much knew that Mia's accessory was going to be teal by looking at the bags, but her medium skin tone confirmed it.

And, sure enough, the second small bag opened to reveal a flash of teal:

It's a molded vinyl cap and a fuzzy baby blanket with a star on it:

The blanket has a circle of velcro so that it can be held closed:

The hat has some nice molded detail, including two pom-pom ears that are painted white:

Here's Mia all tucked into her hat and blankie:

She looks very sweet and peaceful:

I have to say, though, teal is not a super-attractive color for newborn babies.  I had a lot of gender-neutral clothing for my kids when they were babies, and teal was by far the least flattering.  Yellow was a close second.  I think tiny babies look best in soft pinks, greys, and other neutral tones.  But I might be strange.

Anyway, I still wasn't sure exactly which accessory I'd gotten at this stage, because I didn't bother to pause and examine the collector's sheet.

I opened the first of the bigger bags and found a whole pile of white plastic parts!

I got the pram!  There is some assembly required, which didn't surprise me.  Fortunately, there are very clear instructions for how to put all of the pieces together:

I actually think that the assembly of these accessories is an added bonus.  Everything snaps together much like the Rolife Super Creator sets, and the building process is equivalently satisfying.

The other large bag had some teal pieces:

This includes the wheels, hood, and body of the pram:

I built the top of the pram first.  This has a white handle that swings up so that it can be used as a carrier:

I built the bottom part next, which has working wheels and a lot of molded detail:

The two parts snap together to make a full pram:

Cute!

And Mia fits perfectly inside:

She looks very comfy:

Maybe a little cramped.

The scale of these babies and their accessories is confusing, though.

The pram is too big for 4-inch dolls like a Littlest Pet Shop Blythe:

Littlest Pet Shop Blythe with a My Mini Baby pram.

And the babies are too big as well:

Littlest Pet Shop Blythe with a My Mini Baby.

The pram's handle is about the right height for a six-inch doll like Magic Mixies Pixlings Unia:

Magic Mixies Pixlings Unia with a My Mini Baby pram.

But the baby is too big (and too human) for her:

Magic Mixies Pixlings Unia with a My Mini Baby.

Unia would make a good big sister for Mia, but she's the wrong size to be Mia's parent.

I also tried the pram with my six-inch Dream Ella Extra Iconic Mini doll, Yasmin:

Extra Iconic Mini Yasmin with a My Mini Baby pram.

I think Yasmin looks about right as an adult pushing this pram.  But Mia is still too big to be her baby:

Extra Iconic Mini Yasmin with a My Mini Baby.

These babies work pretty well for eleven-inch dolls like Barbie--especially petite girls like my 2025 Barbie Basics Layla:

Barbie Basics Petite doll with a My Mini Baby.

But the pram is comically small for 1:6 scale dolls:

Barbie Basics Petite doll with a My Mini Baby pram.

So Mia looks good with her pram, and she looks great in Layla's arms.  And her pram might be useful for smaller dolls.  But there's a lack of consistent scaling here, which frustrates me.  What did I expect, though?  For a 1:6 scale pram to fit inside a surprise ball?  That would be quite a feat.

Awkward scaling aside, I was eager to open up another one of these balls!  I hope I don't get a duplicate.

My second ball had only three bags inside...and some very clear signs of yellow:

So this is definitely not a repeat!  It should also be a baby with a different skin tone, which is exciting.

I opened the baby's bag first...

And I found a little light-skinned baby with brown hair!

Let's see what the Baby Name Genie thinks about this little one...

It looks like we have another girl, and her name is Victoria Felicity.  That's a very elegant name!

The pale skin tone makes Victoria's face paint easier to see.  She's got a sweet little smile:

She's also got very red nipples and that same dark band of color across her chest, although this is a bit more subtle than it is on Mia:

I guess it's intentional, but what is it supposed to be?

Here's Victoria with the macro lens, where you can see the detail in her hair a bit better:

There are some thick chunks of hair in the front, which are not as realistic as Mia's fine wisps.

Victoria is quite a bit paler than Mia, but her hair looks like it's about the same color:

I also photographed these babies outside, so that you can see their coloring in natural light.  The silicone has a translucent quality that's more apparent outside:

They're both really cute, and it's interesting to see the difference in paint work.  As amused as I am by Victoria's smile, I think Mia's facial features are more subtle and realistic.

Now, let's see what accessory Victoria came with!

The first bag had a yellow blanket and a matching vinyl pad:

There's also a little brown teddy bear!

I wish it was a softer yellow.

The fleece blanket is just like Mia's, with a velcro circle to help keep it snugly wrapped:

The tiny bear has molded fuzzy fur and a black nose and eyes:

The last bag had a bunch of white pieces...

To make the cradle!

This was an extremely easy build, and the cradle is nice and sturdy:

The yellow pad fits into the bottom of the cradle, and then Victoria and her teddy can nestle in on top:

These surprise balls are so addictive.  I get angry with myself for liking them so much!  I wish they didn't produce so much waste, because they're fun to open, and these babies are charming.

I tore into my third (and final) Series 1 ball with great enthusiasm:

What could it be??

And, looking at the three bags and the tinge of yellow...

I immediately suspected that I had a duplicate yellow cradle.  Which I did.  Sigh.

It was bound to happen, I suppose, but after only opening three balls?  I was bummed.

Fortunately, these balls are on sale at Amazon right now for $5.99, so I indulged myself and ordered a fourth ball so that I could have a chance at the third skin tone or some more accessory variety:

This ball had three bags, but I could see some teal showing through, so I knew it wasn't a duplicate:

Phew!

The teal color should mean another medium skin tone baby...

Which is exactly what I got!

Let's turn to the Baby Name Genie to find out this cutie's name:

It's Connor Jefferson!  I love that name combination.  It's actually very similar to somebody I know.

Connor has the same strange dark band across his chest, and he also has slightly lopsided lip paint:

Gives him character.

Here he is next to Mia:

There's actually quite a bit of difference between these two.  Connor doesn't have as much yellow in his skin tone, and his face paint is more bold, with darker hair and rosier cheeks.

It's fun that even when you get two babies with the same coloring, there are little differences to make them unique.  I'll have no trouble telling Connor apart from Mia.

I opened up the smaller of the two remaining bags, and found some teal-striped vinyl:

It's a bouncy seat!  Yay!  And it comes with a miniature book:

I love miniature books.

There's also a tiny diaper for Connor to wear, which is nice:

The book is amazing:

It has actual pages with readable print!

Coco yawns and stretches lazily.  "I'm sorry, I haven't seen your teddy," she purrs...

One downside is that the mini book is called Sweet Dreams Baby, but it's clearly a copy of Sweet Dreams Millie Moon by Kellie McAuliffe:

I sure hope Ms. McAuliffe gave permission for this mini book to be printed, because despite the modified title, the interior pages are exact copies of the original book.

I found a video review online that had a shot of the same page that I showed in my photo, above:

Coco yawns and stretches lazily.  "I'm sorry, I haven't seen your teddy," she purrs...

Let's hope there's no copyright infringement here, because I'm obsessed with mini books, and love this accessory.  And now I desperately want all of the other bouncy seats!  Do they all come with the same book?  Different ones?

If we look back at the collector's sheet, it actually seems like maybe the teal bouncy seat is the only one that comes with a book:

That's too bad.  I'd love to have a mini baby book library.

However, Zuru has a whole line of mini book surprise balls, and I bought several of them during Prime Days when they were under $4.  So that's a consolation, I guess:

The rest of the bouncy seat came in the second bag, along with with the directions:

Time to build again!

The toys that hang down from the top are cute, but they're fragile.  In my haste to assemble this piece, I bent the pink cloud, so now it has a white stress mark and hangs slightly off to one side:

Way to go, Emily.

Despite the damage, the seat looks great when it's assembled:

And it's a really fun way to display Connor and all of his cuteness:

I think he looks even better from this side:

This is the only Series 1 accessory that I think would work with 1:6 scale, so that makes it extra-special.

I'm disappointed that I didn't get any of the dark-skinned babies with pink accessories.  I wonder if they're rarer than the others?  I only opened four balls, which isn't a big enough sample size to draw any conclusions.

Here's a lineup of the four babies that I opened (including the repeated pale baby with the yellow cradle):

From left: Connor, Mia, Duplicate, Victoria.

Mia is easy to spot here because her skin tone has more yellow in it than the others, and she has that pale right hand.  Connor, on the far left, looks paler than Mia--almost like he has the same coloring as Victoria and her duplicate.

I re-arranged everybody with Mia on the far left, to see how Connor looks next to the paler babies:

The difference between the three on the right is subtle.  Victoria is the palest, and the duplicate has more red hues.  If it weren't for the color of the accessories, I'd say I got three pale babies and one medium-skinned baby.

But, again, the little variations in coloring are fun.  They mean that there's never really an exact duplicate of any one baby.  The accessories are a different story, and getting multiples of those is not as much fun.  Perhaps some customization would help to make any duplicate cribs, bouncy seats, and prams feel more special?

I would have happily opened more Series 1 balls (it's addictive!), but I was also curious to move on to the brand-new Series 2 collection, which appears to offer more variety.

The Series 2 balls are similar to the Series 1 version, but with a purple theme instead of teal:

I like the purple better.

One of the changes with this wave is that it's possible to get TWINS!  I was immediately fixated on the idea of getting a ball with twins.  

A pair of blonde girl twins is featured on one section of the ball:  

Covet.

Once again, there are two layers of plastic wrapping, the second of which has a statement about the ball being made out of recycled plastic:

But enough about the packaging!  I want to see some more babies.

I tore into the first ball...

This contained three paper bags and a collector's sheet.  I guess the birth certificate got axed this time around:

This sheet has an elaborate nursery scene on one side, with two babies and lots of accessories:

I think you'd also need four balls to replicate this scene, since the baby in the pool is not the same baby that comes with that specific accessory.

I love this rocking horse, and wish it was actually one of the options!  Maybe for Series 3?

The disturbing thing about this photo is that the babies look larger and older than the Series 1 infants, and are engaged in activities appropriate to that age range.  However, all of the babies have closed eyes, so they're sleeping through their meal and--more alarmingly--their swim time:

Some talented face-up artist is going to start repainting these babies with open eyes and will make a fortune doing it.  I wish I had the necessary skills.

The back of the collector's sheet has all of the different options:

Things are more complicated this time around, though.  Here's a closer look:

At first glance, it seems like there are three skin tones again, and a variety of different accessories to go with each complexion.  And then the twins add an extra layer of complexity.

However, if you look at the big promotional photo, you'll see it isn't that simple:

Each accessory comes in three different color schemes, which is similar to Series 1, but nothing is monochromatic.  There are four colors (pink, blue, purple, and yellow/gold), and they always appear in pairs: pink accessories have yellow or gold accents, blue accessories have pink accents, and purple accessories have blue accents.  So there are a lot of fun combinations and a lot of color variety.

The babies are even more complicated!  By scouring the promotional photo, I can see at least five different skin tones.  And there's a lot of hair color variety, too!

There's a dark-skinned baby with black hair:

The pale blonde twins:

These twin boys, who are freakin' adorable (and maybe a different skin tone from the dark-skinned baby with black hair?):

There's a pale baby with brown hair:

A medium baby with brown hair:

That apple looks so real!

And this medium baby with brown hair who looks different from the previous one?

Does she have curly hair?

These three babies all have a different arm pose...and one of them has red hair!!

Covet.

It almost feels like every single baby is different, but at this point I know that's not the case.  There's a ton of variety, though!  Unfortunately, that makes it even more tempting to buy a lot of balls.  Sigh. 

I ripped into the smaller bag that clearly held the baby, and...

I got a pale baby with blonde hair:

Newborns don't tend to have blonde hair (only about 5% of them do, I think) so this baby isn't as realistic as some of the others.  But that's fine.

Let's see what the Baby Name Genie says about this little one:

It's a boy!  And his name is Jude Irving.  Interesting.  I like the mix of old and new!

Right away, you can see that Jude has a lot more molded detail than his Series 1 cousins.  And his silicone is less translucent, too:

I like the dynamic pose of the right arm, and all of those tiny little separate fingers!

The face is more detailed, too, with an open mouth that could accommodate a pacifier:

Based on my Etsy shopping experiences, I know that some collectors were opening the mouths of the Series 1 babies so that they could use pacifiers.  For Series 2, that kind of surgery won't be necessary!

It would be cool if Jude could also suck his thumb, but I couldn't get it to stay in place.

I did my best to capture some of the wonderful molded detail in the body, like these chubby toes:

And the fisted fingers of the left hand:

Jude's hair doesn't look as detailed as the Series 1 babies, but his ear mold is great!

I don't think that the Series 1 babies had any paint on their bodies (except for maybe that strange dark band on the chest?) but Jude has mottled blushing all over his body.

The shape around Jude's bottom is unusual.  The bottom itself is fine (although there's an actual molded anus, which seems unnecessary) but the area underneath the bottom has all of the strangeness of a genderless baby:

Takes after Ken, I guess.

Here's Jude from the side:

I used the macro setting again to try and capture a bit more detail...and, once again, it made Jude look a lot more red than he actually is:

But you can see the pattern of the body paint pretty well.

You can also see the detail in his face mold better like this, and appreciate the delicate dark paint along his eyelids, and see the gloss in his lips:

I also found it easier to capture the fine detail in the hands:

And the legs, with all of those creases:

This new body mold is very impressive.  It rivals some of the expensive mini silicone babies that I've seen online over the years.

Jude is about a tenth of an inch taller than the Series 1 babies, and measures almost exactly 2.5 inches:

Series 1 My Mini Baby (left) and Series 2 My Mini Baby (right).

I love the detailed, robust new body mold, but really wish that the eyes were open!  A baby with arms and legs in those dynamic positions would have his eyes open.

Thanks to all of the variety on the collector's sheet, I had no idea what accessory might have come with Jude.  

I opened up the second bag and found a lot of pink!

It's a highchair, with some nice assembly directions:

This highchair has a tray that swivels out:

And then snaps in place:

That will surely make it easier to get Jude seated for his snack!

The last bag had some accessories for the chair, including something yellow:

There's a cushion for the chair (covered in pink bunnies and hearts), a bib (with a pink bunny), a strawberry snack, and a diaper:

I put the cushion on the chair, which looks great:

And then sat Jude down for his snack!

Wake up, buddy!

Too bad he's sleeping through it.

Zzzzz.

The highchair works much better for the wide-awake Barbie babies, although the fit is snug:

Barbie baby using a Zuru My Mini Baby highchair.

And, like the Series 1 accessories, this highchair is comically small for a 1:6 scale doll like Barbie:

Jude himself is small, too, especially if he's meant to represent a 4-6 month baby:

The scale might not be great for Barbie, and the closed eyes are weird, but I still really like Jude and am impressed by the quality and level of detail in such a small surprise ball toy.

With all of the exciting baby varieties that I knew were possible in this wave, I eagerly opened up my second ball:

This also had three bags and a collector's sheet:

I opened the baby's bag first...

And it's another pale blond baby!

Really?  The odds don't seem great for that.  Oh, well.

This baby is poorly painted, too, like it has juice (or blood?) dripping down its legs:

Gross.

Other than the poor paint job, this baby is very similar to Jude:

With a rosier complexion in the face, perhaps.

And the accessory looked similar, too:

It's another pink highchair.  Boo.

Fortunately, I had a back-up ball on hand, so I set the duplicate aside.

This is a good time to mention that when I was shopping for these balls, I was intent on getting twins.  So I tried to choose a few balls that were obviously heavier than the others, thinking that the extra baby would add extra weight.  

This next ball was one of the heaviest, so I was very excited to open it up!

Could it be twins?

This ball also had three bags and a collector's sheet, so it probably isn't twins:

It looks like one of the larger accessories, which accounts for the extra weight.  But at least it isn't another pink highchair!

Sure enough (and thank goodness) I could tell as soon as I opened the baby's bag that I had gotten something different:

This little one has a medium skin tone with a lot of red in it:

The Baby Name Genie thinks that this is...

Another little boy!  And his name is Gordon Hunter, which is great.

Gordon has dark hair with nice paint lines:

He also has dark eyebrows and that funny dark band across his chest:

And he has a new arm position, with his right arm down and his left arm up.

I took a few macro pictures to try and capture more detail:

Now he's really red!

The focus is good enough on Gordon's face that I can see criss-cross lines in his eyebrows, which suggests that they're printed, not one of his hand-painted features:

The hair is really well done, though, and must be hand-painted:

Here's Gordon next to Jude so you can see the difference in their skin tones:

And here they are again in natural light, where the red in Gordon's complexion isn't as harsh:

Based on the size and weight of the ball, I figured Gordon must be the barely-visible baby in the huge bed:

This is great because it looks like he has a shark theme and comes with a pacifier!

I tore open the next bag:

This bag had a large pink vinyl pad, a shark blanket, a toy shark, and some smaller pieces:

So I guessed correctly!  Which isn't saying much since there weren't really any other options.

Gordon looks adorable in the shark blanket, although the hood section is big on him:

And the pacifier is a great accessory:

The last bag had a big pile of white pieces:

These pieces, along with one half of the surprise ball capsule, make up the body of the bed:

The bed took a little while to assemble, but it wasn't difficult.  The hardest part was threading the lace canopy over the blue bar:

The bed is fine, and I love that it recycles part of the plastic capsule, but I don't like it quite as much as some of the smaller accessories.  It takes up a lot of space.  It's also frustrating that it can mimic a twin set with its heavier weight!  I'm sure the internet has figured out exactly which weights go with which sets (as they did with Series 1), but I'm not willing to bring a scale with me to Target.

Here's Gordon sleeping peacefully in his big bed:

The last ball that I opened was also quite heavy, but didn't weigh exactly the same as the bed set, so I felt like I had one more chance at twins:

And, look!  There are four bags...

...two of which look like baby bags!

YES!!  Yay!  I got twins:

But of course it's the blonde babies, who looks exactly like Jude and his duplicate:

So now, even with all of the variety in Series 2, I have four of the same baby:

Quadruplets.

Maybe I can use them to experiment with painting open eyes?

Anyway, the Baby Name Genie doesn't do twin names, but I figured I could use the first name for one twin and the middle name for the second twin.  Here we go:

Dakota Zoe Zuru has a nice ring to it, but the twins' names will be Dakota and Zoe.

The accessory for the twins is always a double stroller, and this one has a pink and gold theme:

The first bag had the pink parts of the stroller, a gold thing, and two matching outfits:

The outfits are little dresses with plastic bow headbands:

Each dress has a pink bodice with ribbon straps, and a white skirt with metallic gold stars on it:

The dresses open in back with velcro and have a white ribbon in the middle to keep them from riding up:

They're quite well-made, especially considering that they're a small part of a $10 set.

Here's Dakota in her outfit:

The babies are cute in their diapers and blankets, but seeing them in an outfit is so fun!  Now I need more outfits.

I opened up the last bag:

And found the rest of the stroller pieces, along with the instructions:

This took me a while to build, and some of the smaller bars were hard to secure, but it looks great!

It was difficult to put Dakota and Zoe into the stroller without having their skirts flip up:

But I used the back of some tweezers to push the skirts back down behind the gold restraints in the front:

Another option would be to remove the whole front restraint piece, put the dolls in place, and then snap the front piece back in.

As cute as this stroller is, it still makes no sense for 1:6 dolls like Layla:

I can't work with this.

Now that I've opened all of the balls, let's do a few quick comparisons.

First, here is pale Series 1 Victoria with a pale Series 2 baby (I can't keep them straight):

Pale Series 1 My Mini Baby (left) and pale Series 2 My Mini Baby (right).

And here are my medium-skinned babes, Mia (Series 1) and Gordon (Series 2):

Medium Series 1 My Mini Baby (left) and Series 2 My Mini Baby (right).

So, across all of the eight balls that I opened (for around $80), I found only four variations:

They're all cute, no doubt, and the Series 2 babies have amazingly detailed bodies.  But I see a lot of charm in the Series 1 babies, too, despite their relative simplicity.  I think it's because the size and closed-eye expressions on the Series 1 dolls make them perfect as newborns.

Regardless of the series, one of the most fun things about these mini babies is shopping for them!  The talented artists at Etsy have created a tempting lineup of outfits and accessories made specifically for the My Mini Baby line.  I'll showcase a few of my favorite finds.

First up is a crocheted dress from Mystic Moose:

This tiny dress, with its matching hat, comes in a variety of colors.  I chose lilac:

The little working button in back makes it very easy to dress the babies, and they look adorable:

The dress and hat fit both Series 1 and Series 2 babies:

Another option for crocheted baby clothing is Doll House Kiosk.  This shop has outfits for Barbie babies, My Mini Baby, and other small dolls.

I chose this cute romper, which is custom made and available in a ton of different colors!

It has two working buttons in back, which make it very easy to use.  And it looks great on Dakota (or is that Zoe?):

I love that it shows off her chubby legs!

This romper fits the Series 1 babies, too, but Dakota looks so cute that I decided to let her keep it.

I feel like the addition of a high-quality handmade outfit makes these surprise ball babies feel much more special.  They almost feel like collector dolls.

Another Etsy shop that I like is Msyee Mini.  Here you can find a nice selection of baby basics, including hats, onesies, socks, pacifiers, and even little bath tubs.  

I chose a white giraffe onesie and matching hat:

These clothes are harder to put on than the crocheted outfits, since there's no closure in back.  Also, none of the edges are finished, so there's some fraying with each dressing and undressing session.  However, I think the babies look really cute in this style of clothing, so it's worth the trouble!

Once again, these items fit both Series 1 and Series 2 babies:

I took a few minutes to play around with all of the different babies, outfits, and accessories:

I love how Zoe is resting her hand gently on Victoria's head in this shot!

If only Dakota would wake up to play with her toys...

I tried putting the twins in their stroller for a walk, to see if that would wake them up, but they just kept on snoozing:

And smacking each other in the face, apparently.

All the while, sweet Jude was fast asleep in his cradle:

Here's my whole collection of slumbering kiddos:

I also took a few minutes to let some of my other ~11-inch dolls hold these babies.

The babies are much too realistic for large-headed dolls like Bratz:

The same can be said for Ever After High:

And Rainbow High:

Although Jett is cuddling Victoria so nicely!

The newborn Series 1 babies are about the right size for ily 4EVER dolls like Jasmine:

And the older-looking Series 2 dolls seem nicely in proportion with the slightly smaller LUV girls:

But all of these larger dolls are too cartoonish for the My Mini Babies.

Of all the dolls I looked at, these babies are best-suited to Barbie and friends, who share a similar scale and level of realism.  I just wish that the Series 2 babies were bigger:

Bottom line?  This was a much longer review than I'd planned!  But it was fun to look at Series 1 and Series 2 for the first time all at once.  Since I'd never opened any of the Series 1 balls before, they felt just as new and exciting to me as Series 2.

The biggest disappointment with both series was the lack of variety that I got in the balls that I opened.  With Series 1, I opened four balls and got one repeat.  I also got two of the three skin tones, which actually isn't too bad.  With Series 2, though, I opened four balls and got one duplicate and four of the same baby.  I only got to see two of the (at least) five possible skin tones.

And you know what?  That's not good enough.  So, after I'd taken all of these photos and written most of this review, I went out and bought yet another Series 2 ball.  I'm really hoping this will offer something different:

Hail Mary.

It was hard to tell at first, because these three bags look similar to what I saw with Jude's highchair ball:

And it is another highchair set, but look!  I got a different baby!

Hallelujah!

This little one has a medium skin tone with dark hair, and is so cute!

Now I have a more interesting lineup:

Here's the trio again in natural light:

This little one, who the Baby Name Genie calls Meadow Jasmine, has a shark bib and some heart-shaped waffles.  And while she certainly looks excited about her snack:

She's fallen asleep at the wheel:

Actual bottom line: I'm happy to have a bit more diversity in my mini baby collection, but at this point I've spent nearly $100 on My Mini Baby balls, which is a little shocking.  I could have purchased a more unique, artist-made silicone mini baby for that amount of money.

However, if I look at each single mini baby on its own, they all feel worth their $10 to me, especially given the cute, easy-to-assemble accessories that are included.

The babies are all made out of soft silicone and have both printed and hand-painted features.  The Series 1 babies are simpler, with translucent silicone bodies and lightly-painted, understated faces.  The Series 2 babies have opaque silicone bodies with fantastic molded detail.  They also have more pronounced paint on their faces, and even some blushing on their bodies.  With the exception of Jude's duplicate, all of the babies I got are painted well.  I don't understand or like the dark band across each baby's chest, but it's fairly easy to ignore.  There are fun little variations in paint, too, even between duplicates, so no two babies are exactly the same.  Overall, the Series 2 babies look older to me (maybe 4-6 months?) while the Series 1 kids look newborn.  However, the babies from each wave are roughly the same size, so the Series 1 babies are decent 1:6 scale infants, and the Series 2 tots feel too small for their implied age.

The scale of the large accessories is even more confusing.  Very few of the items (only the bouncy seat and scale) work with 1:6 adult dolls.  So practically none of the furniture can be used with Barbie or the like.  That's frustrating...but understandable given that everything had to be packed into a small surprise ball.  The large accessories are easy and fun to build, and they work well with the babies themselves, which is the most important thing.  I especially like the small accessories like the diapers, pacifiers, blankets, toys, clothing, and that fabulous mini book.  These items make the babies look even cuter, can contribute to display scenes, and would fit into a variety of games.  

It's hard to pick a favorite here.  The Series 2 babies have impressive detail, excellent variety, and open mouths that can take pacifiers.  They feel high-quality to me, and are very expressive.  Frankly, they feel way too nice to be surprise ball toys!  However, their closed eyes don't fit with their dynamic limb position or their accessories.  It's particularly jarring to see a sleeping baby in a swimming pool.  The Series 1 babies are much less detailed, with very little variety, but there's a sweetness to their simplicity.  They look like tiny little newborns who should be sleeping all of the time.

As with any surprise toy, duplicates are a real problem here.  Series 2 is especially dangerous, since the variety of options and the lure of twin sets add extra incentive for purchasing more and more balls....and potentially getting more and more duplicates.  If I keep obsessing about the dolls I missed (like a dark-skinned Series 1 baby or that redheaded Series 2 tot...) I'll probably turn to eBay rather than continuing to buy blind balls.  Better yet, perhaps I'll use my money to spoil the babies I already have by buying them more handmade clothes on Etsy, or maybe even trying to customize a few of the duplicates.

I can see why these mini babies have become so popular.  In the $10 and under category, they are among the most rewarding surprise toys I've encountered.  Zuru appears to be putting a huge amount of effort into this line, and I'm impressed by how many improvements in quality and variety there are between the first and second wave.  The Series 2 babies are like little works of art.  I'd love for there to be a Series 3 of My Mini Baby someday, and my only suggestion to Zuru for when that day comes is this: it's time for these adorable little babies to wake up.