I Am A Reborn Mom

I decided since I have gotten into a new hobby, I may as well blog about it. 

I am now a "reborn mom".  Simply put, I am now the mother a Reborn baby (doll) which is very, very similar to real a human baby in  appearance and feel. There are thousands of collectors and artists and they generally start at $150 and I have seen them as high as $7000.  As of right now, I am a collector only, but some day I would love to try my hand at creating one! I will be adopting my 2nd Reborn baby in a couple of weeks and her name will be Sally Jane, named after my great grandmother. 

So...about MY first Reborn baby---Benjamin Wyatt

Benjamin is a newborn and is just as adorable as can be. He is 20 inches long and weighs 5 1/2 pounds.  Benjamin is considered a "boo boo" Reborn. Apparently when he was being created he had a few "mess ups". He has a little discoloration in a couple of places but nothing drastic, that in my opinion, should lower his worth, at least not for me. I just like the name Benjamin Wyatt - there was no rhyme or reason for choosing that name. He just looks like a Benjamin to me.

People collect Reborns for many different reasons, but I will share you my reasons.

1. I have been a doll lover all my life - I have had a Barbie doll collection, porcelain doll collection and a teddy bear collection - but I have always wanted a Reborn ever since I saw my first one years ago. I just never would shell out the big bucks for one.  Well, I am 55 years old and at a place in my life where I don't feel like I have to justify the money I spend - my kids are grown with families of their own.

2. All of my family are 500 miles away. I have 8 real life grandbabies ranging from 4 months to 16 years of age - and I have never been able to spend more than 1 -2 weeks at a time with any of them. I missed the newborn stage of their lives. I was able to see them all at the newborn age, but not long enough to fully enjoy it. Having Sally Jane and Benjamin are no substitution, but it will still be fun having babies to cuddle.

3. I love baby clothes! I have always bought lots of clothes for all my grandbabies. When we go visit them, I always have clothes to take for them or sometimes I mail them. But I don't always have the fun of seeing them dressed up in them except for in photos. Now I get to buy cute clothes for these two, and believe me, I am buying! I just made a huge haul on Tommy Hilfiger newborn clothes this week!

4. There is nothing sweeter than rocking a sleeping baby.  Benjamin is always asleep and I can get that feeling any time I want now. When Sally Jane arrives I will have double the fun!

5. It is a fantastic hobby and I love being part of a group that loves to share their stories, ideas, photos, as much as I do! There are so many blogs, forums, Facebook pages, articles, etc. I enjoy reading about them and watching Youtube videos of other peoples Reborn routines. (I also plan to do some Youtube videos with my 2).

So you see - some may think it is creepy or strange that grown people could enjoy such a hobby - but it really is perfectly normal. (lol - really!) Many people collect for personal reasons such as to memorialize a lost child, for cuddle therapy, for comfort in Alzheimer's patients, to name a few.  Whatever the reason, it is a fun but expensive hobby - and one that I hope to enjoy for years to come.