Belly button

Obviously, a whole lot of attention is paid to the 'distinctly female' parts of the body during pregnancy/childbirth, but there's a lot to be said for a bellybutton.

When I went with a friend to get my navel pierced (quite a few years ago!), I warned the man with the gun that I had one of the deepest bellybuttons he'd have seen. "You're right", he said, "it is quite deep".

Do me a favour and  look at your little finger. My bellybutton would hold the top knuckle of your little finger, pretty much guaranteed.

So, I was naturally curious as to what would happen to my poor little void while I was cooking a baby. First thing? It got wide. Like, I wouldn't have been surprised if it had taught itself how to smile, that's how mouthy it got. Unfortunately, this meant that even halfway through the pregnancy I just looked gutsy, as I always had  a big smiley bellybutton hole showing through whatever I was wearing.

Next thing, it started heading north. I was able to get a better look into it as it seemed to climb up my belly as it grew outward. This also coincided with an opening up, not unlike some crazy and totally unsexy flower - although the only way I could tell was that the teeny-tiny mole that normally resided just in the shadows started crawling towards my left side.

At the stage where lots of pregnant women start getting complements on how their bellybutton has popped and isn't that adorable, I did manage to get some protrusion going. Unfortunately for me, it was the bit of skin that was between the two piercing holes - but fortunately for me, it just gave the illusion that I must have had the worlds most adorable little button.

Immediately post baby, I couldn't believe how far away my belly button had dropped. Granted, my stomach muscles were separated by more than a hand span distance, so there was nothing holding it up, but it was bizarre that he (in my head, it's a 'him') was now so far away.

At the moment, it's not doing too poorly. I do think that flaccid is actually an accurate description of how it looks - a little sad, a little flopsy, but with potential.

Who would have through a little tummy dimple would go through so much?