Pais de bebê reborn: a rotina de quem formou uma família com bonecas realistas

FORA DE SÉRIE Baby reborn - No, Gael! - Who is crying, Félix? Gael.

Edivaldo, get me. . .

Ah, no, it's here. No, my darling, do not cry. No, no, no, no, no.

Gael is crying because I'm putting on his shoes. We're going downstairs. When I wake up, the first thing is to come check on them.

I interact with them, talk to them and say "Look, dad is going to work, and you'll stay here. I'll be back soon. " CLEBER ALVES Sales consultant I get home from work yelling, "Theo!

Dad is here! " I'm preparing the milk for Theo and for Gael. Theo, here's your milk.

- 10 years. - 10 years! We'd been together for 10 years.

Then Theo came into our lives. But we had a plastic doll before that, remember? EDVALDO DE SOUZA Tech operator We had another baby, also a doll, - from a store.

- A normal one. But we didn't give it that much love and care. Then a friend wanted to give it to us.

And that was it. Let me talk to him. Theo, no misbehaving downstairs, ok?

No pinching people, no fighting with other kids. You must behave, otherwise you won't get a birthday present. Arthur looks a bit like me, and we weren't expecting it.

He looks like me. - Let's go downstairs. - Let's go.

To get a bit of sun. Then we go up. Wow, he looks so much like his dad.

He does, doesn't he? Even the hair. Oh my God.

It's like this newborn. I named him Gael because it's in now. And I think it suits a newborn, like him.

Today I have them, and treat them like my own kids. When people say it's a doll I don't like it. If all babies were like that.

That we can have it our own way. Right, baby? If only everyone were well behaved like you.

Babies yell. Kick. My name is Maria Pastre, but everyone calls me Pati.

I am a collector and I am also their mom, 'cause I like to care for them, to hold them, to spend time and talk. Today I have 67 babies. MARIA PASTRE Housewife Today I have 67 babies.

Today I have 67 babies. I think to myself that's a lot of children. For those watching it must be very interesting.

But I exaggerated, right? But it's a good exaggeration, I don't regret it. They have their own bedroom, but they don't all fit in.

Some stay in their mom's bedroom, the living room. . .

This is Laís. Lala. She has Down's syndrome.

Let's see if Enzo is here. He's not here. Enzo is not here.

Look, these are my twins. Theo and Thabata. This one arrived today.

That's Marianne. This is my Ana Alice. My little black one.

I was born with glaucoma. I could see a little, but when I was 27 I lost my sight. Because I could see before, I take them and see, I imagine them.

When the storks made the babies they told me what they look like. Many people call some artists "storks" because we go through a lot of techniques to make a baby that's almost real. This is the first step in the process MONICKIE URBANJOS Stork This is the first step in the process of realistic painting.

This layer of paint has to go in the oven. MONICKIE URBANJOS Stork This layer of paint has to go in the oven. The arms and heads of dolls used to go into the house oven, in the kitchen.

But not anymore, today there's all kinds of equipment, blowers, electric ovens, halogen ovens, which is only for artworks. It's great that it has a timer, because otherwise the risk of burning is high. I've had dolls melt in the oven before.

I love dolls ever since I was little, realistic dolls. First I wanted to buy one of those collectible dolls. Then I realized there was nothing like that in Brazil.

So I started studying and bought material from abroad. Then I made my first little Baby Reborn. With the idea of starting my own collection.

From its very start, the "Reborn" art was intended for collectors. But with time this art grew a lot, thanks to the internet. And it came to attract a young audience.

I've always encouraged her to like dolls, I've always liked dolls. I bought many, but I had already accepted it. My daughter won't play with dolls.

VIVIANE LÉO Businesswoman but I had already accepted it. My daughter won't play with dolls. This is my thing only.

This is my thing only. He doesn't seem to be made of plastic. It's so light.

It's not. Exactly. It's not.

She looks like a real baby. Instead of being, like, a doll baby. They're also very cute.

And she's very much into the virtual world. Mobile phone, YouTube. .

. They talk a lot about Baby Reborn's lives, they show day-to-day life. And that caught her attention.

But I paid no attention. I thought she wouldn' t play, she doesn't like it. But she insisted.

"Mom, come and look, have you seen a Baby Reborn? It looks like a baby. Look, mom.

" I thought, "where will I find a maternity hospital now? " So I looked for maternity hospitals here. And I found it.

The word "reborn" comes from English, and it means to be reborn, to relive that, let's say. Mothers relive maternity and when children buy them, sometimes the mothers like it and sometimes relive, more than the kid, that situation of having a baby again, BRUNA GRACIOTTO Stork that situation of having a baby again, taking care, changing diapers. BRUNA GRACIOTTO Stork taking care, changing diapers.

There's a whole playful universe around Babies Reborn, The dolls stay in those cots, and instead of buying a Baby Reborn, you adopt a Baby Reborn. A Baby Reborn artist has to specialize in many areas. Manicure, eyebrow design, hairstylist, because the hair has to look good.

I don't see myself as the creator of a being. Many people have a sort of idolatry for Reborn artists, because it's like a work from God and all. Of course, we portray life.

What really captivates people is the realism, it creates this bond. Now I'm going to paint some veins. This color really gives it a lot of realism, and literally gives life to a Baby Reborn.

I think it revived in me that way of taking care. I've always liked to take care. I used to take care of my little sister but I had to go, she grew up, so it revived in me this thing of 'taking care'.

People like to hold them when we go out, and I feel that pride, like any mom feels when people compliment your kid. I felt the same thing, of a mother owl. Theo came to really replace a kid.

To fill that moment of the couple. Theo fills our day-to-day lives. We make stories with them.

It's cold, let's make some soup. And we feed them soup! Sometimes I pretend Theo has lyce.

I comb him. We made friends with the staff at the health clinic, I take him there. They ask, "How is Gael?

" - He got the flu. - He got the flu. Look.

Do we need some medicine? He already says he's got the flu. People tag along.

They won't contradict us. We treat them like children. .

. Theo was Baby Jesus at school for 3 years. - In the manger.

. . - I cried, because I saw kids there honoring their parents, and you could see their emotions, some were so spontaneous.

It made me cry. Theo! Look, it's Pepa.

Pepa's here, come watch. I will feed your brother, and then you can play with your cars, ok? Everybody gets criticized today.

Me included. - Good morning! - Hi, good morning.

- Look at my baby. - I thought it was real! - It's Baby Reborn.

- Look at the baby. This is Gael. And this is Theo.

- Really? - Well, at least it's not hard work. No!

When I got Theo my dad wanted to hospitalize me. It was very funny. I was so close to Theo.

I really was. - We fought with the neighbors. - We did, she shared my photo.

She posted it on Facebook. "What is that? Cleber taking a doll to the doctor?

" - Cleber said. . .

- I fought with her, she came crying. He said, "Look, can you remove that post you made? " You treat your dog as your kid and I don't criticize.

Now I see there's a limit, but changing diapers. . .

I do it. - We do. - Until today.

Arthur, Lívia. . .

Theo. They all have their name embroidered. I have everything for them.

I buy socks, tiaras, winter clothes. . .

Edvaldo doesn't like it much, but I buy it. Because we have too much stuff. Look, bathers!

On Christmas I make them clothes. Different ones. They make the Christmas tree with us.

Theo puts on the decoration. - We do it. - Each one does one thing.

To have a story on that tree. To my surprise, I had a lot of orders during the pandemic. We've been working a lot more now, with bigger profits.

The price of an authentic Reborn doll can vary. It starts at R$ 1. 500,00 and can reach more than R$ 10.

000,00 depending on the size, the material. Normally an artist can produce from 4 babies per month up to maybe 15 or 20 dolls per month. The joy that they give us with this art, that's priceless.

It happens sometimes, I feel down, bummed, but then I get one of them and talk, play, change clothes, we talk, and then I forget everything. That's it, no more problem. It's a sort of therapy.

Parents that had premature babies order dolls to remember that delicate moment, with their babies. Some have lost their baby, sometimes as recovery from an miscarriage. There are many issues.

When they're addressed along with psychological assistance, I believe it's beneficial. And you know, Gael. .

. It was when my dad passed away. Gael looked like him.

Yes, it was a coincidence. We didn't choose the mold. Gael came to fill in this loss and longing for his dad.

It was a great timing. Many people ask. "Do you have all these dolls because you never had kids?

And you wanted to? " I say, "No. I have them because I collect them.

" They're not. . .

I don't know, perhaps in my subconsciousness, they might be a bit. I don't know. I've applied for a real adoption.

I baptized a little girl from someone I knew, and the mother abandoned her. She ended up in a shelter. And I wanted to adopt her, she was my goddaughter.

But then it came to me. If it's hard for "normal" people, imagine what it's like for us, who have a disability. We wanted to have a surrogate.

We had someone. When we were about to do it, she had a problem. She had to remove her uterus.

That's why we're close to Theo. We have a history. We wanted our kid to be like him.

It changed completely. She, as a child, has this routine, this loving, this caring. I didn't know that side of my daughter, honestly.

- You'll never separate from her? - Never. She doesn't walk.

So to separate. . .

It's good that she doesn't grow either. Imagine that, me taking care of a kid. We hug, everyday we hug and say we love them.

Like when we went downstairs, remember that kid? I pictured Theo like that! Arriving home from school, huging, saying "I love you".

. . That's why it's good.

Imagine that, with us recording here, do you think they'd be quiet? Even if we asked, they wouldn't, if they were real.