Average Price: $19.99+S/H

Availability: I have only seen these available at mommynecklaces.com, they are personalized, so it’s not generally something you’d pick up at the local baby store.

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Product Link: Doodle Dabble Nursing Necklace

A nursing necklace is one of those many things that you can’t quite see the value in before you have a baby, or when your baby is still quite young. It seems like a bit of a silly idea. Basically an odd toy to wear around one’s neck.

But then the phase comes where the baby has discovered that he lives in an interesting world with many sights to see. Sights that involve flinging the discrete cover-up blanket off at inopportune moments, sights that involve twisting his head around while nursing, to try to see the television that you’re watching. Or perhaps he’ll become interested in the skin of your chest and attempt to pry it off with his fingers. And as any mom knows, no matter how short you cut their fingernails and how closely you file them down, they’re capable of inflicting quite a bit of pain. Particularly when they gravitate toward your other nipple.

Here is where the nursing necklace comes in. The DoodleDabble nursing necklace from mommynecklaces.com is sturdily made with a break-free clasp designed to release when pulled too hard (this minimizes the risk of the necklace itself breaking and posing a choking hazard). It has large beads of varying sizes and textures, and bright colors that keep my 5 month old interested for an unusually long time.

While it can’t quite overcome the allure of the television, it keeps my son well-occupied while nursing out in public and keeps him from tugging on the blanket. And he seems to enjoy it tremendously when I point out the different beads and tell him about them- the colors, the names of the shapes or animals, the letters that spell out his name. It gets me a lot of those “smiling while nursing” moments that melt the hearts of any breastfeeding mom.

This necklace isn’t exactly a “must have”, but it’s a great addition to the arsenal of shiny plastic things that we bring into our homes to keep our little ones occupied and entertained.