Fake babies.

So far, it seems to be a Britain thing.  Apparently, women are ordering custom-made fake babies that look remarkably real, and then walking around treating them like, you know, real babies.  They’re available on eBay, too.  I’m not talking about doing it for a week or two as part of an exercise in high school home economics.  These are grown women doing this, apparently to fulfill some maternal instinct:

One of the women, Sue, said she’s spent almost $30,000 on these dolls. She even buys it clothes and takes it to the park and shit. She even fills a bottle with fabric softener, because it looks like milk. She says the babies satisfy her maternal instincts without commitment. Sue has 9 of them and is expecting another. She said, “I don’t see any of my girls as real babies. I know they’re dolls. I’m under no illusion but it’s just where I haven’t got children I guess there is still that female instinct in me.”

There’s a Channel 4 documentary on the subject — you can see all of it (in five parts) on Youtube.

UPDATE:  The real thing, for those of you confused…