A nursing necklace is a necklace worn by the mother (and sometimes father or others) while breastfeeding and sometimes even bottle feeding a baby. When babies are young, they may want to play with their mother’s fine jewelry or fiddle with other things such as her hair and even Mom’s other nipple. A nursing necklace helps to hold the baby’s attention while he or she nurses.
As baby gets older, he may want to turn his head while nursing and look at other things around him that catch his interest, invariably taking Mom’s nipple with him – ouch! In this case, a nursing necklace is a great way to save pain and strain on the one doing the feeding.
There are a variety of nursing necklaces available for purchase online. Most are handmade by work-at-home-mothers who use the money they make from their jewelry as supplemental income. These necklaces are usually very beautiful and there are many different styles. Prices can get high, however, and some mothers cannot justify spending $40-50 on a glass or plastic bead necklace that they will not wear all the time.
The good news is that you can easily and very inexpensively make your very own nursing necklace for your baby or toddler. The nursing necklace in the photo at left is one that I made for my own baby. If I had purchased this item from another mother, I would likely have paid at least $30 for it. Because I made it myself, however, my total expense was about $8.
Beads can be a choking hazard, so you will want to make a necklace that is very strong and will not break if pulled. Rubber, leather, and leather-like cords all work very well for making necklaces that babies can tug on without breaking. You should purchase the cord first. This way you can test the beads before buying them to make sure that the holes are large enough for the cord to fit through.
Don’t use hemp or twine type cords as they will be very difficult to get through the beads and also because they can harbor germs when babies suck on them. Get a cord that is strong, thin, and stiff and preferably something that can get wet and be washed easily.
Next, purchase your beads. Many craft stores sell loose beads so you can pick and choose exactly which ones you want. Some mothers like small glass beads. I like big chunky beads that feature different characters and designs. Choose beads that will hold your baby’s attention. For health reasons, you should go with glass or glazed ceramic beads. Plastic and metal beads usually contain high amounts of lead and are not safe for babies to play with and suck on.
Each of the beads on my nursing necklace was ninety nine cents each. You can easily find beads under $1 each. Fancier beads will cost you more, but it will be worth it to have a beautiful nursing necklace that you can show off even when you are not nursing your baby.
Cut your string long enough to fit over your head so that you will not have to keep tying and retying it. If the necklace is just large enough to fit over your head, it will be the perfect length for your baby to play with while nursing. You will need to add an extra few inches to the length, however because when you knot the string, you will lose quite a bit of length and may no longer be able to fit the necklace over your head after it is finished and tied.
Arrange your beads in a row in the order that you want them on your necklace. Take the center bead, string it onto your cord, and align it right in the center of the necklace. Tie a knot in the cord directly in front of and directly behind the bead. This will keep your bead from grinding and clacking against the beads next to it. Take the next bead and place it on the cord next to the first. Continue doing this on both sides until all of your beads have been knotted onto the string.
To finish the necklace, you should tie a knot in the end of the string. A strong knot can be made by placing the ends of the cord together and looping them around into one simple knot. Test the necklace for length and make sure that it is not too long or too short. You can always start over with another piece of cord or trim the ends to make it longer. As a safety precaution, make sure that infants never wear your nursing necklace and do not allow them to play with the necklace unsupervised.
