to think that ill-looking reborn dolls are incredibly creepy?!

[Kacie1985]

I don't necesarily have a problem with the normal baby ones, but the premature ones with tubes and things on freak me out! Who on earth would want to buy those?

[SPsTombRaidingWithCliff]

I haven't seen them. Dolls freak me out anyway.

Have you seen the Baby Jake one?!

[Kacie1985]

LunaticFringe will have to look on google. I'm not linking them on here because they might upset people.

[WorraLiberty]

I think all reborn dolls (well all the ones I've seen) look like stillborn babies

But I had no idea they did premature ones with tubes?

[Heathcliff27]

The reborns are awful, i find them all creepy. Just had a look at the prem ones, horrific

[CarpeVinum]

ARGGGGG !

Just seen Zombie Reborn Baby.

Fuck me.

Could have done without that at nearly 2am. Monday nights zombie infested, post iwalking dead, unsettled sleep to be continued then.

I kind of want a Zombie Baby to wheel around now though for halloween.

Or maybe not. All the Nonni tend to dive headfirst into passing prams for a good cheek pinch.... and if they find themselves eyeball to eyeball with "Little Kick Ass after she turned" I could end up responsible for a sudden and dramatic dip in Italian longevity stats.

[Ellenora5]

They are weird, bloody weird, and creepy, another site I use was asking about them and a poster linked to her sisters website, she makes newborn dolls, creepiest things I have ever seen, and completely exploiting parents who may have lost a baby, it gives me the shivers to think that someone is making a living out of this, and what sort of a person would use their artistic skills like this

[ForwardSheCried]

Reborn dolls freak me out completely... I think they're awful. Reborn monkeys are even more terrifying, though.

Yikes Uncle Scooby.

[Morloth]

There is something deeply deeply wrong with both the people who make those and the people who want them.

They look like dead babies. No-one in their right minds wants something that replicates a dead baby.

There isn't anything anyone could say that would convince me otherwise.

[ForwardSheCried]

Did anyone see that programme from years ago about women who carted reborn dolls around with them and treated them as if they were real babies?

This isn't it, but it's a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzEqYhUZAoc
similar report]] about the dolls and the people who buy them - may be distressing to some.

[ForwardSheCried]

I found the programme - here's part 1 if anyone is interested. Again, parts of it may distress some people.

[MalcolmTuckersMistress]

They are hideous. My best friends an I went away to one of the ILs stunning Lake District home for a weekend a few years back. What our friend forgot to tell us was MILs obsessive passion for collecting dolls. THEY WERE EVERYWHERE!

Zombie ones could be hilarious though, imagine peering into a pram and seeing one of those terrifying things staring back at you!

[3bunnies]

If it helped parents to cope with the loss of a premature baby then I would have sympathy for that although I wouldn't be comfortable looking at it myself. Any other reason is just weird.

[Booboostoo]

Reborn dolls are freaky although I don't see why a reborn baby with Down's Syndrome would be any freakier. I;ve never seen the reborn sick babies and frankly I don't think I want to.

Is it wrong that I quite like the monkey ones though?

[CrohnicallyTired]

I was at a pub and a lady was cuddling a sleeping baby. Her daughter (6 or 7 ish) came up, grabbed the baby's leg and pulled it out of the lady's arms and swung it into her own arms. I couldn't help but gasp in horror.

Of course, I then realised it was the daughter's reborn doll! (Yes it was definitely the daughter's, she had come to get her doll back off mum because someone else said it was creepy and made her cry. I privately agreed with them)

[FeckOffCupofBatBlood]

Oh god the monkey ones are the creepiest things ever, but I find monkeys creepy to start with.

[mrsjay]

I hate newborn dolls they are just creepy i have a collector friend she pays a tonne of money for them then posts the pictures on facebook i think the thought of premmie ill ones would send me over the edge I don't get it just why ?

[Morloth]

The monkey ones are OK.

Not to my tastes but they are not revolting like the baby ones.

I think it is the closed eyes.

The reborn ones dont bother me so much if their eyes are open because then they don't look dead.

[Howsuper]

I think this thread is a bit cruel - I think it's fairly clear that people who buy reborn dolls have a lot of issues and those issues are largely to do with infertility or stillborn children/miscarriages.

Rational, stable mothers can call it 'creepy' but that's hurtful to those who derive pleasure and comfort from these dolls - something most of us can't understand or appreciate.

[salsmum]

I worked in a residential home for the elderly as an activities leader, I was always looking for new ideas around activities with my residents, especially the lovely ladies with a Dementia...looking on Youtube one night I saw this video clip on 'doll therapy'.. we had a lady in the home who I thought might be particularly interested in reborns because sadly she had never been a Mum following countless miscarriages and now had a Dementia. I chose the weight, size,look of the doll very carefully to make sure it didn't have a pale/blueish complexion (esp under the tube lighting)...the resident loved the reborn and remembered fondly when their children were babies...holding the doll calmed them down and they looked forward to me bringing the dolls in (I had to expand to a girl doll and a black doll too) I was amazed when one day I brought a reborn in and a gentleman who had a real problem concentrating/standing still..etc.. held a doll and sat down happily for over half an hour (this was a first). In the summer time the doll went in an old fashioned Marmet pram and joined us for cream teas in the garden. Residents used to love pushing the pram around the garden rather than pushing their walking frames (it seemed to make them feel young again). The only YUKS/dead baby comments I had were by SOME staff but once they saw the benefits they didn't mind them too much. Personally I would not buy a reborn with tubes etc...(most collectors don't) and my interest in reborns was strictly as a work project...BUT I have met some lovely people in the reborn world who do get comfort from these dolls...many do not take them out in public. I would say live and let live it's no worse than men who play with toy trains or adults who collect Disney/cuddly toys. I saw the benefits first hand and even the families enjoyed a cuddle. please note my dear residents KNEW these dolls were dolls and they were never presented as a 'real baby' but loved still the same, they loved naming the dolls too and dressing them and putting terry nappies on them with safety pins.

[mrsjay]

not all people who have these dolls have infertility how can you know that Howsuper

[Howsuper]

mrsjay - a) simply from reading interviews and features with doll owners b) it's not rocket science c) why ridicule or trash others choices without thinking that something traumatic like infertility could well be behind it? I'd rather err on side of caution, wouldn't you?

[JumpingJackSprat]

Salsmum that's lovely that they actually have a practical use. I don't like them but I can't believe some of the comments on this thread about people that but them. If they give people comfort What's wrong with that?

[QueenArseClangers]

Salsmum that's lovely. How lucky your work are to have you as such a caring member of staff.