Is anyone else creeped out by these? They are incredibally lifelike, but how some women pretend they are real babies, I don't really know what to think. I saw it on the news, and if you havn't seen them, google reborn baby dolls.

I found these on ebay, and the craftsmanship that goes into these dolls is amazing (but I agree the effects can be quite creepy).

Although, I'm into my own creepy doll hobby, my husband calls "mutilating Barbies." I do fashion doll repaints (sometimes called customized fashion dolls, or ooak dolls - though I consider ooak more reserved for dolls that are sculptured rather than recycled).

My most recent creation was a centaur, in which I cut the head off a plastic horse, cut the legs off a "Kyra" barbie and used friendly plastic to fashion gold and amethyst "armour" for her. I also do mermaids, mermen, drag queen, ballet and fairy Kens, fairies, elves, egyptian queens, gypsy bellydancers, celebrity parodies, reproduction simulations, historical period costumes, brides, etc. Mostly wild fantasy dolls, but a few "straight" dolls now and again.

I thought it was a little odd. People have collected dolls (and have crafted them as Kaplods does) for years and years, but I think what made it creep into the weird factor was hearing about how people were breaking windows to "rescue" them out of parked cars because the women cart them around like real children. I dunno, it just doesn't seem healthy...

I saw these on the Today show this morning, and yes, I found them creepy. To each her own, you know, so these women can pretend they're real babies if they want to, but it seems like they might need a little therapy. As a person who desperately wanted to get pregnant for a very long time, I know what it's like to want a baby and not have one (though I have a 7-week old baby now), but I think taking care of a fake baby would've just made me more sad about the situation!

To me it's kind of the equivalent of taking a stuffed toy dog out on a leash for a walk. Can you picture it? Dragging it behind me, saying "good boy" to a piece of cloth. Just weird.

I've not seen the reborn dolls, I absolutely love the Middleton dolls. They are amazingly life like and so pretty. I'm basically too cheap to spend that type of money on a doll and accessaries like some people seem to do.

I think they are pretty but pretty much useless, it's just another thing to dust. Occasionally I see one that is really nice and I'm tempted but what do you do with it after you get it home?

Sarah in MD

Don't get me wrong, they are beautifull, but the way women pretend they are real is what really creeps me out. What has it come to when, now, while walking around at the grocery store, you have to wonder if the baby in the cart in front of you is real or not. They put breathing bellies in them, and it is a little too much I think. I think they are a beautifull addition to a collection. But I guess it is all in the purpose of them.

There was a woman in town when I was a teenager who had an adoption doll and treated it like a real baby like these dolls, had a car seat in her car, brought it into stores in an infant carrier, had a high chair, etc. This was the pre-Cabbage Patch Kid Xavier Roberts, so it was all cloth and it was pretty obvious it wasn't real, even from a distance. I can't imagine how people would have reacted if she had been carrying one of these reborn dolls...

The thing is, there have always been mommy pretenders. When cabbage patch dolls came out, I remember tabloid television and magazine articles about women pretending that cabbage patch dolls were "real."

I think these things seem or are more common, because there are fewer social rules against the behaviors. In the past, people would have hidden such behavior (or their families would have hidden them at home or in institutions - when all you needed for a commitment was a family member's signature). It's a little (heck alot) more socially acceptable to be "weird" these days.

Pretending a doll is real is pretty weird, but then you see the self-proclaimed "vampires" who have actually had their teeth modified and really drink blood, and then pretending a doll is a baby seems pretty tame in comparison.

maybe it's my long time hatred of "realistic" looking dolls. I cannot stand to go near porcelain dolls even... but these things creep me out big time! Yuck!!
I can appreciate the art that goes into making one- but I cannot imagine looking at one in person much less owning one. Maybe it's just the site I was on ... but looking at them reminded me of those old time photographs when people would dress up their dead children and take one last picture of them as if they were still alive.... **shudder**
yuck.

I find it creepy. I mean, the craftmanship is pretty amazing, but still... creepy.

kaplods, i would love to see your centaur! it sounds awesome. and the reborn thing? creepy!

I'll try to take a new photo and link it (I have a photo "locked" in my crashed computer).

They look creepy. I wouldn't want one anywhere near me.

I saw an interview once with a woman who makes these. Her clients all use them like real babies. Yes, it was creepy. I've also seen men who treat "love dolls" like real wives (buying them things, doing their makeup for then, taking them places, and insisting they are really in love). People can be so odd sometimes.

You are Sid!!! (Toy Story)