Why do I want a Reborn Baby Doll?

Feeding a reborn doll! Taken by Dollie Moon Bump

When you hear doll collector what do you think of? Do images of grandmother's with rooms full of porcelain dolls fill your head? I think it's easy to want to box up and define someone this way. Most people see dolls as creepy and many people dismiss how much a simple doll could help heal a soul. 

I've been a doll collector all my life and I have heard endless amounts of comments. Sometimes they are not directed at me but at the inanimate objects, I collect. Occasionally, the disgust is actually directed at me. 

Once I commented on a Shane Dawson video expressing my want for a reborn baby like his. A few people chimed in to remind me how pathetic I am. A few people suggested that I go to counseling. 

As an infertile woman who desperately wants a child, these comments were hurtful. I'm well aware that a doll cannot replace a child but just the idea of having a small object to hold and love floods my heart with joy. 

Close up of Reborn Doll Taken by m.shattock

I don't have a reborn yet as they are very expensive. I have shopped and contacting different nurseries to build my "designer baby" as it were. Along the way, I have met some wonderful women. Each one of us has different reasons for this hobby but all of us seem to speak some sort of unspoken language and we vibrate with understanding. 

These dolls are our common ground and we comfort each other for whatever the reason. We share each other's joys as well and we bond with our dolls and others. We have all found an island of peace in a world of storms. 

I don't think wanting to collect reborns makes me 'broken' actually I think it's the opposite. It makes me feel whole. If a simple doll can do that... then why should I worry about the people who seek to tear away my happiness? 

I think it goes without saying that my reasons for wanting a realistic baby doll are obvious. I have a whole in my heart where I am missing a living child. I'm not ashamed of this feeling and I think it's totally normal. It's other people who try to make me and my feelings into something that I am not. 

Everyone wants to explain away things in a perfect little package. So, while this is MY reason for collecting these dolls please keep in mind this is not everyone's reason for collecting. Please keep that in mind if you ever encounter a person who collects these types of babies.