Baltic Amber Amazingness from Full Moon Mothering

I had read about the benefits of Baltic Amber teething necklaces helping babies ease pain, but had never tried it on any of my children. This parenting journey has been so eye opening for us and we have come a long way on our natural living path, that amber was something I thought of only once we had our baby girl, but it wasn't until we had our newest baby boy that I decided to go ahead and try it out.

I found Full Moon Mothering on Instagram and immediately fell in love with her products (and spunky awesome self). For Christmas I was eyeing a Mama Goddess necklace and sent the link to my hubby with a wink wink, hint hint. I also asked if he could order our son an anklet. Thought I would try that out first since he was only 8 weeks and still felt so very small, like teething was so far away, ha! After connecting with Kami, it was obvious how amazing she is and how much we had in common. We also talked about creating a custom necklace for our daughter who is a spirited fire child unlike no one else. She agreed and we waited for our happy mail to arrive.

It was so sweet to gift our little man genuine Baltic Amber and I was over the moon excited when I opened my present from the kiddos and hubby. The calming amber paired with the powerful goddess was symbolic of my birth journey with all of my kids, and especially in celebration of my first homebirth as a new again Mama to my full moon baby boy. My sweet lil man went on to get his first tooth without us even noticing, seriously this amber works! And then we got our girl's custom necklace and it was obvious that amber paired with gemstones handmade with love does make a difference. For us amber has been calming and soothing and a daily dose of warmth to alleviate any cold feelings. We love our amber and love Full Moon Mothering even more for providing genuine Baltic Amber handmade from the heart.

I asked Kami to tell us more about the amazing qualities of amber and gemstones and just how they are used as natural healing remedies. Here is her response: 

"I first heard of Baltic Amber while pregnant with my daughter Claire, and admittedly I was more than a little skeptical. How could a necklace help with one of the most painful experiences of infancy, teething? It seemed too good to be true, but I kept meeting women who swore by it and even claimed to wear it themselves for the pain reducing benefits. My daughter started showing early signs of teething pain and discomfort at around 3 to 4 months and, like any first time mom, I was desperate to try anything I could to make her comfortable....and to help her get some sleep! Pain medication was out unless absolutely necessary and given how many teeth she had left to come through I saw a natural treatment as the best potential approach. I will never forget the day I put the first amber necklace on her; my husband looked at me like I had officially drank the hippy-mom-kool-aid and rolled his eyes. He quickly regretted that knee jerk reaction however, because it worked! Within a few days we saw a noticeable reduction in drool, red cheeks, and general irritation. As she grew and more teeth came in, we (would) even noticed a negative effect when we removed it for a few hours. On one particularly tiring teething day, we racked our brains about what to do for her until we realized we had taken her necklace off at the public pool the day before, and forgotten to put it back on her. She was a happier and calmer baby within hours of her necklace being back on, and my husband? He never doubted my crunchy mom ways again!

So what is Baltic Amber? The story of Baltic Amber begins approximately 40-50 million years ago, in the form of sticky tree sap running down ancient long forgotten trees, protecting them from pests, illness, infection and decay. This ancient forest is now covered by the Baltic Sea, hardening that amber resin into nuggets and washing them to shore. Baltic amber artifacts can be found all over Europe showing a rich and vibrant trading history. Indeed all forms of amber have been highly valued by society for their beauty and the belief that it harnesses the healing powers of the sun in its golden center; however it is only Baltic amber that is celebrated for its healing abilities.

Baltic amber has a rich and ancient history across the Mediterranean, throughout the Middle East, in ancient China and by the Nordic and Celt peoples alike. Baltic amber was a celebrated trade product of the ancient world, highly sought after for its beauty and known to posses healing and protective qualities. Indeed the use of Baltic amber to treat and heal various ailments dates back to ancient Greece and Rome, with records showing Pliny the Elder and Hippocrates widely prescribing and promoting its use. It would be worn on the body, burned as resin, and even drank in the form of a tincture; all attempts to harness more of its healing powers. We know now that Baltic amber reduces pain because of its naturally occurring succinic acid content, an anti-inflammatory product that is affective against teething pain, migraines, growing pains, and arthritis. When worn against the skin, the amber is warmed and releases the succinic acid into our bloodstream helping to alleviate pain and discomfort. What many write off as simple 'folk medicine' has actually been widely studied and documented by the likes of Nobel-prize winner Robert Koch and others more recently.

Baltic amber also works on an energetic level, and when working with any medicine the earth has to offer us we must respect that as well for it is a powerful gift. Baltic amber is electronegative, meaning it produces a negative ionization affect helping the body to fight off illness and infection, and restoring balance and harmony. It feels naturally warm to the touch, and when worn against the skin, brings warmth and vitality to the body during times of physical or mental stress. In Traditional Chinese Medicine amber is believed to have calming and soothing properties that help induce sleep, and a state of peace and balance. Amber is also a powerful chakra cleanser and healer, working on an energetic level to balance all chakras.

Since my daughters Baltic Amber necklace worked so well for her teething pain, I thought I would try one on myself to see if it could help with my chronic back pain. I am a crafty, do it yourself kind of person so I saw this as a fun project to do on a rainy weekend and made my own. A few months later I realized that my back had not gone out once since I started wearing it, and that I was sleeping better at night too. That was the day that Full Moon Mothering came to be, and I started making Baltic amber necklaces for babies and mom's in 2011. Since I have been making and selling these for a few years now I often get asked how to know if a necklace is genuine or not? Due to the popularity and high demand for Baltic amber, the market has been flooded with counterfeits that can be hard to tell apart from the real thing. To those unfamiliar with the unique characteristics of amber, a polished amber bead can be hard to tell apart from a plastic bead. The best way to know for sure is to test with fire. Baltic amber has long been used as incense in many religious ceremonies and churches, when exposed to flame an amber bead should slowly smoulder, not burn and melt, and smell like pine resin. (It) If it melts and smells like burnt plastic you know you have a fake. An easy way to avoid impostors is to ask if the amber is Baltic amber, ask the shop owner what part of the world their beads come from. I order all of my beads direct from Lithuania and perform random batch tests to ensure continued authenticity.

The other question I am often asked is one of safety. Many parents naturally worry about anything being worn around a child's neck, and also the threat of the small beads themselves. A Baltic amber necklace is threaded on silk thread, hand knotted in between each bead and the clasp used is a plastic screw clasp. In the event of a snag or pull the necklace will break under pressure (likely at the clasp) and you will only loose one bead  and not scatter the entire string all over the house. The beads themselves are smaller then commonly used on an adult necklace and therefore less likely to pose a threat. Of course a child should still never be left unsupervised with a necklace on, and many parents will choose to wrap it around their ankle under a sleeper at night time for extra caution and safety.

Gemstones are a wonderful addition to the natural beauty of Baltic amber. The warm amber colours against the rich hues of gemstones such as turquoise, amethyst, and rose quartz create a unique look, and by adding these gifts from the earth I can create pieces that will also help to soothe troubled spirits, alleviate depression, help with headaches, night terrors, grief and more. Words cannot describe how much joy I get from making Baltic amber necklaces and seeing them worn by mothers and children alike. Handling the healing amber and the soothing gemstones, the rhythm of the stringing and knotting, the thought that goes into each design....it's meditative mental floss for me. I send them off into the world full of my love and energy, knowing they will make a mothers day that much easier and prettier too!

Teething does not have to be a time of intense pain and discomfort! Your child will be cutting teeth well into their second year of life, and daily doses of pain killers can have a negative impact on the health of such a young body. We of course want our children to get the best start in life, physically, mentally, and emotionally so why not try a natural approach first? With such a rich history of use, Baltic Amber is a tried and true method of helping your little one through the many discomforts of teething. That necklace does not stop working once all the milk teeth are in though, you can continue to use it to help promote sleep, sooth growing pains, and promote overall health and vitality! Baltic amber is a gift from the earth, carried to us on the loving arms of the ocean, naturally made and safe to use on the entire family!"

To order your own genuine Baltic Amber necklace from Kami visit Full Moon Mothering online. And, now through May 15, 2014 save 10% by using coupon code EcoWomb10. She also sells some awesome essential oils and does placenta encapsulation as well as placenta keepsake necklaces. Check it out! (EcoWomb10 coupon code only valid on amber necklaces, though). Thanks Full Moon Mothering for your introduction to genuine Baltic Amber and for putting so much love into all of your products!