Most mums and dads are contented with reminiscing about the good old days, when their kids were little and still needed them around. Flipping through baby photo albums, re-watching videos of their children or sifting through old toys; knowing that the moment has passed and the babies are now adults themselves. Yet, this 53-year-old mum of two young adults, have gone to the extreme.
Carol Laign from Nottinghamshire, England, is determined to keep her two children forever young. She has spend hundreds of dollars on super-lifelike dolls of her children, even though they are still living with her! Known as reborn dolls, these incredibly lifelike models have vinyl heads and limbs. Most have a cloth body weighted with pellets so they feel lifelike. Some have a vinyl “belly plate” or “rear plate” to make them appear more “real”. Mohair or human hair is used for their downy locks and their features are carefully painted on. Originating in the US in the early nineties, a doll can cost up to a whooping $16,000 if they are custom made. They even come with a birth certificate and are so realistic that people often mistake them for babies. Often, owners of reborn dolls see them as part of a ‘fun collection’ of toys or for families who are dealing with a loss of a child, they use them during their bereavement period. It is rare to find someone like Carol who simply did not want her motherhood stint to end. She even named the two dolls after her own children – Rachelle and Adam!
Carol bought her first doll, a boy, for about $500 at a dollshouse fair in Peterborough in March, when she was amazed by his likeness to Adam. The second, a girl, was about $688 at an event there earlier this month. She confessed that she treats them like real babies in many ways – even using baby lotion so they smell authentic. She says: ‘The first thing I do when I get home from work is go to see the dolls to change them and brush their hair. After dinner, I bring one of them into the living room and hold them while I watch TV. I find it so soothing. I’ve fallen asleep cuddling them on the bed before. I have a lotion which makes them smell like Johnson’s baby products.’
She even goes to the extent of letting the dolls sleep in a moses basket in her room and bring them out when she runs errands. She recalls a time when she accidentally left ‘Adam’ in the car as she popped into the store. She then came back to a furious female passer-by whom she had to convince that he was a doll and not a real baby.
Her obsession initially caught her family surprise. However, now her husband, Sandy and her two children accepts this quirk of hers. Commenting on her mum’s hobby, ‘it’s Mum’s thing. I don’t have anything against it. The dolls are nice, a work of art. I think the artists who make them are incredibly talented. They’re cute, but it’s not my thing.’
But Adam, who has just finished his A-levels and works at McDonald’s part-time, admitted: “It freaks me out a bit. The Adam doll does look like me when I was a baby. I have got used to it now.”
Carol added that current husband Sandy whom she met six years ago is her third. Hence, it is too late for them to have more children. With these dolls, Sandy sees how she enjoys them and so her tries to understand. She continues to admit that the prospect of losing her mum role fills her with dread.
She says: ‘Both of my kids still live at home. But they’ve got their own jobs and lives now so they don’t need their mum as much. We have a great relationship and I love them as much as ever – but it makes me sad to think soon they will be leaving. One day I hope to have grandchildren, but for now the reborns are filling that void.’
And as for the outside world, Carol is not bothered what others think. She believed that while people might find it odd, she refuses to care. She insisted that she has no illusions of them being real babies and her love for the dolls remain as a passion for toys. She said: ‘They bring me happiness and aren’t doing any harm so what’s the problem?’
Sometimes the desire for motherhood brings people to do things beyond anyone else’s comprehension. Tell us what you think of Carol’s obsession. If you have personally used or know of someone who owns a reborn doll, do drop us an email – we would like to hear from you.
Source: The Sun
Photo credit: reborn-babies.com
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