Breast Milk Jewelry

Why Breast Milk Jewelry / Our Story

    We see the intrinsic beauty of how our mama bodies were created to nourish and sustain our little ones. While we recognize everyone has a different journey in motherhood it is our goal to honor the many hours dedicated to the labor of love that breastfeeding is. My personal journey of getting to breastfeed my two kids fully was one of blood, sweat and tears but also one I cherish deeply. Both of my kids were born premature at 31+5 weeks resulting in the underdeveloped ability to suck, swallow and breathe for breastfeeding or bottle feeding. While living in the NICU, the babies began their feedings of my pumped breastmilk through a G-Tube until they grew stronger to try breastfeeding and bottle feeding which took many weeks of waiting... and full time pumping. Believe it or not, it's harder for a premature baby to become fully breastfed and is easier for them to bottle feed as they don't expel as much energy to do so. They get tired and sleepy at the breast and sometimes need extra breathing support after a session. So at the beginning of their lives, this results in a lot of pumping and bottle feeding and supplementing the rest through a G-tube. In order to come home from the NICU, a baby needs to be off the G-Tube (unless in a more dire situation) and able to take 85% of their feedings by mouth. So when each of my kids finally came home after two months in the NICU, I would breastfeed them a few sessions a day until they got sleepy, then supplement the rest with a bottle that I had pumped after the previous feeding. These are called triple feedings and it was A LOT of work. It took me 6 months to get my first born to full time breastfeeding and 4 months to get my second born. We worked REALLY hard. Breast milk jewelry came out of the desire to honor this journey in my own life. Specifically made from my second born's milk. Through our experience in breastfeeding I was able to advocate for us more, knew the hard work it would take that second time around, and made a goal to make it 1 full year of breastfeeding, which we did and I'm so proud! Now I have a piece of breastmilk jewelry that I wear almost everyday to represent that journey. It is our goal to honor the unique story that each mama has through this line we've created! 

FAQ's:

What is Breast Milk Jewelry?

Breastmilk jewelry is created by preserving liquid breastmilk into a powder form, then mixed with a hardener solution to create a stone which is then set into a piece of jewelry and worn as a keepsake.

 

How do I send in my Breast Milk?

We ask that 1 oz of breastmilk is mailed to us after an order is placed online. We ask that it is double bagged in milk storage bags, labeled with your first and last name (as appears on the online order). The milk bags do not need to be refrigerated and can go in a padded envelope mailer and be be sent to:

522 N Plum St.

Lancaster, PA 17602 

If your breastmilk is frozen, we ask that you remove about 1 oz from the bag and thaw it before sending it in. We can also use milk that has gone bad, in other words you can't feed it to your baby anymore (It was in the fridge or freezer for too long and you would otherwise throw it out if not used for a bath) as long as there is no visible mold growing in it.

We will return any extra milk that is sent in. 1 oz of milk is to make sure we have enough to work with as it will make several stones for you to pick from for the jewelry piece. Any extra stones not used in the piece will also be sent to the customer along with the finished jewelry piece to use incase anything happens to the stone in the jewelry. 

 

How much breastmilk is in the jewelry?

Out of the 1 oz of milk that we ask customers to send in, we only use a fraction in the final jewelry piece. We want to make sure we have enough to work with as 1 oz will make several stones for you to pick from for the jewelry piece. Any extra stones not used in the piece will also be sent to the customer along with the finished jewelry piece to use incase anything happens to the stone in the jewelry. The preserved milk in powder form is mixed with a hardener to create a breast milk stone. So the amount of breastmilk per stone is probably about half the size of a full stone. 

 

How do I care for my breast milk jewelry?

Though we have not been able to conduct an experiment to analyze the long term effects of a breast milk stone being in water, we still recommend removing the jewelry before showers and swimming. We also recommend removing the jewelry before applying lotion and perfume to avoid the build up of dirt and grime on the jewelry.

The best way to clean the breast milk stone is to wipe it with a soft & dry cloth. To clean the rest of the jewelry, we recommend using some dish soap on a tooth brush and scrub all around the jewelry, doing your best to avoid the breast milk stone. Then quickly rinse the jewelry under water (avoid the breast milk stone if possible) and wipe dry with a soft cloth. Our Botanical Jewelry Cleaner is also available for purchase in our shop and cleans 14k gold breast milk jewelry well by following the same instructions listed above.

 

How can I be sure the jewelry is my breast milk is mine and not someone else's?

We ask that breast milk sent in to us is clearly labeled with the customer's name as it appears on the online order. We will double check that the names match before beginning the stone making process. We will put completed stones inside bags with the customer's name on it and then staple the bag to the order form. It is our number one goal to ensure everything stays organized from the beginning to the end of the process.

 

Will the breastmilk ever go bad in the jewelry?

The short answer is no! We can use milk that has already gone "bad" as long as there is no visible mold or anything in the milk. Milk does not need to stay refrigerated when sent to us for this reason. We preserve the breast milk by adding a preservation powder to it and then heating it up to get rid of any bacteria. After this step is complete the milk is in powder form and then sealed in a hardener to create the stones. Once in this state, the consistency of the contents of the stone will not change.