When several girls in my class got their belly buttons pierced back in tenth grade, I thought it was the stupidest fad and didn't know why anybody would want to do that. However, my perception of this piercing changed at the end of my eleventh grade year. I should add that I already had a total of five piercings in my ears. One piercing in each lobe was done at the end of third grade in a doctor's office. Another piercing in each lobe and a cartilage piercing on the left ear were done on my birthday (December 16) in ninth grade at a local hair dresser's place.
At A Glance Author Holly Jo When Six months ago Studio Asylum Location Ames, Iowa My best friend Bridget and I started to realize how pretty belly button rings looked, and both our boyfriends think belly button rings or barbells are sexy. During the summer, we decided to get them pierced sometime.
I approached my parents about it, and while they didn't object to it, they didn't think it was something that I really wanted to do. Bridget asked her mom, and her mom said, "Maybe." That "maybe" then turned into an adamant "NO!"
School started again, and I found out that our friend Shannon wanted to get her belly button pierced again. She pierced it herself two or three years ago and doesn't have it anymore. I don't know if it got infected or her mom made her take it out or what. I also started talking with Kelly, our exchange student from Brazil, and I learned that she wanted her belly button pierced.
On October 27, 2001, Bridget, Shannon, Kelly, and I headed for the Asylum in Ames. It turns out that only Kelly and I were getting it done that day. Shannon's a cheerleader, and they're not allowed to wear body jewelry, so she'd have to take it out before she'd have a chance to heal it. The cost – barbell and piercing – was $20. I picked out a checkered white and purple barbell with a clear stone in the bottom.
I decided to go first. I could feel my heart speeding up as I entered the piercing room. The guy took the barbell I chose and sprayed some sort of disinfectant on it. Now that I look back on it, I realize he should have used an autoclave. He washed his hands, put on gloves, cleaned my navel area, and marked the dots. He had me lie down on the reclined chair, and then he put the clamps on. I didn't think they were bad. They felt like someone lightly pinching my skin. He told me he was going to pierce me then, so I prepared myself. In went the needle. He turned around and got my barbell, and I sat up a little and looked at the needle in me. He put it in, screwed on the top ball, and the procedure was done. I thought it was more painful than lobe piercings but far less painful than my cartilage piercing, which throbbed for about ten seconds after I got it done. He had me stand up so he could take a picture of my new piercing; then he gave me the after-care sheet, explained it t o me, and handed me a little cup of non-iodized salt.
Kelly was next. The piercing room had a window so Bridget, Shannon, and Kelly were able to watch. In fact, I waved to and smiled at them as I was pierced. Anyway, Kelly flinched during the piercing, but she came out smiling. We shopped in Ames that evening, and we came home. I drove, and sitting up straight kind of made the piercing sore.
I work in a nursing home as a certified nurse's aide, and working there the next day made me nervous. I showed some of the residents my piercing; some liked it, and some shook their heads and smiled. It only hurt once that day while I was helping to lift someone and accidentally bumped it. I'm almost always a tummy sleeper, but I wasn't for the first two weeks or so. After that, I was fine sleeping on my stomach.
The guy who pierced me explained how to do vacuum sea salt soaks, but I did mine differently. I mixed a cup of the stuff, kept it covered with saran wrap in the refrigerator, and used a clean washcloth to dip in it and then squeeze over my belly button. Maybe it's not the right way, but it's worked well for me. I cleaned it in the shower, did two or three sea salt soaks per day, and took hot baths (I made sure the bath tub was always clean before I did it). I received a really neat curved barbell for a Christmas gift (my aunt wanted to get me something, and I showed her that one from the Internet). However, the thing looked kind of cheap once I saw it, and I wasn't sure what grade of steel it was....I put it in anyway. Things seemed to have gone down from there.
One to three months after Christmas, my belly button looked all nasty and red. I liked to look at it and touch it several times throughout the day, and I put an abrupt stop to this because I realized that something different had to be done if I wanted to heal this thing. I've been leaving it alone more, cleaning it less, taking my multi-vitamin, and getting more sleep. Now at a little more than seven months, my piercing looks better than it ever has!
If you are considering this piercing, go ahead and get it – it's not very painful and looks great! Some things to keep in mind: don't over clean it, try not to always sleep on your stomach, if you are suspicious about a piece of jewelry, don't put it in, and never touch it unless you have just washed your hands!
I know for sure that I want one more piercing in each lobe. I am thinking that I want to get a tattoo. I know the design I like and where I would like to have it; I just want to wait a few months and decide if it's something I truly want to do. I am also tentatively considering getting my nipples pierced, mostly for the increase in sensitivity and feeling. I hope you have enjoyed my little story. Happy piercing!