I heard about memory foam mittens you can wear to put baby to sleep. After you put baby in a crib you can remove your hands from the mittens, and the baby won't wake up, because these mittens stay in the same shape and hold the baby. If you know about this product, please send me its name or the link! Thank you!
Wow, this must be a new product.
By Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press
CHICAGO — In a case fraught with ethical questions, the parents of a severely mentally and physically disabled child have stunted her growth to keep their little "pillow angel" a manageable and more portable size.
ON DEADLINE: Debate the case, read family's blog
The bedridden 9-year-old girl had her uterus and breast tissue removed at a Seattle hospital and received large doses of hormones to halt her growth. She is now 4-foot-5; her parents say she would otherwise probably reach a normal 5-foot-6.
The case has captured attention nationwide and abroad via the Internet, with some decrying the parents' actions as perverse and akin to eugenics. Some ethicists question the parents' claim that the drastic treatment will benefit their daughter and allow them to continue caring for her at home.
University of Pennsylvania ethicist Art Caplan said the case is troubling and reflects "slippery slope" thinking among parents who believe "the way to deal with my kid with permanent behavioral problems is to put them into permanent childhood."
Right or wrong, the couple's decision highlights a dilemma thousands of parents face in struggling to care for severely disabled children as they grow up.
"This particular treatment, even if it's OK in this situation, and I think it probably is, is not a widespread solution and ignores the large social issues about caring for people with disabilities," Joel Frader, a doctor and medical ethicist at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, said Thursday. "As a society, we do a pretty rotten job of helping caregivers provide what's necessary for these patients."
The case involves a girl identified only as Ashley on a blog her parents created after her doctors wrote about her treatment in October's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. The journal did not disclose the parents' names or where they live; the couple do not identify themselves on their blog, either.
Shortly after birth, Ashley had feeding problems and showed severe developmental delays. Her doctors diagnosed static encephalopathy, which means severe brain damage. They do not know what caused it.
Her condition has left her in an infant state, unable to sit up, roll over, hold a toy or walk or talk. Her parents say she will never get better. She is alert, startles easily, and smiles, but does not maintain eye contact, according to her parents, who call the brown-haired little girl their "pillow angel."
She goes to school for disabled children, but her parents care for her at home and say they have been unable to find suitable outside help.
An editorial in the medical journal called "the Ashley treatment" ill-advised and questioned whether it will even work. But her parents say it has succeeded so far.
She had surgery in July 2004 and recently completed the hormone treatment. She weighs about 65 pounds, and is about 13 inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than she would be as an adult, according to her parents' blog.
"Ashley's smaller and lighter size makes it more possible to include her in the typical family life and activities that provide her with needed comfort, closeness, security and love: meal time, car trips, touch, snuggles, etc.," her parents wrote.
Also, Ashley's parents say keeping her small will reduce the risk of bedsores and other conditions that can afflict bedridden patients. In addition, they say preventing her from going through puberty means she won't experience the discomfort of periods or grow breasts that might develop breast cancer, which runs in the family.
"Even though caring for Ashley involves hard and continual work, she is a blessing and not a burden," her parents say. Still, they write, "Unless you are living the experience … you have no clue what it is like to be the bedridden child or their caregivers."
Caplan questioned how preventing normal growth could benefit the patient. Treatment that is not for a patient's direct benefit "only seems wrong to me," the ethicist said.
Douglas Diekema, a doctor and ethicist at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, where Ashley was treated, said he met with the parents and became convinced they were motivated by love and the girl's best interests.
Diekema said he was mainly concerned with making sure the little girl would actually benefit and not suffer any harm from the treatment. She did not, and is doing well, he said.
"The more her parents can be touching her and caring for her … and involving her in family activities, the better for her," he said. "The parents' argument was, 'If she's smaller and lighter, we will be able to do that for a longer period of time.'"
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
The child is severely developmentally delayed. She is not a normal child, nor will she ever be. Keeping he size manageable aids in the continuing care the parents will have to provide for her. She is a child that will not progress as we normally do and does not have the mental capacity to even grasp gender roles.
Caring for a severely disabled child poses difficulties none of us can even fathom. Her parents made the decision that they felt best for their child to continue a certain standard of care and involve her in as many family activities as possible.
Seeing as though she mostly likely does not grasp gender roles as they require a high level of cognition, stunting her development will most likely have no impact on her, rather allow her to continue life more comfortably.
I know this is a random question but hopefully someone night know the answer.
My wife is looking to replace her pillow, she has had it for nearly 20 years, but she would like one with a similar filling.
Where the pillow is old and slightly ripped, you can see that it is a kind of yellow foam, like you get on foam footballs if you rip them up,
Any ideas would be great
You could try memory foam.
ok, so one of my frends who is a girl didnt trust one of my mutual friends that came over her pad this one night. she didnt ttrust him because he tried to get too close to her and i guess "get into her pants"…so, she just whispered in my ear that she didnt trust him and basically stayed by my side. everyone was kicking it on the floor, just sitting and laying down. well, i go to laydown and she lays down with me and i have my arm wrapped around her. at times when i sit up, she put lays her head on my shoulder…other time when i lay down, she lays her head on my chest area like a pillow. at no time did we ever kiss or anything. even tho i kinda did cuz shes cute lol, which she thinks the same for me…so was she just trying to get comfortable with me so she doesnt have to bother with the guy who was hittin on her or are the signs that she likes me?
She likes you and feels comfortable with you but does that mean she wants a relationship with you? I don't know. Only she knows and you can't ask her because it's very unlikely to end well for you. You just have to sit back and keep reading the signs like next time you see her and this guy is not there what does she do? Is she still giving signs that she wants to be near you or is she staying away?
My dog destroyed my foam rubber pillow recently. I had the same model pillow since I was 5 and was lucky enough to find an exact replacement 2 years ago. It was foam rubber and had a light blue (with white stripes) pillowcase. I took a trip to where I bought it last and, of course, they no longer sell it. If anyone has this, can they provide the manufacturer info? I really want to get my good night's sleep again!
AWWWW I am soooo sorry Mustard!!
I can't help you!!!
But those pillow are GREAT!!!
I can sing you some lullaby's!!!!
Hush little Mustard don't say a word, Penny's gonna buy you a new pillow . . .
I know,,,probably a silly stupid questioin,,,but I would like to purchase a couple down pillows,,,but then was thinking,,,,how do we get the down? is the goose alive? Im being serious,,,because I dont believe in killing an animal for my comfort,,no fur coats for me….so am I harming a goose only for the down for a pillow????
I went onto a site DeWoolfson Down.com
and they said their better quality fills, are hand harvested from farm raised geese in Eastern Europe. As the geese get older, they produce larger down clusters so they live long healthy lives. The plucking does not harm them and while it is briefly annoying they do get accustomed to it over the years.
Most of the down and feathers used in the world however is a by product of the food industry, primarily from China. Realize that much of the worl eats geese and duck like Americans eat chicken and turkey. We do use down and feathers of this kind as it would be impossible to rely solely on our European suppliers. And it would be a shame for the down to go to waste.
So there you have it from a goose down company (dewoolfsondown) . found in their faq section.