With Mother’s Day just two weeks away, it’s time to start last minute gift shopping for items to arrive in time to celebrate your mamas (or other mama-figures in your life). Keep reading for some ideas for gifts that won’t disappoint.



Jewelry is often a go-to when it comes to gifts for women, but my thoughts are that they sound have some particular meaning, especially if you’re gifting someone who already has lots of jewelry or prefers minimal pieces. Some pieces I find to be really fun or meaningful are:

• a custom name necklace - it could mama/mother/mom/etc or kiddo’s name
• another custom piece like these fun ones from Baublebar
• this custom name ring (see the name necklace for notes)
• fine jewelry stores or even box stores have premade pieces engraved or created with “mom” language and could be a quicker jewelry route 

For newer moms, or at least those still holding onto their kid’s clothes, I’m obsessed with these custom pieces off Etsy. I ordered around 10 tops from this shop for O’s second Christmas and they’re still holding strong. They’re so special and sweet, and the shop owner was so helpful and easy to work with.

 

Breastfeeding is an incredibly special journey.

And a journey it is for sure. For more than 14 months, I had such a strong love/hate relationship with that journey. On one hand, my body was providing nourishment for this tiny human I made from scratch. On the other, it was time consuming, physically and emotionally draining, and total hell on my blood sugar.

I was an exclusive pumper for about 10 months, and had to begin supplementing with formula, then at 12 months, with whole milk. In the hospital after she was born, I had thought she was latching but we quickly realized she wasn’t getting much and was so hungry. So instead of feeding at the breast, we found that pumping worked best for both me and baby.

I wouldn’t say I was an oversupplier, but I definitely produced more than expected. As both a type 1 diabetic and a person with a thyroid condition, I was told I likely wouldn’t be able to produce much milk. But honestly, if I’d kept pumping every three hours all day, every day, and through the night, I would have absolutely been an oversupplier.

I did at one point have a freezer supply, but as I stopped pumping overnight, and moved to pumping every four hours, I was producing just enough milk.

But it was so exhausting. The process of literally being milked over and over again, cleaning pump parts nonstop, and just generally being stuck into this routine of something that was unenjoyable and could be incredibly unpleasant at times - it was all too much. I was always overstimulated. I was tired.

But I was so proud to be producing nourishment, something that so many women aren’t able to experience.

It’s an odd feeling to be so grateful for something and simultaneously just want it to end. And that thing coming to an end came with a whole other slew of emotions. I was so sad for it to be over.

So, prior to this experience, I would’ve absolutely found it weird and maybe disgusting to have a piece of jewelry made from literally a bodily fluid. Instead, having gone through that experience, I wanted something to commemorate this experience I may never have again.

I found several DIY brands of to make your own breastmilk jewelry but I really wanted something that felt finer, that could be an heirloom piece for years to come.

I found Milk Couture Co, and reached out to the owner and jeweler, Cait, to discuss what I was wanting. We discussed a few different options and she answered my million and one questions, so I was able to make sure I was ordering a piece I really loved.

I scoured the site for literal weeks before deciding on a piece. I knew I wanted a ring in solid gold, but there were so many beautiful options. I found that I kept going back to the Goodnight Moon ring, over and over again. Maybe it’s because my daughter was really loving that book at that time, or maybe it was the simple, timeless silhouette, but I ended up choosing that one because it was the one I looked at the most. And I think it’s a pretty perfect piece. I like that you can even choose between bezel sizes. I ended up going with the 8x10. It may be the one thing I would’ve done differently if I ordered it again from scratch. I have pretty chunky fingers, and the 8x10 is gorgeous, but I wouldn’t have regretted the larger 10x14 size that I was worried initially would be too big (it wouldn’t have). I’m certainly glad I didn’t go with the smaller 6x8 option.

The color green is significant to our daughter, so I knew I wanted to incorporate that into the stone. I didn’t love the way that the November citrine birthstone would look in a milky setting, so I ruled that out pretty quickly. Cait and I talked about different dried flowers, fruits, and vegetables that we could incorporate into the piece, but overall decided to go with the beautiful and subtle crushed peridot.

But I also just adore my sweet girl’s curls and wanted to add locks of her hair to the piece, too.



This is what I sent over as an example of what I was wanting:




This is what I got:



I’m just super thrilled with this piece. It gives me this precious piece of my life to hold onto in such a tangible way, which is just so, so special. I’m glad I went with Milk Couture Co. Cait was really just so easy to work with, and I ended up with this piece of jewelry I’ll treasure forever.

 

To be honest, changing diapers was one of the things I was most terrified of when thinking about becoming a mommy. There are many other things that worry me constantly when it comes to my daughter’s health and wellbeing, but before she was here, I was just convinced that I wouldn’t be able to change diapers, especially dirty diapers. But now, I hardly even smell her dirty diapers and I’m just happy to know she’s using the bathroom because that means she’s eating and getting her nutrients.