I sell on ebay, Etsy, and reborns.com I try to explain the different viewpoint to anyone with negative comments…about the preemies, etc. If I get a really unreasonable and rude customer I explain and remain calm. During one dispute an ebay associate told me I had the patience of a saint. LOL Life is too short.
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Definitely umbilical cords add to the realism.
My son’s father suggested we keep the dried up stump when it finally come off of our baby. It was a giant scab! So disgusting, I wasn’t having sentimental feelings about keeping that and was glad for it to go.
I don’t remember the name of that white substance that most babies are born with. I heard that they used to use cream cheese and cherry preserves to mimic the look of freshly born babies in movies.
Did you know there are momentos for miscarriages that look like embryos and fetuses at nearly every stage? Somehow stumbled across those on Etsy.
You’re right that preemies are usually just underdeveloped and vulnerable, not sick. And I don’t see anything about your preemie reborn that makes it look like a sick baby. 
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An umbilical stump is not something I’d put in my baby’s memory box. The white coating newborns have is called vernix. It protects their skin while they’re sitting in amniotic fluid all those months.
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Me either. But he said his mom did and he tried to convince me to.
Haha, that’s awesome what the eBay associate said:) I like how you remain calm and try to explain a different point of view to those with negative comments. 
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I have seen those sculpts, I think they are fascinating. She also sells full sets to medical professionals to show all the different stages of life in utero. My mom was really into midwifery when I was growing up, and she let me look at her childbirth books from a young age since I have always loved babies. It just occurred to me that probably is a big part of why I love just born babies so much.
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My mom kept our umbilical stumps, so I kept my first kids too, but admittedly found them gross. I eventually decided I didn’t need to keep them:)
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There was an museum exhibit I saw on fetal development. At a certain age you could even see the differences in individual’s facial features. They were either actual preserved fetuses or 3-d images of them, so each one was actually a different human, not just a conceptual idea of what development might look like. It was fascinating how rapidly they went from unrecognizable blob or unknown creature to something you could see as human, unique, cute and potentially feel protective over. I spent so much time looking at all the little details.
The etsy sculpts surprised me in the way that I hadn’t realized how some people might want a physical reminder of their miscarriage even if it had been at a point where it was too early to recognize as human.
People certainly do grieve in different ways.
As far as your art goes, art can be controversial. Art provokes feelings. It’s so well meaning that you’re concerned how others are going to react to it, but you can’t control how other people view it, and how it might make them feel. You can only put it out there and know that your own intentions are positive. 
Keep up the good work!
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Yes, vernix, thank you. I couldn’t even get that answer from Alexa.
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“As far as your art goes, art can be controversial. Art provokes feelings. It’s so well meaning that you’re concerned how others are going to react to it, but you can’t control how other people view it, and how it might make them feel. You can only put it out there and know that your own intentions are positive.”
You make some very good points. Art does provoke feelings. I just hate to make anyone feel bad, but you are right, I can’t control how other people think and feel.
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My oldest grand was born at 32 weeks and turned 25 on the 14th of this month!
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