A woman who spent £60,000 on ultra-lifelike dolls after being told she’d never have kids has given birth to a baby of her own.
Victoria Andrews, 26, was shocked to learn she was pregnant after doctors told her she was infertile due to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
Yet she gave birth to baby Tobias – Toby for short – in May.
And while Victoria has had to sell half of her collection to buy things for her real baby, Toby still has 40 doll brothers and sisters.
He even has a ‘twin’ – an identical version of a sleeping newborn Toby.
Victoria said: “I couldn’t believe it when I found out I was pregnant.
“Obviously I love babies. I just thought I would only ever have the doll variety.
“I was smitten with Toby right away. He’s got my eyes and my ‘bum’ chin. I haven’t even picked up a doll since he was born.”
Victoria only learned she was pregnant after going to the doctor after weeks of what she thought was a stomach ulcer or gastroenteritis.
She said: “My blood tests came back. The doctor talked to me for a few minutes and then said ‘congratulations by the way, you’re at least seven weeks pregnant.’”
The barmaid still didn’t believe it – so she paid for a private scan.
“It was only when I saw his tiny body that I started to celebrate,” Victoria said. “I was so happy.”
Last year Victoria started taking Infolic – a drug her mum found online that was meant to halt the facial hair growth polycystic ovary sufferers often have to deal with.
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But it seems the medication also resulted in a spike in the barmaid’s fertility.
Victoria said: “I’d tried so many different things in the past that hadn’t worked it didn’t really occur to me that this one might. I wasn’t even taking it for my fertility.
“Me and my partner at the time didn’t use protection – there was no need.
“We split up before I even knew I was pregnant because I found out he was cheating.
“Now he doesn’t want anything to do with the baby. It’s massively his loss – Toby is absolutely amazing.”
As a single mum Victoria had to offload some dolls to help make ends meet.
She made nearly £10,000 selling about 40 dolls – called ‘reborns’ — and spent the money on a cot, pram and other necessities for Toby.
At its peak her collection had over 100 dolls.
Although she has always buys and the sells the dolls in order to upgrade to better versions, Victoria reckons she has spent around £60,000 on the hobby.
Now, with a real baby, she no longer has time to pay attention to the 40 she still has left.
Victoria said: “Some of the ladies in the doll community take their collections quite seriously. They with feed and bathe their dolls and put them into pyjamas at night.
“I mostly keep mine on a shelf.
“Sometimes, before I had Toby, I would pick them up for a cuddle if I was feeling down. It’s really soothing.
“But now I’ve got him I don’t need to do that. I don’t have time. I haven’t even picked one up since Toby came along.
“I’ve kept my favourites though. Some of the best ones I paid £1,500 for.”
Her new favourite is an exact replica of newborn Toby made by her friend. He sits proudly on her shelf in the first outfit the real Toby wore when he was born.
She said: “The likeness is incredible. She even made the doll – who I’ve called also called Tobias – to weigh exactly 7lb2oz, same as the real Toby did when he was born.
“Toby loves staring at him.”
Victoria and Toby live at home in Newbury, Berkshire with her bar manager mum Jane, 56, and gardener dad Dirk, 64.
Victoria said: “I told my mum about the pregnancy straight away but was well nervous about telling my dad.
“Mum was excited because she always thought she’d only be a grandmother if my sister Natalie had kids.
“Dad’s first response was ‘I don’t want a baby in this house, I’ve done my bit’.
“But when Toby arrived he came round right away.”
Victoria plans to keep her collection – and maybe even add to it when she goes back to work.
She said: “I still love them. Not in the way I love Toby, of course.
“I’d love to have more kids one day. Maybe four. For now I joke that I’ve got 41.”
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