Mom gets a laugh from charge she's carrying a doll to steal yogurt: 'My baby is 100% real'

Amanda Oglesby, Asbury Park Press
Updated

LACEY, New Jersey — Mothers can't catch a break.

It's a lesson Patricia Larkin learned after a woman at a New Jersey Aldi store accused her of carrying a fake baby to try and steal yogurt.

Larkin, of Lacey, New Jersey, said in the Facebook group "Lacey Township Chatter" that she was grocery shopping with her infant when a woman told a cashier that her baby was fake and an attempt to "smuggle yogurts out of the store."

Larkin, despite being fatigued from staying up nights with her 2-month-old daughter, responded to the accusation with humor. She posted a picture of herself smiling while holding her sleeping baby in front of the store's sign.

"Thank you for the laugh," she wrote in the Facebook group. "1) My baby is 100% real. 2) Yogurts are like $.25 at Aldi. 3) I'm lactose intolerant and don't consume any dairy at all."

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Larkin said a similarly amused cashier told her about the woman's accusation, by which time, her infant daughter was crying and fussing like only a real baby could.

Within an hour of sharing her experience, Larkin's post had gone viral with more than 450 reactions, 80+ comments, and numerous shares.

Local residents were eager to weigh in.

A commenter with the username Manda Louisee wrote: "Cutest fake baby I've ever seen."

Commenter Robin Enquist McAndrew wrote: "I would've went with 'butterball turkey'... What a cutie."

Larkin says she is taking the experience as a compliment, one that means her daughter is so cute, she has been mistaken for a doll.

Patricia Larkin of Lacey, New Jersey, said a woman accused of her carrying a fake baby through an Aldi store as a ploy to steal.
Patricia Larkin of Lacey, New Jersey, said a woman accused of her carrying a fake baby through an Aldi store as a ploy to steal.

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This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Mom accused of stealing yogurt: 'My baby is 100% real'