Heartwarming moment mother surprises daughter with doll that has same unique birthmark as her in touching video

A mum has shared the heartwarming moment her toddler was given a doll with the same birthmark as her.

Harriet Morris, from Wirral, Merseyside, documented Cici’s reaction after being surprised with the toy in a viral TikTok – with the delighted two-year-old exclaiming: ‘It looks just like me!’

The mother explained how she “made it my mission” to remind Cici, who has a red birthmark on her left cheek, “how beautiful she is.” She added that the doll makes her daughter feel good about herself.

Harriet said: “We gave Cici the doll as a gift and she hasn’t let her out of her sight since! She even sleeps with it.

‘She was so excited and said the doll is “just like me.” This is the first time we see Cici representing someone just like her and the video ends with “I love her”.

The doll is part of Aldi’s new doll range and Harriet said she is grateful to the retailer for producing toys that represent little ones like Cici.

Cici has named her new toy ‘Dolly’ and the doll has since replaced her ‘beloved bunny’, Harriet revealed.

She added that although she initially posted the TikTok in the hope that someone from Aldi would see it, Harriet was unprepared for the overwhelming response to her video.

“I posted it on my TikTok hoping Aldi would see it, like it or comment on it, but the response it has gotten has blown me away,” she said.

‘I never expected such a great response, I cried reading some of the responses. It really proved how much this kind of representation was needed for little ones like Cici.”

A few days after Cici was born, her parents noticed a small red spot had appeared under her eye before it became “very dark,” Harriet said.

“This turned out to be a birthmark called a hemangioma, or also known as a strawberry spot,” she continued.

Cici’s doctors were concerned about the risk of the hemangioma becoming larger and spreading to her eye, so they prescribed a heart medication called propanolol, which “stops blood flow to the birthmark.”

Harriet says: ‘When she was born, after a few days a red spot appeared under her eye, which quickly became very dark.

‘This turned out to be a birthmark called a hemangioma, or also known as a strawberry spot. Cici underwent MRI scans, heart scans and many doctor’s appointments before she was told to take a drug called propranolol.

‘She was working on this for nine months. It is a heart medication that stops blood flow to the hemangioma because there was a risk of it getting bigger and getting into her eyes.

“After this, she started laser treatments on her birthmark from the age of two in January,” she continued.

Cici’s parents decided to go ahead with the laser treatment because they were afraid “she would be bullied or feel different when she goes to school.”

“We felt this was the best thing for her, even though we have grown to love her birthmark,” Harriet said, adding that Cici is almost done with the treatment.

‘She’s doing fine, it’s almost gone and she’s very weak. She had a laser session at Alder Hey children’s hospital last week and that is why she has laser dots in place in the video.

‘We don’t think she will need any more sessions, possibly one more before she starts school.

“When she was born it was opaque, more or less purple, whereas now we can see her skin through it, it’s very faint, so the treatments have worked amazingly,” she added.

Harriet added that Cici has been “incredibly brave” during treatment, adding that she is “widely known for how cheerful, talkative and funny she is.”

The proud mother said: ‘I have made it my mission to remind her every day how beautiful she is and that her birthmark makes her special.’