'I'm a mum to 250 reborn dolls - friends judge me like Katie Price but our bond is real'

When former glamour model and mum Katie Price was posted a picture of herself with twin babies, fans wondered what was going on.

One snap was captioned: "Evening cuddles with my boy.” Another pic was described as “Multitasking with my baby girl.” But before you start asking ‘Who’s the father?’ it has now been revealed that these are ultra-realistic dolls, known as ‘reborns.’

And Katie, 46, mum to Harvey Price, Junior and Princess Andre, 19 and 17, and Jett and Bunny Hayler, 11 and 10, is not the only mother who enjoys nostalgic cuddles with reborn baby dolls. Fifty-year-old Sylvia Heszterterenyiova, of Sydney, Australia, describes herself as a “mum to 250 babies” - a massive and rapidly expanding collection of reborn dolls.

In her own words, she explains: “When my daughters, Veronika, 31, and Sofia, 27, were little, I relished every moment changing their nappies, dressing them in cute outfits and rocking them to sleep. When they grew up, I missed doing all those things. But when I turned 40, my children had the perfect solution.

“On my birthday, I heard the doorbell ring. I rushed to answer the door. There was no one there. Just a basket sitting on the doorstep.

“I crouched down, pulled the blanket back and gasped. The cutest face looked back at me. And there was a card that read: ‘I’m Isabella, will you take care of me?’

“My daughters beamed as I scooped up the baby. ‘Happy birthday!’ they cheered. ‘She’s gorgeous,’ I beamed. The baby girl had tiny curled up fingers, rosebud lips and plump cheeks. But she wasn’t a real baby. She was a reborn doll made of vinyl.

“I’d heard about reborns before and seen them in magazines. I’d never seen one in real life. Yet now I had my very own! Thank you so much,’ I gushed.

“Veronika and Sofia told me they had bought Isabella from eBay. Weeks later, I visited the website and typed in ‘reborn dolls’.

“My eyes widened at the results. There were thousands of listings for reborns. I placed a few bids and waited excitedly.

“‘Yes!’ I cried, when I won boy and girl twins. And that was it – I was hooked. My collection began to grow - then I had a thought. ‘I wonder if I could make my own reborns?’

“I went on a course and created my first handmade doll, Sally. Holding the finished product, I knew I wanted to make reborns for a living. I started my own company called Fairies Reborn Magic Nursery. Now I could choose exactly how I wanted my babies to look.

“My daughters helped me change, dress and bathe the dolls. I liked to treat them just like real babies.

“‘We can’t have them being stuck inside all day,’ I said. I loaded the car with buggies, baby carriers and a few toys before strapping a couple of reborns in. Then we were off.

“My daughters and I took different reborns out each time, giving them a taste of the real world. We went to the beach, camping, to the cinema, horse-riding, roller skating, to restaurants, sightseeing – you name it they did it!

“One day, we were doing our weekly food shop when a woman walked past our trolley and smiled. ‘Ooh look at your little one,’ she said. ‘Isn’t she lovely.’

“She reached out to touch my reborn and her jaw dropped. ‘I thought it was a real baby!’ she gasped. ‘It’s a reborn doll,’ I said. ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘Can I hold her?’ ‘Of course,’ I said.

“Just watching how much joy the reborns brought others warmed my heart. In time, I began making them each a baby book.

“I bought a stack of photo albums and glued in pictures of their adventures. I stuck letters on the front covers to spell out their names and even went online to search for baby scans, which I printed off and added alongside the photos.

“At home, I enjoyed seeing cute faces gazing at me from every room. When I was feeling organised, I kept them all together in the nursery along with a wardrobe full of all their outfits. They had more clothes and accessories than me!

“One day, Sofia needed to create some artwork for her Visual Arts studies. ‘I want to make something new and different,’ she said. ‘I know just what we can do,’ I said.

“I taught her how to make a reborn doll, but not just any ordinary reborn. We produced conjoined twins and named them Kendall and Kylie. ‘They’re amazing!’ Sofia said.

“They might have been slightly unusual looking, but we loved them just the same. Now, I have a whopping 250 reborns.

“And after counting all my dolls, not just reborns but porcelain, vintage and composition dolls, my collection amounts to 27,000 in total. They live all over my house – they’re everywhere. And anyone who visits always says the same thing – wow!

“They are always so surprised at the sheer number of dolls and how different they all are, from cute to spooky, I even have Avatar dolls. I let people hold my reborn babies and they love it.

“I’m getting so many orders from people wanting reborns as therapy dolls. There are some of my friends who don’t understand my passion for reborns, but I love them so much.

“They can give so much happiness. They even help Alzheimer’s patients retain and get back some of their memories.

“I’m so lucky to have reborns as my job and my hobby. I tell my friends I am always reborn pregnant – meaning I’m constantly working on a new baby, either for a client or for myself.

“I’m thankful to Veronika and Sofia for introducing me to the world of reborns. It means I can keep expanding our family without actually giving birth!

“My daughters are all grown up now and don’t live with me anymore. They will always come first. But I have a special bond for my reborn babies. I wouldn’t change my big happy family for the world.”

Find out more at facebook.com/FairiesRebornMagicNursery