So you finally opened up the breast pump, washed and sterilized all the parts, and have produced a magical bottle of “liquid gold” that is now sitting in your fridge. GOOD JOB! That first bottle is such an accomplishment, isn’t it? Even though I had been nursing for weeks, I still remember growing wide-eyed with wonder as I watched actual milk come out of me the first time I pumped. Sure, I felt like a cow, but I also felt amazed that I was actually producing life-giving, drinkable, white milk. Weird.
The next step is to store it. A helpful rule of thumb for storage is 5-5-5: fresh milk will last for 5 hours left out, 5 days in the refrigerator, and 5 months in the freezer. This post is for the refrigerator. The most common suggestion I had found for labeling bottles of milk in the refrigerator was to write the date and time on some blue painter’s tape and stick it on the bottle. So that’s what I did. But that got old, fast, especially when I was pumping in the middle of the night, foggy-brained and bleary-eyed. The last thing I wanted to do was to stand in the cold kitchen, fumbling about for the end of the roll of tape while trying to recall what day of the week it was.
So the next day I went online in search of a better solution. Up until this point, I had been able to find products to meet nearly every #firstworldproblem of an American mom and more, and sure enough, the Internet came through for me in the form of milk charms
With these handy little flowers, all I’d have to do was turn the dial and hang it over the bottle. Done! I was all ready to purchase them when it occurred to me that each one cost $5. While I was willing to pay up to save myself the hassle of tape-and-pen labeling, it occurred to me that I could probably make something similar myself.
…So I did! Now, I use my milk charms all the time. The ease and convenience are totally worth the initial effort it took to make them. Now you can make them, too!
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How to Make Your Own Milk Charms
1. Print up my design onto card stock.
I think using stiff paper helps keep the arrow in place better.
2. Laminate the pieces with a thin laminating sheet, then cut out the pieces.
Since the FedEx I went to only had thick laminating pouches, the plastic didn’t adhere to the pieces the first time I laminated and cut them out. I ended up having to re-laminate everything after cutting it out. It was a pain, which is why I would recommend using thinner laminating sheets.
3. Use an eyelet setter to secure the colored circle over the open circle. 
If you don’t have an eyelet setter, a brass paper fastener
4. Punch a hole through the point of the teardrop charm, and loop a rubber band through.
Ta-da! You’ve made your own milk charms!
It only cost about $2 total (mostly for the laminating pouch at FedEx), and now I have twice as many milk charms to use! I’d recommend making these before your baby arrives, but even if it’s too late for that, I think it’s still worth it if you regularly refrigerate bottles of mother’s milk. Let me know if you try it!
Also see my post on how to store breastmilk.
10 responses to “DIY Milk Charms: How to Label Breastmilk Bottles”
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love the joellen poon diy creation! take that overpriced milk charms! hahaha 🙂
😀 Joyce’s stamp of approval! Wahoo!
I think that these might make their way into my baby shower baskets for planning-to-nurse moms… (since I can never decide on one gift, I almost always give the same basic thing as a shower gift, customized to the mom of course, but usually my own assortment of “things I didn’t know moms need until I had my # child”)
That’s a fantastic idea! Very thoughtful of you 🙂 I would be happy to receive them if I were a new mom (with an explanation of what they are haha)!
If you have time, maybe you can also mass-produce some toy clips and put one in the basket: https://cuppacocoa.com/diy-toy-clips/
We’ve started using these a LOT with our baby in the last couple of months! It’s been super handy :).
These are great! I love DIY – that’s why I invented the MilkCharms in the first place – and these are a great version. Nice work!
Thanks, Kerry! I’m so glad you like them. They are such a great idea!! I’m honored that you stopped by to comment :).
Looking back, though, I think should have just coughed up the $ and bought them at that point in my life. During those newborn days, it would have been money well spent to get a few extra winks!
Thanks Joellen. Yes, that was our main goal in developing the MilkCharm – make our lives just a touch easier. Those early days were rough as far a sleep goes! Absolutely great, but rough! Speaking of sleep…
Cheers!
Hi JoEllen! Long time no talk! Hope u are well! I stumbled on your blog and found this to be a great idea! Thanks for the post! Wanted to ask for a tip..do you know if you did 3mm or 5mm lamination at FedEx?
Hey Zinnia! Glad you find it useful :). I don’t know which one I used… it was pretty thick and sturdy. I would go with the thinner one if I were you. It will work just as well!
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