MOMMY AND ME NURSING NECKLACES™

We spoke with Raelynn, Owner of Mommy and Me Necklaces™ about her very unique sensory based products.

What was the inspiration behind the creation of your company and products?

Around 4 months old, my daughter Megan started to become increasingly distracted while breastfeeding. She would grip at my hair, jewelry, or just about anything she could practice her pincher grip on. While this behavior first seemed cute and innocent, it soon became downright painful and annoying. Not to mention, one of her favorite things to pull at was an important necklace given to me by my grandmother. The thought of another pinch and the fact that she would soon become strong enough to break my 'regular' jewelry, inspired me to create something safe and engaging for her to touch while breastfeeding. I noticed that she really like to rub her fingers over a heart pendant I wore around my necklace. The heart was encased by small prods that she loved to rub her fingers over. I soon set out on my mission to create a sensory stimulating, baby safe, and delightfully engaging way to distract my little one back towards the breast (and out of my hair!) while nursing. It took a little over a year to fully develop our product to what it is today.

Can you tell us more about yourself?

I have always been very passionate about working with children. After high school, I had no doubt that I wanted to pursue a career working with children. I received my B.S. from Texas Tech University in Child Development with a emphasis on Early Childhood Education. I obtained my teaching certificate and taught various levels of early elementary including Kindergarten through 2nd grade for the next few years until I married and had my first child. While teaching, I was really intriqued by Brain Based Learning and also how different types of sensory stimulation can effect a child's learned. I believe that many of these experiences helped me select and layout the beads I use on my necklaces to help create a more sensory rich product.

Can you tell us more about your Mommy and Me Necklaces?

While our product is known as the 'Mommy & Me Necklace", they are commonly referred to as nursing necklaces, breastfeeding necklaces, nursing beads, etc. In short, a nursing necklace is a product developed to engage baby while feeding. All babies become distracted by their outside environment while feeding. This is why even some bottle feeding moms enjoy the benefits of a 'nursing' necklace. Discreetly nursing in public can become a challenge when you have a baby who likes to play 'pop on / pop off' while feeding. If you regularly wear your baby, you may experience the same problems - a baby who loves to grab your hair and pinch your neck. Again, a nursing necklace will distract those baby hands away from you making them great for babywearing mommies too! Even though the idea of a nursing necklace is to delight baby, nursing necklaces are not a type of teething toy and should never be chewed upon or worn by baby. Our necklaces are specifically meant to be worn by caregivers, not babies.



Nursing necklaces are different from regular jewelry because they contain baby safe materials (one of our important components is using only acrylic beads) and our necklaces are strung on a very strong cording to prevent any breakage. We offer two nursing necklace styles, fun and whimsical with bright colors (our Baby Inspired Designs) or stylish and sleek, with subdued tones (our Mommy Inspired Designs), both designs are strung with the same safety precautions and also closed with a break-away closure. This break-away closure not only prevents baby from pulling too hard, but also saves the back of your necklace from any painfully strong yanks. Our company really prides itself in using sensory-rich beads, meaning we don't just use a pack of pony beads that anyone can pick up from a local hobby shop. We order from a variety of vendors and put together our baby-safe beads in a manner that encourage tactile stimulation. We also offer free personalization which adds a special keepsake element to our necklaces. Many mothers comment on how their nursing necklace turned into a special keepsake after nursing or even helped their children to learn to special their name in later years.


BABY INSPIRED MOMMY AND ME NECKLACES™ (to be worn by caregivers not babies)











MOMMY INSPIRED NURSING NECKLACES

Our Mommy Inspired nursing necklaces have advantages over a typical necklace:

• Developmentally appropriate - Contrasting textures and shapes for tactile stimulation.

• Safe bead selection - All non-toxic acrylic beads that are safe for little hands.

• Safe construction - Our guaranteed safe construction and break-away safety closure.

• Appropriately made - Lengthier than a typical necklace, yet comfortable and light.

• Fashionable - Stylish designs for mommy, simple and elegant, yet engaging for baby.

MOMMY INSPIRED NURSING NECKLACES (to be worn by caregivers not babies)










What distinguishes your products from others on the market?

At Mommy & Me Necklaces™ we want to provide you with a safely developed and well thought-out product for you and your little one. From our sensory-rich bead selection, to our one of a kind cording techniques, we always make safety and sensory stimulation our top priorities. We offer a huge selection of styles so that you can pick one that best suits your baby's personality or maybe something that is a little more subdued for your own personal style. Upon request, we are also happy to work with you to create custom designs. We've researched and developed our products for almost 3 years now, and are proud to say we are a "break-free" company. Meaning, we haven't had one break yet. If you should have any problems with your necklace, we offer a money back guarantee plus a free re-stranding policy.




PURCHASING

Please note that Raelynn is due with her second child at the end of August and will be closing her website sometime in early to mid-August; however, her retailers will be stocking the necklaces so many designs will be available through them.

Please visit www.mommynecklaces.com to purchase (they do accept overseas orders, however first check to see if you can purchase these products from a retailer in your country-see below).

Click here to find out where to buy

UK Customers can visit Sling Diva UK by clicking here

SAFETY NOTE -IMPORTANT

Mommy and Me states: "Our products should not be used as teething toys. All necklaces are a potential choking hazard, so please never allow your little one to play unsupervised with any necklace. When purchasing a Mommy & Me Necklace™ you accept responsibility for its use. We cannot be held responsible for a necklace that is not used as intended. You agree to abide by our suggested guidelines for use". Please visit this important link to view safety information."


Success Through Play™ Comments:

Mommy and Me has a fantastic website which is packed with educational info and very useful tips. Visit it by clicking here. To read how the Mommy and Me Necklaces™ support tactile exploration click here. To read about how the Mommy and Me Necklaces™ support visual development please click here. Mommy and Me offers a generous rewards program: click here for details. Our parent and baby panel were so excited when they were introduced to the Mommy and Me Necklaces™.

Our moms and dads loved the designs of the Mommy Inspired Mommy and Me and Necklaces™ and comments such as "so stylish", "gorgeous color" and "timeless" were heard frequently. The Baby Inspired necklaces drew an equally positive response: "vivid and bright", "fun color", "what cute beads", "look at the wonderful variety of shapes, colors and textures". Our test panel reported that their babies were "instantly attracted to the necklaces", which were securely worn around the adult's neck. The babies started exploring the beads with their little hands and were very interested in the designs, colors, shapes and textures of the beads. One mom commented "wow, this is fantastic, this is the first time that my baby hasn't pinched and tugged at me". A dad wore a necklace while he was carrying his baby in a sling (front position). He was amazed how the necklaces captured his baby's attention and said that it really came in handy when he was waiting in a line at a grocery store or in another stationery position when baby usually fusses.

We at Success Through Play™ are incredibly impressed with Mommy and Me's fantastic sensory based Mommy and Me Necklaces™. Our veteran engineer is very pleased with the sturdiness and design of the necklace which is "very well designed and constructed". To learn more about how a Mommy and Me Necklace™ is constructed please visit this link:

We applaud Mommy and Me for inventing such an innovative product for moms and dads which baby will love. The Mommy and Me necklaces™ will offer baby an opportunity for sensory motor exploration. The Mommy and me necklaces make a wonderful gift for new moms and dads. Since the Mommy and Me Necklaces™ require 100% adult supervision, if you decide to wear them while babywearing please consider wearing them when baby is placed in the front carry position or hip positions only. Extra care must be taken when wearing them during babywearing as baby may want to teeth on the necklace which is not safe. The ideal use of the necklaces would be during nursing/bottle feeding as baby's mouth will be occupied with the task of feeding. Many parents choose to purchase several necklaces and alternate them. You may choose to introduce different Mommy and Me necklaces™ as baby's visual and fine motor skills emerge over time. Please note, the necklaces are to be worn by adults only and are not to be given to baby's at toys. As stated previously, please be certain to read and follow Mommy and Me's guidelines to ensure safety. Highly recommended when used according to the guidelines.