Changing Diapers: the Hip Mom's Guide to Modern Cloth Diapering

Monday, August 8, 2011

Baltic Amber Review & Giveaway! **CLOSED**

This giveaway is now CLOSED.


We just ended another Inspired By Finn co-op last week.  So, we'll do a giveaway!  Besides, we need a giveaway to celebrate the DFW Cloth Diaper Group turning 1!!  That's right.  August 2011 celebrates our first birthday!


E wearing a 12" Earth Tones Nugget, polished,
from Inspired by Finn.
I first heard of the healing powers of Baltic Amber and Hazelwood in April of 2010 after writing a blog post about my youngest son's acid reflux.  Somehow the owner of Hazelaid found my blog and commented about the healing powers of hazlewood and how my son might benefit from it.  She even offered him a free necklace, but I was skeptical, and put it off.  After that, I started hearing about baltic amber and how it helps relieve teething pains.  Again, I was skeptical.  How in the world could a necklace ease the pain of teething and reflux? 

A few friends of mine (in real life and online) told me that they truly believed that the baltic amber helped their infants teething pains.  So I broke down and ordered one.  But I waited until E was 8 months old to put it on him.  I was nervous about him wearing a necklace, after all, wouldn't that be a choking hazard?!  It was suggested to put it on his ankle, but it never stayed on (either because it fell off or he took it off). 

But at 8 months of age, after finally finding the right medication for his reflux, he was miserable from his very stubborn teeth that were trying to (slowly) break through, I put it on him.  I trusted my friends that he would be fine wearing it.  The only time I took it off was at bath time, then it went right back on.  He even wore it at bedtime, since that is when his reflux seemed to flare up the worst (since he was laying down).  I wasn't sure if it was working, but I kept it on him in good faith.


Raw Color.

Two weeks later, E was completely off of his reflux meications and an entirely different baby!  He was happy, and didn't seem to be in constant pain (from either teething, reflux, or both).  He started playing more.  He even decided he was interested in food (real food, he wanted what we had -- nothing pureed).  We had tried since he was 6 months to offer food (homemade baby food), but he refused.  I believe that his reflux made it too painful to try to eat.

I was a baltic amber believer from that point on!  I know that hazelwood is what is supposed to help reflux, but the amber worked for E, so I kept it on him.  He is 21 months and still wears it.

I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, but earlier this year I finally bought one for myself.  I have suffered from migraines since I was in the 2nd grade.  As an adult, I have found my triggers and learned how to control them unmedicated (I was on medication for many years).  However, my allergies and sinuses are so bad that I suffered from 2-3 headaches a week (on a good week), in addition to tension headaches.  If I wasn't careful, they could quickly turn into a migraine.

Within just a few weeks of wearing my baltic amber, the headaches became less frequent.  I started having only 2-3 a month, if that.  Again, I was a believer!  I was the biggest skeptic of the healing powers of baltic amber, and now I share it with everyone I can!

Honey Round.  Polished.
Baltic amber comes in a variety of colors.  The theory is that the lighter the color, the more succinic acid is in it (which is the natural pain reliever).  However, many people have luck with the darker colors.  Raw amber is the best, since it is less "processed".  They offer semi-polished and polished, which are both quite successful as pain relievers.  The closer to the area of pain, the better.  For example, for teething pain or headaches, wear it as a necklace.  For back pain, wear it around your waist (they make them special for this).  For knee pain, wear it on the knee.  For the littlest babies, you could buy an anklet so you don't have to worry about your baby wearing a necklace.  It is recommended to wear it on the ankle during bedtime, and as a necklace when under adult supervision. 

Here is a tip on how to get the right size:  Take a string and drape it around your neck (or your child's) so that it lays where you would like the necklace to sit.  Then measure the string to determine which length you need.  For a child, the necklace should be snug, but not tight.  My youngest is now 21 months and I just ordered him a 13" (that fits a little loose).**

You can read more about the wonderful ways that baltic amber or hazelwood can help you at Inspired by Finn's website.  Inspired by Finn offers co-ops with a 25% off discount code for groups of people interested in purchasing from them.  If 15 pieces are purchased, then the co-op organizer receives a free item.  This is where the giveaway comes in!  We just closed a co-op and received a free necklace, but I do not feel right taking the free item for the Cloth Diaper Group's co-op, so it is being offered in a giveaway!


GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.


Up for grabs is this 11.5" Lemonade Raw Baltic Amber necklace from Inspired by Finn (pictured below)


11.5" Lemonade. Raw Amber.


To enter, you must be local to the DFW area, and do the following.  Please leave ONE comment per person (ex: I like the Honey Round polished. I would like to try it to help relieve my headaches.).

Winner will be drawn (via random.org) Friday, August 12, 2011 at 3:00 pm.

Winner will be announced here and on the DFW Cloth Diaper Group's Facebook page.

In ONE comment per person, please say the following:

Go to the Inspired By Finn website and comment here with your favorite item.

Also let us know (in the same comment) why you would like to try baltic amber or hazlewood (for yourself or your little one).



**These are the opinions of the author.  If you have any further questions on the use of a necklace on an infant/toddler or how to find the right fit, please contact the manufacturer.




Brenda wearing a Honey Round
Polished amber necklace.
Brenda is the founder of the DFW Cloth Diaper Group and the DFW Cloth Diaper Project.  She and her husband, Ryan, are about to celebrate their 5 year wedding anniversary!  Brenda and Ryan have 2 sons, Riley (4 years) and Elijah (21 months).  You can read more about their crazy, wonderful life at Adventure's of a Crispy Mama

59 comments:

  1. i like their earth tone nugget i would get one for my little daughter who is teething right now :(

    babydraco_18_2006 at yahoo dot com

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  2. I just got one for my LO and we're waiting for the "magic" to start. His poor teeth are really bothering him. We'd love to have another. Then I might take his and wear it myself.

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  3. I would love to win this giveaway because although we already have a Baltic Amber necklace, it's too long for my 7 month old for me to leave it on him when he's asleep or in the carseat (he can get it into his mouth)

    Samantha Powers Allison on facebook
    samantharpowers(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  4. I think it's all lovely. I would try it for it's energy enhancing properties, personally. It's hard to keep up with a toddler when you are at your best. When you aren't it's miserable. I think it's all lovely, I love amber and wood in general, so they are quite fabulous in my opinion. I do like the longer knee and back ones though.

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  5. I would love to get the raw yellow for my little man. He's beginning to teeth and he's so miserable. Nothing soothes him - he hates his chilled teether, and he constantly drops everything I give him to chew on. I've been dying to try the baltic amber, but we're so strapped for cash there's no way we can fit it into the budget.

    jillybean823(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  6. I did buy an amber necklace for my baby girl about 6 months back, but just a month or so ago, my 4 yr old daughter broke it. :( I really can't justify buying another one at the moment as summer is always tight money wise, so this would be GREAT as I know my little girl is teething at the moment. :)

    lmwestenhaver at yahoo dot com

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  7. I love the items with Jade. I'd like to try it because I've been skeptical but hear so many good things. :)

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  8. I'd like to try the sunshine, my daughter has reflux and has started teething so this would be perfect! Thanks for the giveaway!!

    njpledger2 at yahoo dot com

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  9. I think I'd try the nursing necklace for my daughter to chew on while I hold her which is all the time!!

    kstina613 at yahoo dot com

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  10. I would love to win it! We love amber. Roman is the only one that doesn't have any :(

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  11. The honey round polished amber is such a lovely color. Reminds me of my boys' hair :)

    I would love to try an amber necklace for my teething one year old. He had one but we lost it a few months ago and he had managed to damage the clasp anyway (obviously it wasn't by this company!)
    janicejolley@hotmail.com

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  12. I would like to try one of these for my new daughter, I would also like a nursing necklace.

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  13. I would love to have the amber raw color for my fourth child to be born in November. I recently have been hearing wonderful things and I am wondering where these were when my other three were younger!

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  14. I like the Tea colored amber necklace that says great for boys! I would like to try it for when my new baby (arriving any day now) starts teething.

    smoo06 at yahoo dot com

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  15. I love the raw lemonade! Corbin needs a smaller size, 11.5 would be fantastic :)
    -Tara
    teha_67@yahoo.com

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  16. I love the light green/black round for my teething daughter. I had an amber necklace for her & of course lost it right before she started teething!

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  17. I love the raw lemonade! We could benefit from having a new one. The Gnome has had his on constantly since we got it. We don't even take it off at bath time LOL.

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  18. I would love to win this to try the semi polished. We have a polished one, and it helped Rowan cut his first 2 teeth :)

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  19. The butter round is my favorite! I know of the power, totally helps Beanie's gums. Ours is one that has the more jagged stones, and they poke her when we nurse.

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  20. I hated that I didn't do this with my eldest, but I do want to try it with my little one. I don't know how I missed the co-op update! I would love to try the bracelet for myself to relieve back pain and definitely want to try the baltic amber honey round polished necklace for baby T.

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  21. I love the "4 different round" necklace! I would like to win one for my 3 month old for teething. I'm skeptical of it, but keep hearing such good things about baltic amber that I want to give it a try!

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  22. I love the raw lemonade necklace. I've been thinking about trying one for myself to relieve headaches and later for my daughter as she starts teething.

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  23. I like the sunshine necklace. My LO has been in a state of constant teething for about 5 months (he is almost 9 months old and has 7 teeth!). He also still spits up quite a bit and we tried hazelwood and it did nothing for him :(

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  24. I like the semi polished tea amber necklace. My little one is teething like crazy! I tend to be a skeptic as well, but I am intrigued and interested in trying/testing amber out.

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  25. I would love to win this!!! I have really been wanting to try one of these on my son, but haven't yet. I love the lemonade color!

    hannah8217@yahoo.com

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  26. I like the raw colored teething for my son. But I like the honey round polished for myself... I bet it would help with my neck pain!

    txkay@ymail.com

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  27. I loved the maple syrup cluster. I have an autoimmune disease that is attacking my muscles and I have chronic pain. I also have severe muscle fatigue. I am hoping to find more holistic pain management ad I have taken some pretty harsh drugs. I have had to stop bfing in order to get back on drugs because I was getting really weak again. I am anxious to learn more.
    Karenkristo@yahoo.com

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  28. First time I saw amber necklaces was at a LLL meeting, I was still pregnant at that time so I didn't think much of it. A couple of months ago one of my friends mentioned her little one having teething pains and suddenly remembered of the amber necklaces, she got it for her little girl and she saw immediate improvements. Now of course I'm a believer, I've seen my little girl constantly having her hands in her mouth and I'm pretty sure teething is starting. I would love to have one for her really soon to help her sail thru teething, my favorite one is the Sunshine color!!

    lindakgarcia@yahoo.com

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  29. I like the 4 different round Baltic amber necklace for my 10 month old. He is getting in six teeth right now so I would like to see if it would help him. I have never used a amber necklace so I am kinda skeptical too. I would love to try it to see if it would help with his teething pain, his asthma, and his acid reflux. I would also like to see if it boost his immune systems because he has been sick alot.

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  30. I just got one at my baby shower...the sunshine one. So pretty. My sister has used them with great luck. I would like to win and try with my older girls.

    keriladams@gmail.com

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  31. I'd like to win this giveaway because: what an adorable way to combat teething pain. I really like the Honey round and so does my almost 6 month old gummy smiler!

    Louise
    tottoro26@live.com

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  32. I bought some in the sale, and I completely forgot about including our older toddler. Of course, now he wants one! I'd love one for him. The diversity necklace would be my choice.

    I think it would've been neat to try the hazel wood for my reflux during pregnancy. If I have another, I will definitely want one of those!

    Allison
    allisonlbailey@yahoo.com

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  33. I love the Honey Round Polished necklace! I would love to try this for my LO...he sometimes has a hard time with his teeth coming in. Maybe this would have helped when he was a newborn because he spit up A LOT, but not enough to have it be any kind of medical condition like acid reflux. I hope I win!!

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  34. I LOVE Zachariah's amber necklace! Eventually, I want enough for the whole family, so it was almost impossible to choose, but if I HAD to right now, I would really love a semi-polished lemonade for myself, to help relieve shoulder pain and headaches.

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  35. Ok, to be honest when I saw this giveaway I was not going to enter. I am among the skeptics. I have a 4month old that is an early teeth'r. I will admit that no matter how safe someone says they are, I will not place anything around my child's neck. That being said, I would be willing to try an anklet to make me believe in amber :)

    teamayon@gmail.com

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  36. I had two for my girls and lost BOTH of them!! So this would help me out for sure!! I also need to get one for me and my sister, we both have migraines. Wish I would have known about the IBF coop!!

    candicehankins@aol.com

    Thanks!!!

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  37. My son has horrible leg pain at night, we bought him an amber anklet but his ankle is too small to wear it and too big to rap it around twice. I would love to win this necklace, so I can try to bring some relief to him. I wear the anklet now and it really helps with my hip pain, so I would love to see what it dies for my 4 year old.

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  38. lemonade, sunshine, butter, tea. I can't pick! Baby girl has reflux, but honestly, amber is cuter than hazel wood.

    nchernandez6 at gmail dot com

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  39. I would like to try the Raw Amber Adjustable Teething Anklet w/ Sterling Silver Clasp. My daughter is now teething age and I would like an alternative to giving her Tylenol for the pain. I have heard the amber works wonders for teething babies.

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  40. I love the hazel wood necklace with the amber chips! That's SOO cute.
    In Germany we have a long tradition of using amber necklaces on infants. But I hadn't heard about hazel until quite recently.
    With my next pregnancy I am going to try the hazel necklaces to relieve morning sickness and heartburn. How awesome if that really worked!

    marina2508@yahoo.com

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  41. I love the multi colored amber necklaces because they are just too cute, but I know the butter is supposed to work better.

    Since I know baltic amber works on my kids, I would love to try it on myself!!

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  42. I like the lemonade round polished and would like to use it for my 4 month old daughter.

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  43. I like the semi polished lemonade and I would use it for myself. As most moms I have thought about how relieve my kiddos ouches and boo-boos but I often forget about myself.

    I was actually just talking today about how I should get one for myself to see if it helps with my daily headaches.

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  44. I love IBF :) All three kids have a necklace, now Momma needs one ;) I can't settle on a color, but I love the yellow and honey rounds (if I was forced to pick.

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  45. I would love the raw amber adjustable anklet for my 6 month old son. As for myself, I love the "mixture" necklace.

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  46. I really like the Round rainbow necklace. I saw something once about cherry or something similar and loved the color however heard it doesn't have any affect or has very little. I've never used these before but would love to have one for myself to see if it could help with my allergies. If it can help with my allergies I'd be a believer and would get them for all my children as my middle child has health issues already so anything helps.

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  47. The cider and the lemonade necklaces are my favorite for our 7-month old son. I'm really glad to read your review. I've never felt comfortable with any teething meds like Orajel or Tylenol, or even the homeopathic ones. I will definitely be ordering one and am glad to know where to shop. Thanks! We would love to be the lucky winner, too.

    Emi @ emilywynne at gmail dot com

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  48. I LOVE the raw lemonade Baltic. I would use it to provide teething relief to my baby boy and help him recover from his recent surgery. Plus, it is so cool we would start a new trend in our area.

    Brandi.johnson@att.net

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  49. I would love the raw lemonade Baltic for my son, he has all 4 canines coming in and is just miserable! :/
    Erica Osters
    Erica.Osters@yahoo.com

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  50. I would love to try the "diversity" necklace for teething. We have twin boys and this one would really be nice for a boy!

    Lasallefamily at gmail dot com

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  51. I would love the Earth Tones Nuggets or the Cognac Round for my 3 year old son. Because of changes at home, has had anxiety and truly believe in the calming effects of Baltic amber. I also wouldn’t mind trying one for myself because of the severe migraines that I suffer from almost weekly.
    My daughter has a Baltic Amber necklace for teething and I can definitely tell the difference since she began wearing it.
    Amanda ‘Vaughn’ Hall on facebook or amandahll4(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  52. I would love to try these for my families and friends who have severe migraines. After hearing of all the healing properties and having a friend who says they help with their headaches I am at least curious. I am interested in the lemonade color based on yellow being my bestfriends(who suffers from headaches) favorite color.

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  53. I love the Raw color Baltic! I wish I would have bought one when my LO was getting his first teeth, but we still have lots to go!

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