An infant prop comprises a cylindrical core covered with a flannel sheath. The core is approximately two inches in diameter and sufficiently long to form a U-shaped arch reaching around a sleeping infant. It comprises a flexible shell filled with plastic prills or other beads sufficient to maintain its shape but with enough space inside to allow folding and flexibility. The flannel sheath includes an opening for inserting the shell at one end and attachment means for a pacifier disposed facing the infant's mouth, while the other end of the prop reaches around the infant's legs and extends along its back to keep the infant lying on its side. In an alternate embodiment, the prop is shortened to approximately the length of an infant and placed on one side of the infant, while a second, unconnected props is used on the infant's other side. The shells of the alternate embodiment are filled to compaction with prills and thereby relatively inflexible.
An infant support pad, particularly for use with premature or smaller infants provides support for the head and neck of an infant including lateral movement as well as forward movement of an infant's head and is made up of a padded base layer extending along a substantial length of an infant's body, a deformable support member at one end of the base layer to provide support to an infant's head and neck, and complementary fasteners are attached to the base layer and support member to provide for adjustability of the support member around an infant's head and neck. The fastener means that releasably attach the support member to the base layer are located in inner and outer positions, with the outer locations providing a broader U-shaped opening, and the inner locations providing a narrower U-shaped position, with terminal ends of the support member converging inwardly.
A nursing pillow has a flexible, positionable spine that allows the pillow to be deformed into a number of stable shapes. The spine is enclosed within a resilient body forming a medial region and first and second cantilever arms extending from opposite ends of the medial region to define a central opening between the arms in an unloaded, nominal shape. The spine is of sufficient stiffness to keep the pillow from returning from an adjusted shape to its nominal shape when unloaded. The spine may be formed of articulating links, or a malleable rod.
