Grocery Store Customer Accuses a Mom of Using a Fake Baby to Steal Yogurt
Adorable infants tend to illicit a variety of reactions from strangers, generally along the lines of "aww" or "OMG" or huge grins. But a mom of an 8-week-old in New Jersey recently encountered a fairly bizarre, unusual reaction. As Patricia Larkin was shopping for blueberry yogurts at Aldi, she noticed a woman watching her.
“I was wearing my 8-week-old daughter in a carrier and she made a comment like, ‘Mom life, huh?’” Larkin, who is also an elementary school teacher, told TODAY Parents. “I smiled. I didn't think anything of it."
But according to her now viral post, the incident only escalated from there. Larkin wrote on the Lacey Township Chatter Facebook page, "Well, I don't usually do 'To the person who...' posts but this one has me cracking up, so here we go: To the lady who told the cashier at Aldi that she thought I had a fake baby and was trying to smuggle yogurts out of the store- 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."
Larkin concluded, "Thank you for the laugh, though. I really needed it, because I was up all night tending to my (again, 100% real) baby."
As if the series of events that played out at Aldi wasn't strange and funny enough, the woman who had accused Larkin of theft saw the post. Aileen Krupa identified herself and responded, writing, "It was me and I am not ashamed to say so. The baby was sleeping the entire time and was like a dead weight in her arms." She elaborated that she works in retail and has seen shoplifters use children as decoys. Given her experience, she believes she should continue to report suspicious activity.
To that, Larkin explained that her daughter, whose name is Eliana, was crying and moving throughout their shopping trip.
Local residents weighed in, as well, mostly focused on Eliana's adorable quotient. One commenter wrote, "Cutest fake baby I've ever seen," while another said, "I would've went with 'Butterball turkey'... What a cutie."
Since Larkin shared her story a day ago, the post has earned 1.6K reactions—proof that, odd accusations of theft aside, people can't get enough of Larkin's little "doll."
