Jewelry celebrating motherhood and baby keepsakes are nothing new, from locks of hair and lost teeth to baby blankets and first shoes.

Breastmilk jewelry is a keepsake such as this, symbolic of the closeness and intimacy of the breastfeeding bond between mother and child, and a celebration of the amazing feat that you’ve accomplished.

Whether it’s a gift from a husband to a wife, mother to mother, mother to child, or as a memento of a lost life, our breastmilk jewelry treasures cement a time that will too soon pass. At KeepsakeMom, our goal is to create unique and personal pieces, beautiful symbols of an even more beautiful experience, that you will have and cherish for the rest of your life, and that you can pass down to your children.

In 2004, I graduated from medical school and emigrated from Ukraine.

With an interest in medicine and my medical and health sciences background, I became a diagnostic medical sonographer, working in ultrasound. My favorite part of the job was looking at the developing babies and seeing the excitement of the expecting mothers.

Seasoned mothers told stories about sibling interactions and breastfeeding challenges, while first-time moms wondered what their new lives would be like. I couldn’t wait to have children of my own and experience it firsthand.

When our first child was born, it was everything I expected. Breastfeeding was a bliss, producing an incredible feeling of calmness, joy and bonding that I had never experienced before.

But then things changed. After two months, my breast milk diminished to nearly nothing overnight, for no reason that the doctors could explain. It was a terrible and scary time because my baby wouldn’t take a bottle. I tried everything, even emergency visits. I resorted to using a syringe to put milk near my nipple, but my son wanted no part of it. The doctors all told me that he would eventually eat, but that didn’t make me feel any better, because it was just not happening. I spoon-fed my child with only marginal results. Luckily, the doctors gave me a medicine that increased my milk production, and I was soon breastfeeding once again.

But it was this early scare that made me realize how much I wanted to continue to breastfeed.

Growing up, I was always interested in beads and sparkly things and remember spending hours playing with my mother’s costume jewelry.

This fascination with all things sparkly never left me, and I went from playing with jewelry as a child to making jewelry for myself to wear as an adult.

Working with acrylic resin, precious and semi-precious metals, and stones and crystals, I’ve been handcrafting my own jewelry for over 15 years, creating unique and personal pieces for myself, my family, and my close friends.

Seven years ago, when I was breastfeeding our second child, I was introduced to breastmilk jewelry. A lady was adding breast milk to acrylic resin, creating breastmilk stones, and she had been doing this for over 10 years.

I was fascinated by this. As a nursing mother, I knew the importance and deep significance of breastfeeding, and how challenging it can be. I started playing with my milk, reducing it, trying different techniques to neutralize it, and mixing and casting the dried milk with acrylic resin to create breastmilk stones.

Through trial and error, I perfected the breastmilk curing process, and began crafting beautiful breastmilk jewelry, individually and by hand, first for myself and then, through word of mouth, privately for friends and acquaintances.

Fast forward to today. I’ve been handcrafting KeepsakeMom breastmilk jewelry commercially now for over five years. I am thankful for how the process has allowed me to combine my passions of being a breastfeeding mother, jewelry maker, and scientist to create memories for families worldwide.

I believe in and support breastfeeding and the bond it creates between mother and child and the role that it plays within the entire family.

Preserving memories of this sweet time for all mothers – those who were successful, others who struggled like me, and for those whose children were with their parents for only a short amount of time – has been a privilege, and I look forward to working with more parents and hearing the stories of the impact breastmilk jewelry has made in their lives.

Interview with Anna – eCommerceNext