I received this item at no cost to facilitate my review. All opinions and breast milk remain my own!
I always knew I would breastfeed my babies. I never knew how much I would love breastfeeding. I never knew I’d breastfeed for so long. I never knew how much the breastfeeding relationship would mean to me.
I’m nursing my second baby as I plunk away at this post, in fact. I stopped nursing Cub when he was 27 months old, and we would likely have continued a bit longer had I not gotten pregnant with his sister. Cub and I still talk a lot about breast feeding. He always wants to know who drank whose milk (that I drank milk from Popo, that Papa drank milk from Grand-Maman, and so on). Also, based on his understanding that mammals nurse their young and reptiles do not, and that he knows (much to his chagrin when he’s trying to use my pump) boys don’t produce milk, he’s also concluded he is a reptile.
I have a crystal clear memory of Cub latching on for the first time, instinctively kneading my breasts like a cat. With Little Miss it was the same. I have been extremely lucky to have had very easy breastfeeding experiences.
In the grand scheme of their lives, they will have been my nurslings for but a blink of an eye. I presume that it’s not even something they will remember firsthand. It’s also pretty unlikely they’ll want to reminisce with me about our breastfeeding relationship when they’re teenagers.
Now I have a tiny pearl that commemorates our breastfeeding bond that I can keep close to my heart even when my nurslings have left the nest.
This is my breast milk pearl made by Morgan at North Faun. That’s right: this beautiful jewel is made from MY milk.
I honestly didn’t know that breast milk jewellery was a thing until I saw Morgan’s Instagram feed. I wondered… how do I even get my milk to her? (Turns out, all I had to do was put a small amount in a breast milk bag, tape it shut for good measure, put it into another Ziploc bag, and then slip it into a small padded mailer!) Obviously, once the milk arrives at Morgan’s workshop, it’s not safe for consumption, but it’s still perfect for making jewellery! (She recently received milk all the way from Singapore—a 5-week journey—that wasn’t smelly or even separated.)
Morgan solidifies your milk with a special preservation process before she begins crafting the piece. I know that wearing jewellery made of your breast milk is not for everyone’s tastes. That’s what’s incredible about Morgan’s craft: your jewellery can be made of almost any keepsake:
- dried placenta (Granted, if breast milk jewellery isn’t for you, I suspect neither is placenta.);
- fabric from a cherished blanket or piece of clothing;
- dried flowers (The perfect way to preserve your wedding bouquet!);
- sand, crushed rocks, shells;
- baby’s first lock of hair;
- ashes… and almost anything else you can think of.
The inclusion is encased in museum-quality resin, which is treated so that the piece should last indefinitely. (You’ll want to care for your treasure according to her instructions.)
My breast milk pearl arrived like this:
I chose to add a shimmer to my milk, which is what gives my pearl such an opalescent allure:
I am completely enamored with my North Faun breast milk pearl. I do not wear much jewellery: for the past 10 years, I’ve worn the same cubic zirconia necklace (you can actually see it in my two birth photos) that my boyfriend-turned-husband gave me at the dawn of our courtship. If I’m going to wear bling, it has to mean something. This pearl is worth more to me than any precious stone: it will one day be totally irreplaceable.
The pearl itself is stunningly subtle: nobody has to know it’s made of breast milk. (But I’ll probably tell anyone who comments on it.) I expect to be wearing it for decades to come, and I’ll give Little Miss Cub her Papa’s cubic zirconia one day!
Shop & Connect
North Faun has a wide variety of pendants, rings, earrings and beads to suit your style and chosen inclusion. Check out her site and follow her on Instagram.
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