This Infant Loves His Very Creepy Mannequin Head More Than His Mom

When her infant son Harry wouldn’t stop pulling her hair, a compulsion that prevented him (and her) from sleeping, Ilarni Clark turned where plenty of new parents do for advice: Facebook.

“It started because Harry wouldn’t settle unless he was twiddling with my hair. He’s done it since he was a baby,” Clark said. “I couldn’t leave him with his dad, because he doesn’t have any hair to play with and he just wouldn’t sleep at all.”

A hairdresser-in-training saw the Sunderland, England mom’s post and sent her a spare mannequin head with hair of a similar color and length to her Clark’s.

The gambit worked; Harry has been sleeping better with the mannequin head. He fell asleep on his own for the first time on a weekend visit to his grandmother’s house. But unfortunately for his 22-year-old, first-time mom, Henry has become perhaps a bit too attached.

“He took to it straight away — he absolutely loves it,” says Ilarni. “Then it started getting weirder. He carries it around everywhere he goes. He won’t eat his breakfast or his meals unless the doll’s with him.”

You don’t have to take her word for it. Just look at this picture she posted, one of several in which Harry is seen with his near-constant companion.

Yikes. Most parents know the pain of a beloved toy getting lost or forgotten, but it’s a whole other set of issues when that toy does make the trip only to attract stares and

Beyond the parenting difficulties, Harry’s parents have had to adjust to the constant presence of “Baba,” the nickname her son has given his favorite…toy?

“I’ve gone over and given the doll a kiss by accident instead of Harry. It takes about half an hour to get back to sleep, because you get such a shock,” Clark said.

But on the other hand, any parent who’s ever functioned on 8 hours of sleep (a week) will find it hard to blame Clark for indulging her son’s odd choice of toy. One glance at the picture below, and it’s easy to understand why a first-time mom would trade an occasional scare for some extra hours of shuteye.