Gifts for mom: Initial feelings on initial jewelry.

When I had my daughter - all my mom friends proudly sported a charm with their child’s initial.  I wasn’t that into it.  Then I had my son, and I still wasn’t into it.  I am my own person, why do I need to show the world anything but me?  But then, after a very hard day of parenting two children and being fully exhausted, my husband took the kids and I went shopping.  Alone.  As I wandered around the store, I was eager to treat myself to something fabulous… a new bag?  No, I was in diaper bag mode. New clothes?  No, my body was still very much post-baby and I didn’t even want to try clothes on.  I found myself in the jewelry department and came across the charm section.  I suddenly had that post-baby emotional moment of being a mother to those two precious babies that are mine and I would do anything for them.  And all of a sudden I *had* to have a charm to show the world, I am a mama, hear me roar!  I don’t wear my ‘mom necklace’ every day, but I love it.  It has become a regular in my necklace rotation.   And I also love that when I am wearing it and my daughter is on my lap, she will very carefully make sure her letter is on top!   

Fast forward three years and once again I am filled with an emotion of realizing that the two initials I wore around my neck were made possible by a different initial.  Not wanting to add a third letter to the mix, my necklace was special - representing my children, not my husband, and I decided I wanted a bracelet.  After hours on etsy (no luxury of shopping alone in a store for hours….) I found these adorable bracelets.  I love lower case letters and was wanting to add some gold tone jewelry into my collection, so this was the perfect find!  I now proudly wear these on my wrist and everytime I look at them - I think of my husband.  A nice smile throughout the day.

So, while at first I wasn’t into the idea of wearing other people’s initials, I have come to realize that those initials are a part of me and who I am.  I also think it will be a nice item to pass down - maybe one day my daughter will want to wear her K charm, and while it would make me a bit sad to give it up, I would love that it is a piece that she would want that in a weird way, is a piece of me.

Here are some other initial pieces that I love:

Elsa Peretti letter pendants (available in sterling silver, 18k gold, and rose gold)

(feature ‘m’ for Motherburg!)

I love the whimsical look of these lower case script letters

Catbird Jewelry Alphabet Earrings (available in 14k gold or sterling silver)

Who didn’t have initial earrings as a kid?

Not ready to wear initials?  How about a key ring?  A fun way to remember those you love every time you open the door or start the car.

Erica has a MA in Early Childhood Education from New York University. She is currently a stay at home mom to a 4 year old pony loving ballerina and a 2 year old metrocard holding bus driver.