If you're like most parents, you dread the moment your baby starts teething: the pain, fussiness, and general uneasiness. You'd do anything to relieve your baby's discomfort and see him or her smile again. There are many teething medicines on the market but with so many recalls and dangerous ingredients even among some of the natural remedies, what's a parent to do? There is hope! Enter Baltic amber teething jewelry.
The Baltic region contains 80% of the world's amber and Baltic amber is the most prized amber in the world. Baltic amber is the fossilized resin from pine trees that grew in the Baltic region about 45 million years ago. Amber is a warm to the touch gem and, when worn against the warmth of your skin, it releases healing oils. These oils contain succinic acid. Baltic amber contains a higher amount of succinic acid than any other amber in the world and that is why it is so highly prized. Succinic acid is a natural analgesic (pain reliever) and also has anti-inflammatory properties and has been used in Europe as a natural teething remedy for centuries. Baltic amber can also be used by adults and also helps with strengthening the immune system, restoring energy,maintaining wellness, and reducing chronic inflammation. Baltic amber can also be used to help with anxiety, depression, relieve stress and help maintain emotional health.
Traditionally, babies wear amber teething necklaces around their neck for teething. However, Daniel is really curious and just has to touch everything so my husband and I were really worried about putting a necklace on him and were glad to find that an anklet can be a good alternative. There are many people out there selling fake amber so I must tell you what happened to us. We went to a festival and there was a man who was selling loose amber beads, amber chunks with inclusions, and a few necklaces. He recommended that we buy 12 polished beads at $2 each to make Daniel an anklet and even threw in some stretchy string for free. Daniel had seemed really uncomfortable with serious teething symptoms so we were really excited and did as he said. When I tried to make the anklet, I realized I did not have enough beads, the stretchy cord would not work and I had no idea what I was doing so I did some research online. I found that we paid way too much for the beads and I could have gotten a necklace or anklet for that price or even cheaper. I also came across a few posts on how to tell if the amber is real or fake and found that my beads were fake! I was very angry but the festival was over and nothing could be done.
A few tests to determine whether your amber is real are: Put it in a bowl of 1 part salt to two parts water. Real amber floats in salt water. However, my fake amber passed this test. rub it in between your hands. Real amber becomes really warm when you do this but this test is highly subjective. Wet a cotton swab with nail polish remover and swab a bead with it. Real amber will not be affected but fake amber will melt. This is what happened with my fake amber beads. The Inspired by Finn anklet I got for my first son survived this test of authenticity. We now use necklaces from there as well but I've never tested them since I trust the company.
A few tips for buying amber:
-Make sure you are buying from a trusted source. There are many fakes on Ebay and similar websites. Go with recommendations from friends and look for companies that can provide a certificate of authenticity.
-The lighter colored beads contain more succinic acid than the darker ones. The lighter the color, the better.
- Make sure the company you are buying from takes appropriate safety measures when making jewelry for babies such as having a knot in between each bead to prevent the beads from going everywhere if the necklace or anklet were to break, an easy to open clasp to prevent strangulation, etc.
- Make sure that you measure your baby's neck before placing your order. You don't want the necklace to be too long or it can become caught on things and become a strangulation risk.
- Always supervise baby while wearing amber jewelry.
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