For Maddie, being a teen mom of two tots is child’s play — mostly because one of her kids is plastic.
Dolling up and doting on a newborn became a labor of love for the 19-year-old when she first welcomed human daughter, Ophelia, nearly two years ago.
But as her in-real-life infant transformed into a toddler, the Gen Z mommy missed those precious moments of caring for a bun fresh out of the oven.
So, she scraped together some dough and bought a baby doll.
“I’ve got two babies and only one is real,” Maddie, from the UK, said in a TikTok snippet via Truly TV, detailing her life as a young parent to a person and a plaything.
The brunette’s son, Forrest, is a Reborn Doll.
Little bundles of faux joy, Forrest and his ilk are handcrafted, hype-realistic works of art. Boasting physical features eerily similar to those of flesh and blood babies, the pseudo-sweethearts often come complete with lifelike skin made of silicon, twinkling eyes, a head full of luscious locks — and eye-popping price tags.
Specialty dolls, customized numbers built with the abilities to coo and crawl, can reportedly run customers upwards of $25,000.
Denise Hall, a 37-year-old doll artist from Wales, hawks her handmade babes for more than $4,000. Her clientele is mostly comprised of grieving woman who’ve experienced miscarriage, infertility or child death.
However, a handful of reborn mothers, such as Kelly White, 28, a content creator from Long Island, simply can’t afford to have real children right now.
So, for wannabe mommies of big broods like the New Yorker — who breastfeeds her tribe of eight doll babies — and Maddie, purchasing pretend pups is the most economically sound alternative.
Maddie explained to Truly TV that the cost of welcoming a second child would be stressful on her wallet. Forrest has become a budget-friendly addition to her little family.
He arrived in the mail with a birth certificate, declaring his date of birth and birth weight, and came dressed in baby gear, stitched with the sweet little saying: “I love my mummy.”
But she insists that her baby boy is not a toy.
“They are not toys, they are not meant for children,” said Maddie, who’s found herself in a firestorm of flak from reborn critics online. “Artists make them and they are collectables. So I’m not playing.”
Social media trolls have scolded the mom of multiples, labeling her “crazy” and “weird” for dressing, cuddling and catering to a doll — tasks she typically takes on once Ophelia, now 18-months-old, is asleep.
“People just don’t get it,” she said of her haters. “People judge me for having a reborn and a real baby.”
“They think I’m not giving my daughter enough attention of that I favor him over her,” added Maddie, “which I definitely do not do that.”
And she isn’t fearful that Ophelia might soon become jealous of her make-believe baby bro.
“Obviously he didn’t real and she knows that,” said Maddie. “I don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t really chose to spend time with him over because she is my main priority.”
