Monday, March 7, 2011

Baltic Amber Teething Necklaces: My Report

A couple weeks ago the Baltic amber necklaces I ordered from Hazelaid arrived in the mail.

Our girls were having a really hard time with teething. It seemed like they were popping teething tablets like candy and being dosed with ibuprofen every.single.day. 2-3 times a day!

Of course I didn't want the girls to be uncomfortable, but I also didn't love medicating them so much. I'd read a lot about using Baltic amber necklaces for teething pain, and finally decided to give it a whirl.

I figured---with all we were spending on ibuprofen---we had nothing to lose!

Four days after they arrived, I mentioned that I had noticed a decreased need for teething tablets and ibuprofen. I wanted to give it more time, before I had an official opinion about them.

Now I can say with confidence, I'm ready to report!
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Since their arrival, the girls have worn them around the clock, taking them off only for baths.

Brynne has two pointy canine teeth thisclose to popping through. Her gums are very swollen and bumpy as she is also cutting her one-year molars.


Hadley had one tooth pop through, and is working on two more.

All that crazy, uncomfortable tooth growing is going on, and you know something? You can hardly even tell!

We've used ibuprofen a few times since we got the necklaces, and we've used teething tablets only slightly more than that.

Hadley typically runs a low-grade fever while she's teething. Her temp, since we got the necklaces, has been a balmy 98.3 degrees.
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To all you skeptics, I will say this: I was skeptical.

I had no idea how a necklace was going to help with teething pain, but I was desperate open-minded enough to give it a shot, and I'm so, so glad that I did!

The amber is worn against the skin, causing natural oils, with succinic acid in them, to be absorbed into the skin. Succinic acid is the magic ingredient that has anti-inflammatory agents and is a natural pain reliever. The Milk & Butter amber has the highest levels of succinic acid. When I was ready to order, they were out of stock, so I went with the next best, which is Lemon.

The proof is in the pudding for me. I'm totally sold on these necklaces--they work, or at least help out a ton!

I've had a few people question me about the safety of leaving them on the girls all the time. I will say three things about that:
  1. Each bead is individually knotted, so if the necklace breaks, beads won't spill out everywhere for them to choke on or ingest.
  2. The necklaces aren't long enough for them to get into their mouths. Hazelaid recommends 12 inch necklaces for 0-3 years. If you're really uncomfortable with necklaces, they have bracelets and anklets too.  
  3. The girls really don't mess with their necklaces. The stones should be against the skin to work, so they are often tucked inside the shirt they are wearing.  
If you have any questions---feel free to ask me, or go to Hazelaid's website. You can read more about how the amber works, check out sizing and read testimonials from lots of other people who think this Baltic amber stuff is pretty cool too.

Also--if browsing turned to buying, "like" Hazelaid.com on facebook. They often list discount codes that you can apply to your order.

*Hazelaid did not ask me to write this--and I am getting absolutely nothing from them for doing so. It was the company I placed my order with---they have great customer service, a great selection of products to choose from, and I couldn't be happier with the necklaces!


14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I linked over to your blog from their facebook page but will add I love ours for our little guy! I forgot it for a few days and my daycare lady asked if I'd please put it back on him! I KNOW that she and my husband were super skeptical and went along with my just to humor me. I've rarely had to give him anything else since we started using it and he's 10 months old! He's had it since he was about 4 months. He still drools and chews on his fingers but very little ibuprofin...like maybe 3 or 4 times!

Heather G

Anonymous said...

I too came from FB. I love your review and we LOVE our amber necklaces! Currently, my 2 year old AND my 7 year old wear them. My 7 year old (late teether) is just now cutting her last set of molars and she has done her own experiment. She went for 2 weeks without her necklace and could not wait to get it back on!! She INSISTS that it helps with the pain of cutting teeth. Great news for me since I'm very conservative when it comes to medication. Plus, the necklaces are just so darn cute! :0)

Prayer said...

How totally cute! love the little necklaces. Super cute twins!



Regards,
Tiffany @ Prayer Necklace

Once Upon A Time said...

Sam and Anna are getting their necklaces on Wednesday for a birthday gift. It's been hard to wait! I got mine from Inspired By Finn when they were 50% off on Babysteals, although I had considered getting them for a while before that. I also got one for myself (I've had back chronic neck pain since I went back to work), and I can happily report it definitely works for adults too!

nina laughlin said...

Julia, thank you for this write up! I just ordered a necklace. With four children, I have never tried this and I am so excited about trying something new that isn't ibuprofen or teething tablets! All of our children have a hard time with teething so thank you for the suggestion!

Twinside Out said...

I am so glad that the necklaces helped! I don't like to medicate too much either, so I am excited that there are other options. Definitely going to order two of these! Thanks for sharing your experience.

Alice H said...

I just placed an order for a Hazel-Amber necklace. Am interested to see if the combo works :)

nina laughlin said...

Julia, thank you for this write up! I just ordered a necklace. With four children, I have never tried this and I am so excited about trying something new that isn't ibuprofen or teething tablets! All of our children have a hard time with teething so thank you for the suggestion!

Anonymous said...

I too came from FB. I love your review and we LOVE our amber necklaces! Currently, my 2 year old AND my 7 year old wear them. My 7 year old (late teether) is just now cutting her last set of molars and she has done her own experiment. She went for 2 weeks without her necklace and could not wait to get it back on!! She INSISTS that it helps with the pain of cutting teeth. Great news for me since I'm very conservative when it comes to medication. Plus, the necklaces are just so darn cute! :0)

baby amber necklaces said...

looks lovely, but do they really help?

Julia said...

These have helped my girls a ton! My daughter, Brynne has 16 teeth! She's cut at least four of those this month. I've only had to use ibuprofen a few times. Definitely worth it!

Anonymous said...

Many thanks.

Melissa Ann said...

I'm getting one for Sedryn now. It is the tooth that's causing the nursing strike... ug... He's as doped up as he can be without being on both IB and Tylenol at the same time... but only b/c I don't have Tylenol in the house atm!

MilkyHeart said...

I highly recommend getting an Amber necklace! It helped me and my kids a lot! They would stay calm and would not stress around about the pain they felt before the necklaces!