Do you Need a Booby Beads Nursing Necklace?
You’re a loving mom. You read all the right books before having your baby. You play with, sing to and love on your little miracle constantly. You may even be trying to breastfeed. The American Academy of Pediatricians supports you with its recommendation of “exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months and support for breastfeeding for the first year (as solids are also introduced) and beyond as long as mutually desired by mother and child.” However, according to the Child Trends Data Bank paper on breastfeeding, in 2003, while 71% of mothers started out trying to breastfeed, only 36% were still nursing at 6 months and a mere 17% were breastfeeding at 12 months.” Why the drastic drop? One of the many reasons is that as those once helpless infants gain control of their hands, it gets trickier to breastfeed. Like you, these moms know the vast benefits to baby and mom from breastfeeding, so why do so many quit before “it’s time”? Many moms of older babies and toddlers complain of their children raising mom’s shirt, exposing her breasts to passersby at the park, tugging at the other breast with the free hand, poking Mom’s belly button or scratching her side. It can be difficult to position your baby and breast with one hand and play guard with the other hand – when you’d really just like to read that magazine article or relax in the warm breeze on the park bench while you nurse your little one.
What to do?
Babies learn about their world by using all of their senses. When it comes to nursing, nothing changes. Being natural multi-taskers, you may be amazed that your little pal can nurse with his mouth while scratching your side with his right hand and poking your belly button with his left. Ouch! Time to trim the fingernails! If you’ve run out of hands trying to keep your little one on task, you might find success with a nursing necklace. A what? Yep, a nursing necklace, originally designed to wear while nursing to keep baby’s hands busy, but many bottle-feeding moms wouldn’t feed the baby without it.
Nursing necklaces, known by many names, like the whimsical, Booby Beads, hold beads in a variety of colors, shapes and patterns. A nursing necklace with contrasting color patterns are great for a young infant’s developing eyesight. Also available in several fun styles and even with bigger, bolder beads for toddlers, or customized your nursing necklace to your liking, mothers are sure to find something to suit their children’s likes!
Several moms recommend getting more than one nursing necklace to switch out and keep interest high or to keep in different spots – one in your nursing spot, one nursing necklace in the diaper bag for outings and another to rotate through the lineup. A nursing necklace is a great gift to be worn by family, friends and caregivers who bottle-feed the child. Without saying a word, your child will know it’s time to eat by seeing you put the nursing necklace on and when these days pass, you’ll have a sweet remembrance for your child’s baby book.
Safety note: Remember to always reserve the use of a nursing necklace for eating time with adult supervision.
Gina Moore, a.k.a. Mommy Nature, is a teacher by training and a mom of (soon-to-be) three by luck. She has 13+ years of experience raising and educating children and now stays home with her belly-button-poking-nursing toddler while running www.mommynature.com.
Please Note: As confident as I am about my necklaces, everyone should be aware of the possibility or rare, unforeseen accidents. No child should be left unsupervised with any type of jewelry because of the risk of possible strangulation or choking. ALWAYS use supervision when using your Booby Beads. Booby Beads & Michelle Herzog are not liable for any unforeseen accidents! |
