Five boys, and five girls. They're all the same age, but have different ethnic backgrounds. They cry, day or night, and need to be fed, changed, and comforted. They even have three settings: hard, medium and easy.
But as Ann points out, easy does not mean easy, just the easier of the three settings. Ann is a community drugs project worker and the babies are 'real care babies' – programmable dolls which simulate the needs and actions of a newborn baby.
The 10 babies cost almost €10,000, and they're given out to willing participants on the substance use, relationships, and sexual health courses she runs around the county. 'They cry when they need to be fed. They cry when they need to be changed, and when they need to be comforted, or if they need winding,' she explained. 'If they're mishandled, they screech.'
'They look after them, and when I get them back, I plug them into a computer and generate a report,' she added. 'When you get the baby, you have a bracelet which you swipe on its back, and then you attend to it. You try to feed it, or change its nappy, and if it doesn't stop crying, you swipe it again and try something else.'
In the FDYS offices, they are known as 'Ann's babies', though she doesn't have names for each of them. 'When the person gets them, they get a birth cert, and they can name them,' she said. The courses she runs can vary according to the group. 'What's coming up is around relationships and sexual health,' she said. 'I have done young women's programmes as well.' The courses are generally split along gender lines.
Ann said she has yet to give the babies out to a group of young men. 'It's a voluntary thing,' she said. Among the babies is one with foetal alcohol syndrome, and a drug affected baby.
She said that the volunteers often don't realise what it takes to care for a baby 24 hours a day. 'They' don't realise it's so stressful,' she said. 'They start out wanting to buy them clothes, but it soon changes when they realise the babies wake up every three hours, and it can take an hour to feed them.'
'Some people like them, and they are okay with being a mother,' she said. The courses aren't just about baby care and motherhood. They also deal with issues such as sexual health, underage sex, contraception, and sexually transmitted infections.
'A lot of young people think everybody's having sex, and they want to have sex too,' she said. 'They are not sure of the legal age or any of that. For young people today, it's getting more challenging.'
'The impression given these days is you are not the norm if you don't have underage sex, but that's not the case,' she added. 'A lot of young people are not sexually active, but they think they should be.'
'A lot of it is talk,' she added. ' There are young people out there having underage sex, but they really are the minority rather than the majority. The guys especially put on bravado, and say they've had loads of sex, but you know from what they're saying, that they haven't.'
Topics looked at include: ' Are you ready yet?'; the law; rape and sexual assault; and domestic violence. 'It depends on what age group, and what the group wants to look at,' she said. 'It's age-appropriate information. It's about showing respect and expecting respect.'
Ann said that generally speaking, the volunteers, when they return the baby, say 'I'm not ready for it' or 'I certainly wouldn't be at this age'. 'Even 24- to 25-year-olds say they are not ready,' she said. 'The younger ones think they are going to be great at the start, but when push comes to shove, it's a different story. Until they are up all night, and then have to go to school the next day, they don't realise what it's really like.'
The biggest issue Ann has come across, is a failure to fully deliver the SPHE course in schools. ' There are exceptions where you have teachers that are really interested, and really good,' she said. 'Others aren't. SPHE needs to be implemented. The government said they have to do it in the Junior Cert cycle, but the course is delivered by teachers who aren't trained to deliver it. The best place to do it is in school, but the practicalities of it are that teachers are not encouraged to get the training and keep updated. But as I said, there are exceptions and some of the teachers really understand it and really enjoy it.'
Other issues looked at in the course include relationships, and substance use. Alcohol is the biggest problem. ' You give them the correct information and they are able to make an informed decision on it,' said Ann. 'We also do drug awareness programmes from 10 years upwards.'
Anyone interested in one of Ann's courses can contact her on 087 9351754. They are run at FDYS buildings, community buildings, or in schools around the county. The youngest age she has taught is 13.
'I've had a few teenagers really upset because the care they gave the baby wasn't suitable,' she said. 'The reports come back of floppy necks or mishandling, and they get upset because they thought they did a good job.'
As she spoke, she was getting ready to give away her babies yet again for another three days, this time to a group of volunteers in Coolcotts in Wexford, who would soon find out what caring for baby is all about.