Yay!! I finally got it done!!! :o)

At A Glance Author Amanda Contact Mandy284@hotmail.com Artist Brian Studio Chronic Tattoos and Body Piercing Location Elyria, Ohio

**Just A 'LiL Intro**

Hi everyone! My name is Amanda, and I'm a 16 year old from

Elyria, Ohio. Just a few days ago (9/9/00) I got my belly pierced. Before that, I've had my ears pierced twice on the bottom, and once on top. I wanted my belly button pierced for the longest time!! I

thought it was so cute, and me and my friends always talked about getting it done. Well, I went on the internet and researched things about it, like the procedure, aftercare, and stories of other people's experiences. Thats how I found this web site...I read a lot

of people's experiences and they really helped me understand what would happen and what to expect, so now I'm writing my own story to tell everyone about my experience.

**Almost...**

After continuously talking to my mom about it, she finally agreed to let me get my belly button pierced on July 1st. She kept saying she would take me, and a few months passed by before I finally convinced her to take me that day. She was always putting it

off. Well, we went to a tattoo place called Chronic Tattoos and Body Piercing. While we waited, we walked around and looked at tattoos. My 14 year old sister was going to get her belly button pierced the same day too. When the man finally came to the counter,

my mom told him what we wanted done. He asked how old me and my sister were. I said 15 and she said 14. Then he said he couldn't pierce us until we were 16 because of Ohio state law, and that he was sorry. I was so mad! I really wanted it done, and I didn't

want to wait until September, when I would turn 16. My mom said she would bring me back in September to get in done and then we went home. After telling all my friends that I was going to get it done, I had to explain to them why I was belly button ring-less.

**The Big Day**

Well, a few months rolled by and finally it was September 15th, the day of my 16th b-day. I told my mom that she had to take me to the tattoo place the next day, but she said she didn't have any money. I had gotten around $200 for my b-day, so I said that I

would pay for it. The next day we were off to Chronic Tattoos and Body Piercing. We walked into the main lobby part. There was a girl and guy in front of us. They went into a back room with the piercer. I later learned that the girl got her tongue pierced. While

we were waiting, my mom and I looked at tattoo pictures. When they came back out my mom talked to the girl who had gotten her tongue pierced and she said it didn't hurt. She paid for it, then left.

**My Turn!!**

We went up to the counter and my mom told the guy what I wanted done. He was really friendly. He asked me how old I was and I said 16. Then he asked if I had any ID and I pulled out my drivers license. My mom showed him hers too. We had to fill out

these forms. I had to answer questions like did I eat within the last 4 hours, was I pregnant, and stuff like that. While I was doing that, Brian (My Piercer), went into the back room and cleaned the chair and table with sterilizer stuff. When I was done he said

that I had to wait a few minutes because he wasn't done cleaning. So me and my mom walked around looking at more tattoo pictures.

**Preperation**

About 5 minutes later, he came back and asked if I was ready. I happily said yes. We went into the back room. The chair didn't really look like a dentist chair, like I've heard. It was a big, black, leather chair, and it had no feet support things. There was something you could pull up to put your feet on, but the girl before me didn't need it, so I think thats why it wasn't up. Anyways, I took a seat on the chair. He re-positioned the chair so that I

was laying all the way down. There was a mirror next to the chair and I was watching the reflection of my feet dangling from the chair. He got out all the things he needed to pierce me and asked me if I had any questions. I was like yeah and asked him if it would

hurt. He said if it hurt that bad then not a lot of people would have it done. That was reassuring to me a little. Then he asked me if I had any questions about any of the tools he was gonna use. I said no, because from my research on the internet I knew just about

what everything was. My mom asked him what the cork was for. He said he sticks the needle in it when he throws it away or something like that. Then he asked me to stand up so he could mark me. I stood up and pulled up my tank top a little bit. Some people say

they have to unbutton their jeans, but mine come below my belly button so I didn't have to. He made a T sort of mark on me with a pen/marker thing. He explained to me that I had a really small belly button and that a ring would irritate the bottom of it and that it

would take a lot longer to heal. He suggested the curved barbell to me, and although I really wanted a ring I opted for the curved barbell. He asked me what color: blue, purple, or yellow. I picked blue. Then he said I could sit back down. He got the needle

out and put it in some clear gooey stuff. A few seconds later he told me he was ready to start.

**Finally, The Piercing**

I laid down and pulled up my shirt a little bit. He put this orangish clear cream stuff on my belly. I think that was to clean it. Then he wiped it off with 2 cotton balls. He explained to me that he was going to put the clamp on me and that I was going to feel

some pressure from it. The clamp looked like a pair of scissors, only with a clamp part on the end. It had some rubber bands tied around it. He put it on, and I did feel some pressure, but it didn't hurt. He made sure everything was in place and then got the needle

ready. The needle was big, but I had expected that. It was a few inches long. He told me he would count to 3 then pierce me. I just laid on my back and looked up at the ceiling, but my mom was watching the whole time. She said that he held the clamp up so that my

belly button was stretched out really far. Then he put the barbell at the end of the hollow part of the needle. He explained that he was about to do it. He counted.....1.....2......3...Owww!! Yeah, it hurt, I'm not gonna lie about that. But before I knew it he said that the needle was out and that he was putting the top blue ball on. I didn't even feel the needle go out!! My mom asked me if it hurt, and I lied and said not that much. It hurt, but only really bad for a couple seconds. I expected it to hurt more than it did though. The pain is definitely bearable if I was able to do it!! He put the ball on and it was over. I stood up and looked at it in the mirror. I fell in love with my belly button when I saw it!! Lol :o)

**Afterwards**

We went back into the lobby and Brian gave me this orange looking liquid provone soap and a bag of Sea Salt, and told me the aftercare procedures. He also gave me a paper repeating them in case I forgot, and told me that if I ran out that I could come back

for more, and that I should be able to change it in about 6 to 8 weeks. I paid the $50 fee, then went home. I was surprised that it wasn't red or anything. When I got home I showed my sisters and called all my friends and told them what I did. It hurt for the first

day. When I went to school Monday I showed just about the whole school my belly. Lol. Some of my friends would have never guessed that I would ever get that done. For the next 4 days it was sort of sore when I touched it. On the fourth day I noticed a tiny bit of

redness under the blue ball. I really started freaking out...I had been cleaning it just like the instructions said, and I had no clue why it would be red. My first instinct was that it was infected. So I went home and got on the internet and started looking up information

about aftercare. I found a really good page that said that a little redness on the 4th or 5th day was natural and that the belly button wasn't completely healed until the redness was all gone. I was sooooo relieved that it wasn't infected!! Today is day number 5 of my

piercing. It doesn't hurt when I touch it anymore, like it did before that. I really love my piercing!! I would definitely recommend it to anyone!! Yeah, it does hurt a little, but its

nothing that you can't handle. I thought it would be worse than it really was. But in the end, its all worth it!! My advice would be, 1) clean it just like you were told by the piercer, 2) don't play with the piercing, 3) don't take the piercing out before its

completely healed, and 4) get it done professionally: if you do it yourself there are good chances it will get infected. I have to still wait 6 to 8 weeks before I can change it to a ring, but I'm not sure if I want a ring now. I think I might want a jeweled curved barbell or a curved barbell with a flower on it...something pretty. And plus, you can change barbell's really easily (just screw it off), whereas rings are harder to change. Well that was my story...I hope you enjoyed it...(cause it took me about an hour to type!! lol). I am totally open to answering questions or anything you wanna know about!! My e-mail is Mandy284@hotmail.com or AIM: Mandy01584 I also have pictures of my piercing...the first day I got it done and today if you want to see it. So feel free to contact me, and

anyone who is thinking about getting this done, go for it because it is definitely worth it!!! :o)

*~Amanda~*