Will My Tattoo Survive The Pregnancy?

Description unavailable (Photo credit: Belén ♥)

Do you remember a time, maybe 15 or 20 years ago when it was the fashion to get a tattoo in a ring around your belly button? A load of girls I went to college with got it done, and so did I. We all thought it looked fantastic, and I admit to spending that summer wearing cropped shirts and hipster jeans daily just to show off my new body art – not to mention the diamanté belly piercing! We all thought we were the height of cool, but there was one thing we didn't actually consider. In fact, it never occurred to me until about 17 years later when I got the long awaited BFP (Big Fat Positive) that said I was going to be a Mommy! The very same day I caught sight of my belly in the mirror as I showered and suddenly thought “OH. MY. GOD! What is going to happen to that thing when I grow a bump!” In hindsight, perhaps my navel was not the best place to get a tattoo! I had horrible visions of the tattoo increasing tenfold and being this massive ring around my entire abdomen! Needless to say I jumped online there and then – well I threw on some sweatpants and a t-shirt first – and started to do some research!

The research I did showed that there were no guarantees one way or the other when it came to tattoos stretching during pregnancy. Like so many other aspects of pregnancy, it depends on the individual woman herself. The connective tissues vary from person to person so while one person may see tattoos shrink back to the original design, others may be left with some distortion. I guess I was one of the lucky ones. I can't really see any difference in my tattoo aside from the fact that the color has faded, but I'd expect that of any tattoo after almost twenty years. I did take all the precautions for avoiding stretchmarks, so maybe that helped. I guess the moral of my story is that any body modifications should be carefully considered. If you are going to do anything in the belly area do ask if it is possible you might get pregnant and if it will have a negative effect. I took my belly piercing out when I got pregnant, even although there are flexible pregnancy bars available. It just felt like time.

In a related note, no piercer or tattoo artist should agree to perform any kind of body modification while you are pregnant.

Post Baby Body

More Junk In This Momma's Trunk!

So my little man is seven months old today. Time flies, before I know it he will be a man! But that's not what I want to talk about today, I want to talk about me, or my body to be exact! The fact that Tyler is 7 months old means that it has been approximately 16 months since my body was “normal”. I don't think anything fully prepared me for ow much my body would change when I became a mommy! Pregnancy is the ultimate body modification!

I'm not saying that it's a bad thing – I know a lot of women feel self conscious after a baby, but fr me I feel like my body has finally matured into that of a woman! You see I was kind of boyish before. I had not much going on in the way of a butt! I had fairly small breasts and no hips to speak of! However, during pregnancy my breasts swelled to 3 cup sizes bigger and in the seven months since Tyler was born they have only shrunk one size, so I am still 2 cups bigger than before! Wahey! Instant, free, painless boob job! I have a rounder behind and my hips are curvier than before. I just feel very womanly. I don't know if I am really that much curvier or if its more the knowledge of being a mother that makes me feel all connected to my inner goddess, but whatever it is, there is definitely a much happier Lily inside this body!

Of course my tummy area is still a little more spongy than I'd like, I do need to work out more although it can be difficult to find the time, but at least I have little in the way of stretchmarks on my boobs or belly. I think in short what I am trying to say is even if your body changes after giving birth, be proud of it! After all it just created life and that's pretty damn awesome don't you think?