Couple unable to conceive pay £350 for a lifelike doll that they treat like a real baby

A couple that are unable to have children have spent £350 on having a lifelike looking doll made, and treat it like a real child including giving it a night feed.

Crystal, 24, was devastated when she found out that herself and her husband Terry, 34, would not be able to conceive naturally after desperately wanting children.

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After being diagnosed with a condition that unfortunately means Crystal does not produce eggs, and therefore will find it almost impossible to get pregnant, the couple began to seek other options to achieve their dream of having children.

Sadly their request to adopt was turned down due to the lack of space in their one bedroom flat in West London, but their doctor had another, more creative idea. Suggesting they try out a lifelike doll, Crystal and Terry commissioned an artist who worked from childhood pictures of them both to create a real-looking doll that bears resemblance to them like their own baby would.

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Named George, after Crystal's grandfather, the doll has a specially designed bottle which Crystal uses to do a night feed.

'It makes a crying sound. I know most parents complain about having to do midnight feeds but Terry and I had been wanting to do them for so long we enjoyed it,' Crystal told the Sunday People.

And that's not the only activity they do to replicate having a real child - the pair spent £250 on Christmas presents for George as well as taking him to see Santa.

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They also enjoy family days out, taking their 'son' to the park to play on the swings and on the bus in his pram. Crystal says she has suffered only one negative altercation, which was when a busy bus had only space for one pram and another mother became annoyed that Crystal's baby wasn't real and therefore didn't deserve the spot.

For Crystal and Terry, the next step is to add to their family and they plan on doing this by ordering a baby sister for George, who would be 0-3 months.

They explained they would use the same artist with the same images so that there would appear to be a resemblance between all four family members.