Three more months and then I'll be confronted with the real damage to my body. People have been warning me about stretchmarks, varicose veins, darkened skin, saggy breasts, swollen abdomen, stubborn fat... Well, I don't really mind. Really! Stretchmarks and dark skin can be bleached away, veins can be lasered off, fat can be exercised away, etc. What really has me sad is my belly button.
I'm only vain about two things--my nose and my belly button. I think that those are the only two perfect things in my entire body. Everything else (sparse lashes, myopic eyes, huge ears, big teeth, long face, thin flat hair, flat chest, bony fingers, stubby toes, flabby everywhere) is just okay. Despite enumerating all that, don't worry--I have pretty good self-esteem because I have friends and family who love me absolutely!
So anyway, everyone warned that pregnancy will wreak havoc on the body. So far, so good. I do feel insecure sometimes when I look in the mirror and see a different body. I check for changes--and there are many already--but the ones I'm most concerned about are the enlarged nose and the protruding navel. My nose is still the same, thank the heavens, but my belly button? Well, today, it is officially the same level as my tummy. Yes, it is no longer in its perfect deeply sunken, perfectly round state. And that means in a few weeks, I'll have a nipple in the middle of my belly.
I know it's so shallow but I feel a little grief over the belly button. Mommies tell me that the belly button will recede into the tummy again when the baby's out but that it will look stretched and tired. One said, "You'll just have to work extra hard to have a flat belly so that your navel may look ugly but because your tummy's perfect, it won't look so bad." Great, that's a big comfort to me!
My husband already misses my belly button and it's upsetting me. In many ways, my belly button is a metaphor of my body-before-baby and I worry not really about what I'll look like after the baby but how my husband will react to the after-baby body. I know he'll still love me and want me but he misses the belly button already and I worry that he'll miss the pre-pregnant body, too.
Don't worry Frances, your belly button will be back to normal after giving birth. It'll pop out during the 8-9month period. As in, magfoform sya sa damit mo dahil nakalabas talaga sya :-)
ReplyDeleteI completely feel your sentiments about the whole body image deal. I'm at 16 weeks now and am already starting to show. Although, after I gave birth to my first born 3 years ago, I wore this tummy support band day AND night to keep my skin tight while I try to lose the belly fat. I lost all 50lbs in about 5 mos. Don't worry about your belly button, it will shrink back in. :)) I didn't have any stretch marks. However, I did use all sorts of oils and lotions to fight the itchiness. Maybe that helped. The skin darkening--yes, that was so depressing. BUT my skin returned to normal I would like to say, in a week's time after my delivery.
ReplyDeleteBottomline, it's all good. I am as paranoid as you are and I've been through all this before. It's normal and healthy to be concerned about your looks. It just takes some hard work and discipline for us to look like we did pre-pregnancy.
Here's the support belt that truly helped me get a flat stomach again.
http://www.motherhood.com/Product.asp?Product_Id=914950113&MasterCategory_Id=MC32
I wish you all the best! Sorry for the novel-ish comment. :))
Oh Frances, I'm sure your belly button will return to its normal shape with the right exercise!
ReplyDeleteAn August baby? Awww...a little LEO.
wishing you all the best in your final months of pregnancy!
I was an "outie" as a child and I got teased mercilessly for it by my "innie" siblings. My mom said it's because as a baby i always managed to undo my "bigkis."
ReplyDeleteDuring my teen years it, err, receded on its own. I thought it was because I gained so much weight.
Good luck with getting your pre-pregnancy belly button back. I'm rooting for you.
Thanks, ladies! And nanayniisay, thanks for the LOOOOONG comment! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one worried about my attractiveness. I want to keep the husband's interest until we die!
ReplyDeleteKace, nasa bigkis nga ba yun? I want to know nga how some become innies and others outies. No offense of course to you but I'm an innie, the husband is an innie and we want the Bean to be an innie, too!
Frances, pretty soon you'll miss seeing your feet!
ReplyDeleteLizelle, I already can hardly see my toes!
ReplyDeleteIts gonna come back in no time. You might as well enjoy the Bbutton popped up for some time :-)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your story, Frances. I'm a guy with a deep innie and my wife has an innie that popped way out when she was pregnant with our first child. But I loved it! I think a woman's pregnant belly with her navel protruding out is totally adorable! But that's just me. lol My wifes belly button did go back to it's cute innie self after she gave birth, however. So, I agree with Ishrath. You should just try to enjoy it!
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