Fave Friday: Amber Anklets - and GIVEAWAY

Gavin and Natalie sporting their anklets

I’m a believer. I really am.

A month ago I strapped a beautiful soft yellow amber anklet on my son. And now I’m shouting from the rooftops: It works! It works!

Let me back up a couple months. I first heard about amber teething necklaces from a local baby boutique, Pout. They had just started selling the necklaces because so many mothers were asking about them. See, apparently babies all across Europe have been wearing these necklaces for years. When warmed against the skin, the Baltic amber releases an oil that relieves pain and inflammation. In other words, it’s like getting all of the benefits of some lovely baby ibuprofen, without having to take the medicine.

Heck, I thought. I’m game.

See, teething is brutal for Gavin. He’s in so much pain for weeks, sometimes months before a tooth finally pushes through. It makes my mellow boy oh so crabby, to the point where he throws himself to the ground over the silliest things. And he bites. His friends at school.

So I bought one of the necklaces. When I started thinking more about choking hazards – and when Gavin actually started choking himself by trying to pull it off – I balked. I tried looping it twice around his ankle, but it didn’t fit.

Not ready to give up, I kept looking. My sister eventually found adjustable anklets online. I ordered one up and haven’t removed it from Gavin since – expect for baths. He wears it tucked in his sock day and night.

The result?

Oh. My. Gosh.

Seriously.

Two and a half weeks into the anklet, he was nothing but a charmer. Very few tantrums. We could hardly tell he was cutting his last two molars.

Admittedly, the past week has been worse. As the teeth are finally making their break through, he’s one sad boy. But…not nearly AS sad. We’re down from maybe a dozen meltdowns a day to one or two, with no biting at school. This week is the ultimate test on the anklet, really. And I’d say it’s pulling its weight.

I keep thinking maybe I’m missing something. Maybe I want it to work so badly to work that I’m ignoring things. But…if you’ve been around a two-year-old, you know how hard it is to ignore all-out tantrums.

And you can’t have a placebo effect if you’re not the one taking the placebo, right?


OUR WEE FAMILY'S FIRST GIVEAWAY

Now for the fun part! Because of my love of these anklets - and desire to share them with my readers - I've partnered with Inspired by Finn to host an amber anklet giveaway. Here's how it works:

1. Leave a comment on this post by 5 p.m. Friday, April 9.
2. I'll randomly draw the name of a winner that evening and contact her/him.
3. The winner will receive free amber anklet, or any other jewelry item 16 inches or smaller, from Inspired by Finn.

In addition, everyone receives a 20 percent discount on anything in the store. Use the code BLOG68 when checking out at Inspired by Fin.

Good luck!