A woman turned to roleplaying with her collection of realistic dolls following the death of her baby - and now her husband and two miracle daughters also take part.
Stay-at-home wife and mum Christina Keeler, 36, currently has four dolls that she loves to dress up, take on trips and photograph.
Christina, from Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, USA, loves the hobby so much her husband Bill and two daughters, Grace, four, and Joy, two, join in, and the family have even launched their own YouTube channel.
The mum-of-two, who admits some of her family and friends don't like the unusual hobby, started obsessing over the dolls shortly after she lost her and Bill's first baby in 2015.
The heartbreak cut even deeper because Christina suffers with endometriosis - a long-term condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes - when she was in her twenties and was told by doctors that she would not be able to conceive.
Thankfully, Christina and Bill went on to have Grace and Joy but Christina still had a longing for a newborn baby to hold, dress up and photograph. At the same time Christina watched a documentary about reborn dolls and the people who take part in the hobby of roleplaying with the hyper realistic dolls as if they are real babies and was instantly intrigued.
Christina researched the hobby on Instagram and bought her first reborn doll, Hannah Hope, in January 2021.
"As an adult, my husband, Bill, and I suffered the painful loss of our infant," said Christina. "I found myself searching for the feeling of a newborn baby in my arms. To this day it is very difficult to speak about, it is only because of reborns that I can even talk about it at all."
"I remember screaming and crying out to God from the hospital bed 'I want my baby! I want my mum!', Christina added. "I lost my mum a few years prior due to cancer, and it was at that very moment I realised my baby was now in Heaven with my mum and my arms were left empty.
"Thankfully we were able to go on and have two healthy daughters, but I never could shake the feeling I had in that hospital bed yearning for my baby in my arms and being left empty handed and broken hearted."
Currently Christina has a collection of four dolls of newborn roleplay age called, Isabella 'Izzy' Sage, Isaiah Scott, Lennon 'Lenny' Levi and Princess, that she loves to dress up, snuggle with and take pictures of. Grace and Joy often take the dolls out in public to places like the supermarket where people often mistake them for real life babies.
Christina says she quickly because obsessed with reborn dolls after watching a documentary about them, and eventually set up her own YouTube channel with the help of Bill so they can film box openings, roll play videos and a 'reborn news show'.
"I love many aspects of the hobby - from dressing them and taking photos, snuggling them, and taking them on outings with my family," the mum said. "I love that it's a hobby I can do together with my family - they are the most important things to me besides my faith, and to have them share in this hobby I'm so passionate about makes me so happy."
Christina and her family share their reborn adventures on Instagram under the handle, @the_reborn_family_youtube and on YouTube where they are known as The Reborn Family. Despite her immediate family being supportive of their hobby, Christina admits that not everyone in her wider family understands reborns but she hopes by continuing with her social media channels the hobby of reborning will soon be viewed as an acceptable hobby by society.
When Christina is out and about with her dolls, most people are shocked to learn that the dolls are not real babies after mistaking them for real life newborns, something which is highly amusing for the Keeler family.
"I have in-laws nearby that completely disapprove of my hobby and have asked Bill to not support me in it. None of my friends or family have accepted my hobby," said Christina.
"They find it odd and refuse to even talk about it with me. It's like the big elephant in the room that we all just pretend isn't there. It's hurtful. I've even had family members write rude comments on my YouTube channel.
"YouTube filters most of the rude comments so it's rare they come on our radar, but we still do get a few comments that sneak through and aren't the kindest. I had a distant family member comment, 'You guys are freaks,' I contemplated responding but decided to just delete it and carry on.
"I wish they would be happy for me and celebrate that I found something I enjoy. This hobby might be strange to some people, but it isn't hurting anyone - it's a harmless hobby that I wish we could normalise. That's my goal anyway. To normalise this hobby to be accepted by society."
Christina added: "I take my reborns out maybe a few times a month. I don't always film it, but usually if we take a reborn out we are filming for our YouTube channel. Other than the occasional whispers, we seem to get really positive feedback.
"If we wanted people to think it was a doll, we would make them look like dolls. People will come up to us and ask how old the baby is or if they can take a look at the baby and then we tell people it's a reborn doll - they are usually pretty surprised and have a good laugh and enjoy the incredible art that is so lifelike.
"Sometimes, however, people will feel silly for thinking they are real. I feel bad because that's not what it's about. It's meant to bring a smile to your face and enjoy the beauty and wonder of the art."
Christina hopes that she will be able to normalise reborn dolls as a hobby and hopes to showcase the artistry that goes into creating these beautiful dolls in achieving this.
"I understand that this hobby may seem strange at first - but take a minute and ask yourselves, 'why does that bother me?'," said Christina.
"The truth is that this is a perfectly harmless hobby where a group of predominantly women (all ages) admire the realism of the art in various ways such as holding them, photographing them, naming them etc.
"No matter what the hobby may be, as long as it isn't harmful to yourself or others, and if it brings you joy, then go for it and what others think is their problem not yours."
