My little sister's due date is exactly three weeks from today (see right: is she glamorous or what?). It's her first baby - a little girl. She's going to be a wonderful mama and I can't wait to see how motherhood changes her (as it does everyone...almost always for the better).
Because she is thinking about birth a lot, I've been thinking a lot about it too. Actually, truth be told, I think about birth often anyway...daily even. I definitely consider the births of both of my two daughters to be two of the very best days of my life. Both experiences were empowering, life-changing, almost magical. Those memories dance before me in still frames...inspiring a serious kind of joy in my heart.
To commemorate and celebrate those days even further, I often wear a simple silver chain around my neck with two hand-graved squares at the end (just like the one on the left) - one square for each of my daughters. Etched gracefully and precisely into each delicate box is a set of tiny feet/hands, a name, a birth day, height, and weight. I get compliments every single time I wear it because it is so fragile, yet so meaningful.
Created by Tania (a mom of two and entrepreneur) at JULIAN & Co., the Birth Necklace Square ($59) is the perfect gift for any new mom. It's lovely and simple - sure to be loved by any new mom (even the non-jewelry-wearing type). It's the opposite of ostentatious. Instead, it is beautiful in a very down-to-earth, understated kind of way.
JULIAN & Co. offers a wide assortment of other necklaces to celebrate birth, parenthood, and children.
WIN IT! One winner will receive The Birth Necklace Square ($59) by JULIAN & Co. To enter, leave any topic-related comment on this post prior to Friday, November 27th at 11:59 p.m. (Don’t forget to follow the rules…all generic comments like “Enter me!,” “Love it,” and “Cool stuff!” will be disqualified.).
FOR A SECOND ENTRY: Blog or Tweet about my Christmas Gift Guide (or about this giveaway)...and leave a second comment telling me that you did.
* I received a product sample for review purposes.
*UPDATE* The winner is #28 Sarah. Congratulations!
Tweet! :)
http://twitter.com/thxmailcarrier/status/6132743197
What a beautiful necklace! I wear a double ring that has both of my daughters' names on it but I haven't seen a necklace like this one that isn't cheesy like a lot of them. I like the simplicity and, of course, the wonderful meaning behind it.
I wear a necklace that has my nieces initials on them. I love it and they love knowing that I am wearing a necklace that represents them.
I'd love to be able to give their moms a birth a necklace. It would make a great gift.
I love these necklaces. The personalized touch makes it a very special keepsake
tmc480 at yahoo dot com
I love the birth keychain for my husband. He would love it!
So many lovelies, especially the ones with the tiny hand and footprints. Sooo sweet! I also love how they included dad in as well!
What a pretty necklace. I love giving and receiving personal gifts. It means so much more the person really sees how much you care thanks for the chance to win [email protected]
I love personalized gifts. This would make an excellent gift for my daughter
zachsgran1 at yahoo dot com
I love personalized gifts. It just makes it that much more special to give and receive. I'm going to give one to my sister this Christmas.
A lovely necklace, so simple and just right. It would make a great gift for my granddaughters mom. I know she would love it.
These are beautiful without being to pretentious. I have always wanted a mother's ring but I would wear this as well. I am not a huge glitz girl and these look down to earth and nice. Not super fancy, that is what I like about them.
Tweet! http://twitter.com/ktkatherine/status/5954795755
This would make a beautiful gift for a new mother and older mom just the same. What a great way to commemorate a birth!
That is a darling idea. For my first Mother's Day I wanted a mother's ring. We decided to go with a narrow channel set stones band so I could add another band with different birth stones with each additional child. Sadly, gold prices went crazy, and I still don't have the second band.
I am not a jewelry nut. Jewelry to me is a personal and meaningful thing. I don't like jewelry that is just for beauty. All of my jewelry that I actually wear has some type of meaning behind it. The other stuff in my jewelry box has been sitting there for 10 years, unworn! I have two pairs of earrings I actually wear (Christmas gifts from hubby when we were first married), two rings (wedding and mothers), and one necklace (gift from fiance). It would be so fun to have another necklace that is meaningful to wear. If it doesn't mean something to me, I just don't want it. Not sure why, but...
I have been wanting some sort of birth necklace since my first daughter was born four years ago. These are absolutely beautiful.
I love "wearing" my kids as jewelry!! :o) I have a gold "birthstone babies" necklace with my 2 girls' birthstones. I also have a wonderful bracelet with their names in silver. I'd love this silver necklace. So stylish! I love the idea of showing how proud I am to be the mom of my 2 girls by wearing such personalized jewelry! Great giveaway!
Wow your sister is so super skinny for being ready to have her baby....how exciting. I like the little footprint locket...so precious. What a nice way to keep memories.
These look really nice. I have been wanting to get a necklace like this for me to wear with my kids on it, this looks perfect.
I don't wear much jewelry but I would really love wearing one of these! So special!
I left a tweet
hollowsins
This would be a great gift for my sister who just had my nephew in July
Very sweet necklace. Simple, beautiful, and meaningful.... what Mom wouldn't want it?
I tweeted (I think) we are newer to the whole twitter thing. It comes up at my hubby Joe. I have no idea how to post it to you. https://twitter.com/ajvasterlingfam
I LOVE these!!! I LOVE anything that is personalized. I hope I win, if not another to the Santa List. I need to stop reading your blog or my list will be huge. :)
This necklace is gorgeous! and i would be so proud to wear one with my two childrens names and birthdates on it.. my life is forever changed by the births of my beautiful children! what a great wear to capture that in this necklace....
I just love everything personalized. I have two little ones and I always wear some piece of jewelry with their names on it.
I have love the idea of having a personalized necklace since my kids were born. This would be great!
I love jewelery that is personalized. I can keep my kids close to my heart.
I blogged about your gift guide! It will post Tuesday, November 17th.
Holy cow- the birth necklace square is really unique! Never seen anything like that!
I have young twins, and so much of their babyhood is a blur... keepsakes like these are especially special to me.
I tweeted: http://twitter.com/MommaStaciA/status/5781318163
Thanks!
I hope your sister has a quick and easy delivery! She looks beautiful! The necklaces are gorgeous as well. They look like a perfect gift.
Your sister is definitely beautiful! I have always wanted one of these necklaces but never order one. I think this is a great gift for any mother.
Maybe I need to put this on my wishlist!
The necklaces are beautiful. I feel very fortunate that after a rather stressful third trimester the birth of my son was quick and easy.
As I have commented on your necklace, I love the one with the baby foot prints. It reminds me that babies are babies even when they would be tiny enough to make foot prints that size.
I've seen tons of Mother Jewelry ideas, but this one is so simple, I'd wear it everyday!
Congratulations for your sister! She looks great :)
I absolutely love wearing personalized jewelry for my little girl. She is my pride and joy and I would love to show her off even more with this beautiful necklace!
This is such a wonderful idea. I do not have anything like this.
PS You look just like your sister. How fun that she is having a little one so close to yours.
These are such special necklaces. What a great way to keep your little ones close! I have never seen anything like the square one before...so neat. Your sister is beautiful...so exciting for her, and for you to become an auntie! Congratulations!
Your little sis is looking fabulous! Congrats on the new niece to be!!
What a sweet way to commemorate such a special day. I love how simple the necklace is.
I tweeted about the giveaway. :)
This is beautiful! I am due in May and would love one.
I have been looking for a personalized necklace since the birth of my son. 19 months later and I think I may have found it! Those are gorgeous!
What a beautiful gift! I love jewelry that recognizes that special gift of being a mother.
Great memories for years!
I have a good friend who is pregnant now and this would make not only a great but extra special gift for her for christmas. What an amazing site. I wish I would have known of this site before I had my little peanut. Such a great idea!
I *REALLY* wish i would of known about this site before. How adorable are those pieces? Such a great way to celebrate the most important day(s) in our life!
Wow, just checked out the website Jilian and Co. Beautiful stuff! I have always wanted one of these necklaces! I even tried to make my own!
Thanks for the great giveaway!
tweeted!
http://twitter.com/designhermomma/status/5747178860
I LOOOOOOOVE Julian & Co. so very much - and have been coveting their stuff from a far for so long!
Since I'm due in oh, 5 day (!!!!!!) I would love to have this around my neck in the near future...
What a beautiful way to remember my new little one.
I tweeted about this giveaway: http://twitter.com/aimalyn/status/5746748687
put it on FB http://www.facebook.com/angel264
Your necklace is beautiful. I just had my third baby, and have several friends who recently gave birth as well. What a wonderful way to celebrate motherhood and show off your accomplishments!
when my girst daughter was born my sister got me a necklace with my baby's face etched on it. I would love something with both my girls
My cousin posted a link to her facebook profile. She is due on 11/22 and loves these necklaces. So do I.
These necklaces are so beautiful!! Birth is a wonderful thing!!
http://www.singingandspinning.com/2009/11/2009-christmas-gift-guide.html here's the link to my post about your giveaways.
as a full time working mom, I would love to have something to wear that shows off to all that my number one thought is with my girls. one of these would be perfect.
I'm not much of a necklace person, but this is so sweet and precious. My kids mean everything to me and this is such a great way to carry them around even when they aren't with me.
Those are really cute necklaces! Pretty soon I will be able to have 3 little people on there, crazy!
I would gift this necklace to a expected mom, but it also would make a great mother's day gift to my mom or my grandmother.
Such a beautiful necklace. I personally would use it as a memorial necklace for my daughter.
Such a great giveaway!! Thanks
Tonyababyrn at aol dot com
that necklace is beautiful! I've actually considered getting myself on similar (on Etsy) recently!
Beautiful necklaces! This is something I can definitely see many of my friends using.
"Tweet!"
http://twitter.com/cmh512/status/5718005329.
Many thanks to you.....Cindi
I would be honored to win this wonderful keepsake necklace! I remember the births of my sons like it was yesterday. My thoughts were that is an actual little person that came from me! Nothing makes me more proud than the sons that I was privileged to have in my life. Best wishes to your sister and her family. Thanks, Cindi
So cute!!!! I have a friend who is going to have a baby in December and this would be the perfect gift!
I've been drooling over the Julian & Co. square necklace ever since I was in my third trimester of pregnancy back in 2007. I love the tiny footprints and handprints that adorn the personalized necklace. Being a Mama is always in style.
I would love to win this necklace it would be a great way to remember my daughters birth!
I've been dropping hints to my hubby that I want jewelry to mark my babies' birthday, too. I got birthstone earrings, but I think I would really like to have their names and the birthdate there, too. As if I would forget... I suppose it was such a powerful experience for me that there isn't anything else I could wear that would mean as much.
Wow! I'm having our 2.0 in two weeks via c-section although the due date was Dec 7th! Ahh babies! We get to have a ThanksGiving baby rather than a Pearl Harbor baby. Soo much to be thankful for this year!
Best wishes from our family to yours...
inalak at msn.com
I've always wanted one of these necklaces but since there are whisperings in my ear that our family is not yet complete I've always held off on purchasing one. But I guess I can always add to the necklace later, right?
This is such a wonderful and sweet necklace. I would love something like this for myself. I like that you're able to add pendants as you have children. That makes it special for young families who are still having children. It is also sweet for Mommy's like myself who have lost a child and want to remember them each and every day. Thank you so much for giving me the idea of buying on of these for myself.
What a beautiful way to always have your little ones with you. I've been wanting something special but all the mothers jewelry I've looked at you can't add to it. I love that you can add to the necklace because I don't know for sure we won't have another little angel.
I tweeted. http://twitter.com/AmysFinerThings/statuses/5714477977
Congrats to your beautiful sister! :)
I've never even heard of a birth necklace. I got a name bracelet when my first was born, and we add a strand with each baby.
Also twittered about it:http://twitter.com/kristinevans
I love this! About to have my first child and I'd love to have this necklace for xmas!! I do like that you can add children to it and have all your kids hanging around your neck. Very nice!
That necklace is absolutely gorgeous! I would be so honored to wear one for my son! Your sister is very pretty and looks to small to be having a baby soon! :)
Your sister looks so tiny to be delivering soon! I'm hoping that is an old photo :)I have been wanting a mom necklace, but can't decide which to get. Plus we plan on having more kids, what if they stop making the necklace I have when the other kids come along. Do I get a whole new one? Dilemmas.
What a beautiful necklace! And you're right...it's perfect for Moms who don't normally wear jewelry. I recently found some stamped necklaces that are similar and I think are awesome because they go with everything and can be worn every day. I'd love to win this to celebrate the births of my 2 kids! :)
One of my husband's college friends just had a baby girl. I don't actually know her well enough to have been invited to a shower or anything, but this would be a nice gift for the new mama now!!
This is the kind of prize that I really want to win for myself! How percious. I always say that my best accessories are my kids.
What a sweet necklace! I like that it's not static, meaning that you can add more kids as you have them. So much "mother and child" jewelry is not so flexible. My dad gave me "Parents and child" earrings for my birthday, and I love them, but there's only one child, and by mother's day, I'll have two.
I really want one of these necklaces, but I also want one for my girlfriend in California. I never see her, and we're pregnant at the same time!
How wonderful for your sister. My baby sister had a miscarriage yesterday. We are still mourning for her over here.
How sweet is she? Adorable, really. I didn't even know you had a sister. Fun to find out these nuggets about you.
I adore my children and would love to wear my love for them around my neck.
Nell
I am so glad that you highlighted this company again. I fell in love with their jewelry when I saw your necklace. If I don't win, I will buy one for my sister-in-law that just had a baby girl.
twittered- http://bit.ly/3AOaqn
That is awesome- I have a necklace with Mom in Korean on it and I jusst love it!
that is a beautiful necklace.. What a cool prize. I agree it would be a great gift.. My sister and sister in law just had a baby
I would love this for myself but it would be a great gift for my sister in law who just had her first baby a few weeks ago. I love the square one like yours!
This is beautiful!!! I hadn't thought of anything like this for myself.
Wow. What a wonderful gift this would be for one of my best friends who is having her first baby in 3 months. I've never been so excited for someone else to have a baby before!
This is beautiful! I know SO MANY people who are having babies right now... what a great way to help capture the moment (as if a necklace could really add to that moment, tho!)
OK... You got me... I'm having a baby in 20 days, and yes, I NEED one of those necklaces. Yep. The pregnancy hormones are a little out of control right now.
I am in L.O.V.E. with these kinds of necklaces. I have some on my Christmas list. It'd save Chris some cashola if I could win it for myself instead! Want it want it.
Tweeted ~ http://twitter.com/susanlanai/status/5703377263
This is so special for any mom. How sweet to have such a beautiful keepsake!
These are beautiful necklaces - we just purchased something similar for my Grandmother for Christmas with all of her Grandchildren's names on it!
http://twitter.com/autumn398/status/5701567240
tweet!
every new mom loves stuff that is personalized =) my best friend just had her second and she remarked that by far her favorite presents are ones that have the babies names on them...and i agree - some of the only stuff i have kept that i was given as gifts when my son was born is stuff with his name, birth date etc -- my cousin has a necklace similar to this one and i know she loves it
autumn398 @ yahoo.com