The Perfect Gift for the Woman With Babe in Arms

Every woman deserves to preserve her ‘fashion integrity’, new mom or not! Although, I regret I cannot offer many suggestions for the mother in the painting above. She appears to exist several centuries before Brangelina and their gaggle of nannies and personal chefs, and likely does not have the time to attend to thoughts of finery and whether or not her constitutional right to fashion integrity is being violated. This is a luxury solely reserved for us modern gals. And my goodness, have they never heard of diapers?– or is that what the piece of cloth sitting on this dear woman’s head is for…I shall not speculate!!!

However, what we can attend to is finding the perfect gift this holiday season for the modern gal who finds herself with babe in arms. Lean in, come a little bit closer, and I will share the secret of the perfect gift with you.

Why- it’s a necklace, of course! But, not just any necklace, I will tell you.

My love of necklaces began before I could even peer on top of my grandmother’s dresser and rummage through her jewelry box of family heirlooms and stale-scented hand creams. I began wearing necklaces as soon as I could figure out their clasps, and probably even before then, with my mother’s assistance. My favorite necklace when I was in third grade was an owl, carved out of ivory. I still have that necklace, and keep it in my home office desk drawer, as a remembrance of my childhood.

But, there comes a point in every woman’s life when her necklace-wearing habit gets challenged. Mine came with the birth of my second son. His love of necklaces came at the same time as his love of nursing. Even before he could coordinate his cherubic little hands, they flailed towards my neck, determined to get a hold of and tug the beautiful sparklies. As he became older, and stronger, he pulled one of my favorite necklaces hard enough to break the chain. I don’t know who was hurt more, me or my poor necklace. Can, we blame him? Of course not! He’s a multi-tasker after all, and surely wants to occupy his hands while eating his supper.

So what a conundrum, my son and I both loved necklaces. I loved wearing them, and he loved breaking them. There had to be a solution to this little issue of how to remain fashionable while maintaining the integrity of my dear necklaces.

And, yes, there was a solution….

Nursing necklaces!!!

After searching different websites for nursing necklaces, I settled on a beader in Michigan who will custom design necklaces according to her customer’s preferences. She uses non-toxic beads and keeps the baby’s safety in mind with each of her designs. Of course, she also keeps mommy’s preferences in mind too! Finally, a necklace that both mommy and baby can agree on.

After several email exchanges between Lori and me, we agreed on a lovely earth-tone design, and the necklace arrived only two days later. My son was absolutely smitten with the necklace. It was love at first sight! I snapped a picture of him right after unveiling the necklace. He couldn’t get his plump little hands on the giraffe beads fast enough!

Here is Lori’s website: http://www.redthorian.org/lorisnursingnecklaces/

Another thing I like about purchasing nursing necklaces from Lori is that she donates many of her pieces to women who otherwise may not be able to afford them. Now, that’s a business with heart, and I can agree with that!

This holiday season, don’t forget your girlfriends with babies. Whether their babes are nursing or not, you can bet they will be grabbing at mommy’s necklace and it’s better to give the gift of a necklace that is baby-proof and babe-friendly. Giving a nursing necklace will save your dear friend the time and expense of running to the jeweler’s to repair her favorite sparkly.

-Sarah Polyakov