Can a bracelet improve your life? (In association with www.prairiecharms.co.uk)

Myself, and many other bloggers, were very recently approached by a lovely company called prairie charms who offer lovely,distinct jewellery pieces and accessories on their website. 

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The company itself is kindly working in association with make a wish foundation which is a charity very close to my heart. As a mother, i often look at Dexter and thank my lucky stars that I haven't had to, and hopefully will never have to, enlist the help of charities such as this as my child is not seriously ill. I do, however, think they do such a good job for children, and the families of children, with serious illnesses so I was excited to be a part of their latest blogger based project. I cannot urge you enough to take a look at their lovely pieces available online and, if you see something that catches your eye, treat yourself! Their accessories are beautiful, affordable and 25% of your purchase price goes directly to make a wish.

When Prairie Charms asked me to choose an item from their range, i really wasn't sure what to go for. Not just because they have such a large selection of pretties, but also because I haven't really bought any accessories since I became pregnant with Dexter, maybe even before that! Since I knew I was going to have a baby especially, I was so busy buying things for him and preparing myself for the massive change that was about to happen in my life, that I didn't really think of buying anything nice for myself! Sad really isn't it? I painstakingly looked through their items, deliberated over three or four short listed things and finally decided to purchase their 'Frances Beaded Wire Bracelet', which is even more lovely in person as it looked online. It's comprised of a slightly rugged, deep purple plaited fabric, accented by a dainty gold key and gold hardware fastening it all together. I just think it's so pretty!

It arrived with two other lovely items which had been specially selected for me by the Prairie Charms team. A cute set of two hair ties, perfect for those days when your baby has pretty much scalped you after pulling on your hair so hard and you just want to scrape it all up into a bun out of the way (let's admit it, we've all been there!) and a cute ditsy floral print bracelet...or anklet (are they still a thing? I'm so out of touch!). 

Having some cute accessories in my life made me think about how a little accessory such as this can make you feel as an individual. Yes, so they can really set off an outfit or compliment your shoes, but what do they really MEAN to a persons confidence or wellbeing. I looked over at Dexter, who was having a nap, and saw his tiny little Amber Bead bracelet poking out from under his sleeve. Now, unless you haven't come across Amber beads before, they are bought by parents to aid their child in the teething process as Amber is thought to have healing properties. So such a little item can provide such an important level of pain relief to my son.

It then lead me to think about other forms of jewellery which aided peoples lives on a daily basis such as medic alert bracelets which inform others of a persons medical conditions incase of emergency and copper bracelets which alleviate the symptoms of Arthritis. I looked down at my own bracelet and thought about how good it made me feel to be wearing something little for myself which made me feel a little bit special. You see, what they don't actually inform you before you become a mom, but that you very quickly work out yourself, is that you now come last. What I mean is, if your baby needs something, their needs always go before your own. It can be challenging for some mothers as it can be quite a stark contrast from the life they led before. You can quite often start feeling as though you've lost a little bit of whatever it is that makes you, well, you! This feeling can either be replaced by acceptance, or it can quickly spiral to more negative feelings relating to a lack of self esteem and even feelings of sadness that you may be missing your life as it was. This can soon spiral to depression, which is why it's so important for moms to have that time to be human again and not just a mom. 

I have a confession to make. I was actually feeling like this a couple of months ago. I wasn't so much feeling like i was missing my life before we had Dexter,it was more that I was feeling fat and frumpy, felt lonely a lot, had lost all confidence resulting in me shutting myself away inside the house (which also prevented me meeting new people, hence the loneliness), didn't feel worthy of being a mother and generally speaking, just didn't feel at all like my happy old self! It was hard to get myself out of the metaphorical black hole I had been comfortably cocooning myself in for some time but, with the help of my wonderful Fiancé, I am feeling much better these days. Receiving this bracelet though really gave me the boost i needed. I know a real 'crisis' is normally attributed to physical pain, but a crisis is different to different people. I really thought I was having a personal crisis, like an inner conflict. Part of me just didn't feel right, like I'd completely lost my identity and another part of me felt guilty for feeling this way as I had just had a beautiful baby. 

Luckily, I have since felt a lot better and have settled into being a Mom now. Infact, i really can't imagine not being a mom or having Dexter! I do, however, still sometimes crave something little to make me feel a bit more like Laura and this lovely parcel from prairie charms did just that! Like i mentioned earlier, there are lots of different accessories which can help people in a medical sense, but this particular bracelet helped me in just the way i needed. It helped me feel a bit more like me :) 

So next time you see a mom struggling with shopping and a toddler or doing the school run, think about how selfless moms really have to be. Sometimes all a mom needs is something to make her feel a little special again!

Until next time,

Laura Xxx

Ps.Remember to check out www.prairirecharms.co.uk for a little something to make you feel special too! :)