Milk Preservation: How the Magic Happens
Breastmilk jewelry. It’s not an entirely new concept. We’ve been around since 2018! But still, many people are just now learning about it. With breastmilk jewelry becoming more popular and more people learning about it, we are realizing that many customers still have a lot of questions about the process of milk preservation, so we’re here to do our best and answer all your questions about how we preserve and store your breastmilk! (And YES!!! We save your preserved breastmilk on file for you to use for future orders, so you don’t have to send more!!!)
Before we begin talking about how we preserve your breastmilk, I want to share just a little bit of information from the VERY beginning of our process - unboxing your breastmilk and inclusions. After you place your order with Milk+Honey® Jewelry, you will be sent an email confirmation with all the instructions on how to ship your milk and/or inclusions to us. Simply follow those directions to ship your breastmilk/inclusions using the shipping method and carrier of your choice! (And yes, there are reasons we have specific instructions. Deviating from those may cause your milk to leak or mold during shipping, so please follow the instructions carefully.)
When we receive your package, Stacy and Alaina will carefully open it, making sure they remove all the contents of the package. Using your milk that you labeled, they locate your order, label your milk and inclusions with name and order number, and mark your form with the date everything is received. All inclusions are kept with your order form. Your milk is then placed in a handy dandy milk storage container and placed in our “milk fridge” in order by date received. (We found THESE storage containers on Amazon and LOVE them for storing breastmilk and lots of other things in the studio!!! They’re perfect if you pump and freeze breastmilk - or even to organize snacks in your pantry!) After your milk is labeled and stored in our fridge, your information is entered into a spreadsheet organized by date. Order forms, including attached inclusions, are organized and filed by the date received. Stacy and Alaina do an amazing job at keeping everything organized in the studio and know where everything is all the time! Your milk, flowers, umbilical cord powder, cremation ashes, placenta powder, lock of hair, etc. is safe in their hands!
We preserve all milk in the order we received it, according to our dated milk bin system. When it’s time to preserve milk, we set up our milk preservation station, pull the next container in line and get to work. We pull ONE milk at a time, making sure EVERYTHING is labeled with your name and order number, checking and verifying, so we don’t get anything mixed up. They carefully measure the amount of milk they need and add it to a warm nonstick skillet, letting the milk heat up just a bit. The preservation powder is added and slowly mixed into the milk until the mixture reaches a toothpaste-like consistency. This usually doesn’t take too long, but all milk is different and some require a little extra attention and time. Once the right consistency is achieved, the mixture is scooped from the pan and spread in a thin layer on a piece of parchment paper (that has been labeled with your name and order number) and placed in our drying rack to sit for a couple of days. Once that milk has been stored for drying, we clean the pan and pull the next customer’s milk and repeat! Leftover liquid breastmilk is placed in a milk bin that corresponds to the drying rack used. This milk is saved until we are sure that there were no issues during the preservation process. This rarely happens, but we prefer to play it safe and hold onto it until we know the preservation process is successful! Depending on the weather (hot, cold, humid, dry), your preserved milk will dry anywhere from 24 - 72 hours.
Once the milk mixture is completely dry, we carefully transfer the mixture (one milk at a time) into a small, stone mortar where we crush the dried milk by hand into a fine, baby powder-like consistency. This can take anywhere from 2 minutes to 10 minutes for each individual milk. All breastmilk is different and unique to each woman and baby, so they all preserve and dry differently! When the milk is completely crushed, it is placed inside a small, plastic bag that is labeled with your name and order number. Once this is complete, we toss the remaining liquid milk. We enter the date the milk was preserved on our spreadsheet (so we can email each customer with the update) and the preserved milk is then paired with the customer’s order. If we have the jewelry components for that order, they are also paired with the milk and order and then placed in the queue for the order to be made. If we do not have the jewelry components, the milk is stapled to the order and placed in the appropriate file to wait for the jewelry. Once the jewelry is received, it is paired with the milk and order and placed in the queue for the order to be completed.
All preserved breastmilk that we have on file is stored in these storage bins by order number!
After the order has been completed, the jewelry and order form are placed in the “inspection bin” for Alaina to inspect the order before packaging and shipping out. She carefully reads your order form to ensure the jewlery is designed as requested and there are no flaws. The preserved milk powder is placed in a designated bin for Stacy and Alaina to file later. We store ALL preserved milk on file by order number. If a customer has multiple order numbers they are all included on the bag and filed by the most recent number. When a customer sends more than one bag of milk, we also label each milk with the child’s name or birth year (however the customer designated the milk on their order form). These milks will be stapled together to ensure they stay together.
Below are some FAQ regarding milk preservation:
I ORDERED MORE THAN ONE PIECE, DO I NEED TO SEND MORE THAN ONE BATCH OF MILK?
NO. 15 ml of milk is ALL we ask for regardless of what piece you order from our collection or even how many pieces! You do not need to send 15 ml of milk for each piece. Each batch of preserved milk is enough to make approximately 12-15 pieces of jewelry (depending on which pieces you order).
I WOULD LIKE TO ORDER MORE JEWELRY IN THE FUTURE, CAN I SEND IN MORE THAN 15ML NOW AND YOU KEEP IT ON FILE?
Please don’t. We do not save your milk in liquid form. If you send more than the requested amount, we will not preserve “extra” or save the extra milk. We simply do not have the space to save milk in liquid form, so sending more is unnecessary and any leftover milk after the milk has been preserved will be tossed. We hate tossing milk, so please don’t send more than what is needed. Again, each batch of preserved milk is enough to make between 12 and 15 pieces of jewelry.
I SENT MILK IN 2020, DO YOU STILL HAVE IT ON FILE?
YES! We save all preserved breastmilk for future orders! We began this process in October 2019, so if you order after that date, we have your preserved milk on file! So go ahead and order the matching earrings to your ring! There’s a place to let us know that you would like to use the batch of milk we have on file during the checkout process when you place your order. At the time I am writing this blog, we have not had anyone use their entire bag of preserved milk, but if we ever do, we will email you to let you know that you’ve used all of your preserved milk on file.
I DIDN’T BREASTFEED, CAN I SEND IN FORMULA?
YES! We can preserve formula! If you do not have breastmilk because you didn’t save any or didn’t breastfeed, we can also preserve formula to use in all of our jewelry! We ask that add water to it and ship it in liquid form.
I WOULD LIKE TO USE TWO BATCHES OF MILK FROM TWO CHILDREN IN ONE PIECE OF JEWELRY. CAN I DO THAT?
YES! You can use more than one batch of preserved milk in all of our jewelry. If you have more than one child, we can preserve the milk individually and combine some of the powder from each to complete your order. The milk is kept in separate bags and only a little of each is combined if you choose this option, so you still have the option to use each bag of milk individually down the road. (NOTE: there is an additional processing fee if you choose to send in more than one batch of milk for one piece of jewelry. Please see our FAQ or contact us for more information.)
I HAD WHITE PIGMENT/PEARL SHIMMER ADDED TO MY FIRST ORDER. DOES THAT MEAN MY NEXT ORDER MUST HAVE WHITE PIGMENT/PEARL SHIMMER?
NO. We do not add the white pigment (or pearl shimmer) to your entire batch of preserved milk. The white pigment (or any colored pigments, glitters, or flakes) is added to the milk mixture when we are crafting your jewelry. This means if you want white pigment added to your jewelry, you will need to specify which piece(s) you would like it added to and on every future order.
And that’s it! That is how we preserve milk and store it on file for our customers to use for future orders. When we receive an order from a customer who is using milk we already have on file, it is clearly marked on the order form when the order is processed and sent to the studio. Stacy and Alaina can go to our milk storage bins and find the preserved milk by the customer’s previous order number. We don’t have to preserve more milk, so the process for completing the order is usually quite a bit faster (depending on what the customer ordered! Each batch of preserved milk is enough to make approximately 12-15 pieces of jewelry (depending on which pieces you order).
Terri - General Manager at Milk + Honey Jewelry
Edited by Alaina - Office Administrator