Breastfeeding bracelets – A stylish jewellery accessory to help keep track of your baby’s breastfeeding routine

As a new mother you’ll have enough to think about without trying to remember what time your baby had his or her last feed and which breast you should offer first at the next feed. This is where the breastfeeding bracelet can help, it’s a simple and stylish piece of jewellery which you can use to:

• Keep a record of the time your baby last had a feed
• Remind you which breast you fed from last time
• Mark what time the next feed is due (useful for formula fed babies)
• Keep a count of the number of kicks/movements felt when pregnant

The early months can be a very trying time for a new mum, especially if you want to breastfeed your baby. There can be a lot of pressure from health professionals for you to breastfeed as it is believed that breastfed babies are less likely to be obese later in childhood.

Breast milk is more easily digested than formula milk and so breastfed babies may want feeding more regularly than formula fed babies. This constant demand for milk coupled with sleepless nights and all the other stresses of having a newborn baby to care for can leave mum feeling a bit scatterbrained. So how can a breastfeeding bracelet help?

In the early months a breastfeeding bracelet will really help you work out what feeding pattern your little one is settling into and will help you to learn how to distinguish between that ‘I’m hungry’ cry and other cries. To establish a good milk supply you should alternate which breast you offer first at each feed, newborns may feed little and often which makes it harder to keep track of when and which side you fed from last.
As newborns have tiny tummies they may be satisfied feeding from just one breast, but at times such as during growth spurts your little one may not be full from just one breast and may want to feed from both. This, coupled with night time feeds and lack of sleep, can make a tired mum easily lose track of which side to feed from, and you may find yourself wondering whether your baby is crying because they are hungry or for some other reason.

How the bracelet works

The breastfeeding bracelet is made with number beads from 1 to 12, representing the 12 hour clock. In between these number beads are three coloured beads, and the spaces between these beads represent 15 minute intervals. Each bracelet has a moveable charm which can be attached to the bracelet in the appropriate space after the number bead representing the current hour as shown. The bracelet can either be worn on the wrist on the side you’ve just fed from so you know to feed from the non-bracelet side next, or can be worn on the side you will be feeding from next.

The bracelets are made from memory wire which coils around the wrist and so there is no need for a clasp which makes it easy to move from wrist to wrist. The beads are secured onto the bracelet by twisting each end of the memory wire into a loop and so it is very unlikely that the beads will come off the bracelet and present a choking hazard. The star shaped charm in the picture, is placed in the position which represents 5:30. Many different charms can be used from sterling silver or silver plated to brightly coloured enamel charms. Fancy beads of different shapes and colours can be used as well as semi precious gemstone beads such as quartz or amethyst. These bracelets may also have other uses where the time or the number of something needs to be remembered; such as remembering what time tablets have been taken or using to count how many drinks you’ve had.

For more information and to view a selection of breastfeeding bracelets visit www.thejewellerygirl.co.uk