Have you ever wondered what it might feel like to hold your child in your arms again, even after they're grown? After all the years spent raising them, the innocence and purity of a baby is something that can never be recaptured--until now. There's a growing market for dolls that are made to look just like someone you know. Say, for instance, your daughter had a doll as a child that she was especially fond of. You still have it around the house and would like to present it to her as a gift. By having the doll "reborn," a commercial doll is dismantled, redone to look like the person you're modeling it after, and then reassembled with care. Dolls that are reborn get the full treatment. They have every strand of hair attached, every eyelash applied separately, and the skin is painted to simulate the translucence of a baby's complexion--right down to the veins that are visible. A plastic body is replaced with a more flexible one and the head is made unstable in order to suggest the delicate nature of a baby's neck and the need to support it. While these dolls are still technically dolls, they are not meant to be played with. They are instead used for therapy for grieving mothers, empty-nesters, and cuddle therapy for Alzheimer's patients in nursing homes. They are collectibles as well, but their appeal goes beyond that to a human application that is much larger than the resale value of a particular doll.
| 
