It was a fashion and stylish act to have rings on belly. In the mid-90's my sister and I, following the trend went to a local tattoo and piercing parlor and got our navels pierced. Within minutes we were sporting very cute belly button rings and running on an adrenaline rush that lasted most of the day.
We were very conscientious about cleaning and care. Unfortunately, the area around my belly button piercing started getting very red and inflamed. It turns out my belly button piercing had become infected. Eventually with careful attention and care the infection cleared up, however, I found that any time I attempted to change my jewelry, or moved the ring excessively I would end up back where I started... infected again. This was pretty annoying, but I stuck with it and in time, my belly button piercing was fully healed.
Then I got pregnant. I'd never thought about how a very pregnant tummy would look with a belly button ring prominently displayed on the very tip. Reluctantly I gave in, and removed the ring, thinking that the hole would remain and that I could reinsert the jewelry after giving birth.
By the time nine months had passed and I attempted to put my belly button ring back in to it's rightful position, I was disappointed to find that the hole had mostly sealed over. I had no choice: If I wanted my belly button ring back, I was going to have to go through the piercing process all over again.
So, it was back to the tattoo and piercing parlor once again. Because of the scar tissue from the prior belly button piercing, there was some resistance when trying to make this second hole. However, with a bit of effort and patience my piercer succeeded and within minutes I was sporting my belly button ring once again. I was delighted!
The next time I got pregnant, five years later, I decided I wouldn't be stumped a second time. I decided to keep my belly button ring in for the duration of pregnancy, regardless of how ridiculous it might look.
Again, I was mistaken. The stretching of my growing belly, resulted in the skin around the ring getting stretched out of shape as well. I ended up with stretch marks around my belly button piercing and had to take out the ring at the seven month mark to my great disappointment. And, I was left with an ugly looking hole.
That was it for me. I never bothered to have my belly button pierced again. If you look closely you can still see where the holes were and the resulting stretch marks. I consider these to be my battle scars of pregnancy and giving birth.
I still have my jewelry and from time to time I do look at it fondly, but I've realized that those days are over despite my best efforts. I never think that getting my belly button pierced was a mistake, but I realized when it was time to let it go, and I'm okay with that.
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