November 2015 Moms

Stomach/side tattoos stretching out

charrison6885charrison6885 member
edited June 2015 in November 2015 Moms
Hello, I'm wondering if any STM's have had any tattoos that got ruined/warped from your growing belly? I have a pretty large side tattoo that goes onto my stomach and at 20 weeks it's really starting to look stretched out. I'm wondering if anyone that has had this happen has had their ink go back to normal or if it looked funny afterwards. I have a friend who got stretch marks all over her lower stomach tattoos. I haven't noticed any stretch marks, my tattoo just looks really wide. I obviously wasn't thinking about a baby stretching it out when I got it at 18.

Re: Stomach/side tattoos stretching out

  • One of my ex's friends had a super tacky tattoo of her husband's name going from hip downwards.
    Towards the end of her pregnancy it looked like a little "To" next to a blown up "NY".
    Afterwards it never looked quite right. Imagine drawing on a balloon, blowing it up and then releasing the air.
    It's going to depend on you skin's elasticity but that is what I had witnessed.
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  • Either you can get it redone if it's ruined or let it be and accept it as a part of growing a human inside of your body. Or you'd be one of lucky ones that it would shrink back either to its original size or nearly original size.

    If you think it'll need to be redone, make sure you're done having kids first.
  • It think it depends on the elasticity of your skin and how well your moisturize. I have a small one on my rib cage. It stretched some towards the end of pregnancy when I started to really round out, but it shrank back down and still looks like I did pre pregnancy.
  • ash413ash413 member
    I have one on my R lower abdomin that is already starting to look. I don't have high hopes for it recovering. Getting and abdominal tattoo was not one the smarter things my 18 y.o self did.
            
           image

    Married 5/23/2011
    BFP 6/16/2013 EDD 2/25/2014 MC 7/2/2013
    BFP 8/30/2014 EDD: 5/10/2015- MC 10/2/2014
    BFP 3/16/2015 EDD: 11/22/2015
  • Right now I'm pretty glad none of my tattoos are on my abdomin or rib cage. I've been warned that the one on my chest very well may stretch a bit, so hopefully it won't look distorted. So far, so good though!
  • I have a tattoo on my side and on my hip and neither of them stretched nor did they get messed up. I got the tattoo on my side after my 1st and actually covered up a small stretch mark and you would never even know it was there unless you knew about it or actually felt it. I suggest moisturizing everyday to keep your skin from getting dry.
  • Mine basically did the deflated balloon thing :/ luckily there was a smoke design involved so the stretchmarks in it are kinda camouflaged. It's a large side piece going from bra line to hip. I should add that I had SERIOUS stretchmarks with my first.
  • Wondering about this myself. I've talked to women who had stomach tats go back to normal and others who have not. It depends on the person. I didn't have my side tat with my first so I have no idea what will happen. I'm just moisturizing the crap out of it and hoping it won't end up being too stretched out.
  • On the subject of body mods:

    No tats here, but really getting worried about my navel piercing.  I know you can get a soft, flexible spacer type thing for it, but how on earth does that work when your belly button pops?  My doc said to remove it when it gets uncomfortable, which its starting to do, and I guess I'll get it re-pierced when I'm done growing humans....  Any other mommas with a navel piercing?

  • On the subject of body mods:

    No tats here, but really getting worried about my navel piercing.  I know you can get a soft, flexible spacer type thing for it, but how on earth does that work when your belly button pops?  My doc said to remove it when it gets uncomfortable, which its starting to do, and I guess I'll get it re-pierced when I'm done growing humans....  Any other mommas with a navel piercing?

    Yes navel piercing here. I tried the plastic ones and ended up being allergic to them. I ended up getting a longer bar bell and took it out the morning I went into labor. However I was lucky my belly button never popped. Hope the same will happen this time.

    What if you put it in everyday and take it out, just to keep it from closing? Not sure how it would work if it pops out though. If that were to happen to me, I would just take it out and if it closed, maybe re pierce or maybe not. Lol. I'm getting kind of old for piercings anyway.
  • tayzavtayzav member
    I have a huge side piece and a chest piece and really hope they go back to normal after a few months of my normal exercise after baby. Guess we'll see. I agree it just all depends on the person. Fortunately I'm a lotion weirdo so I try to lather up a lot, including my tattoos. I have my belly done and have considered just taking it out, as I feel like I'm getting too old as well haha, but then I always keep it thinking I'll regret it. Mine closes pretty fast as I've have it done twice and the scar tissue tends to close it up faster than normal. So far I have lots of room in my regular one but will get a pregnancy one if need be.
  • My chest tattoo is fine after baby number one. I'm in the Preggie app, and it seems like most women there have side or belly tats. I think most look okay afterwards. But I really depends on your skin. I would use lots of moisturizer. Check out Preggie. It has a lot more photos in that community too. https://preggieapp.com/r/preggie_usa
  • On the subject of body mods:

    No tats here, but really getting worried about my navel piercing.  I know you can get a soft, flexible spacer type thing for it, but how on earth does that work when your belly button pops?  My doc said to remove it when it gets uncomfortable, which its starting to do, and I guess I'll get it re-pierced when I'm done growing humans....  Any other mommas with a navel piercing?

    I ended up having to take mine out because my belly button flattened out and it got super uncomfortable. My belly button never closed back up, but the hole is stretched all weird and its scarred from being pregnant with my first. I haven't bothered with it because I feel like it will look weird after being all stretched out.

  • tayzavtayzav member

    Thanks for the responses on navel piercings.  I think I'll just deal with taking it out; IDK if my belly button will pop but it scares me enough that its worth a re-pierce.  Will totally re-pierce though; IMO there's never a 'too old', but this is coming from a 29 year old with purple hair, so... yeah.

    I'm 28, 29 by the time baby is here. Although his whole year I thought I was 27 until my BFF brought it to my attention that I'm older, such a shame. I stopped counting at 25 lol. I guess ur right, I'm gonna go with never too old. ;)
  • Thanks for the responses on navel piercings.  I think I'll just deal with taking it out; IDK if my belly button will pop but it scares me enough that its worth a re-pierce.  Will totally re-pierce though; IMO there's never a 'too old', but this is coming from a 29 year old with purple hair, so... yeah.

    I wish mine would still work, but for some reason the upper hole stretched out and when I put a ring in it, it kind of sagged and hung weirdly. Lol.

  • I have a tattoo around my belly button, it got big while pregnant but went right back to normal after I lost the tummy. I didn't get stretch marks on my belly button.
  • Never to old!! 33 here and have kept mine in with every pregnancy, onto #4.
    My button never went to an outie though just stretched way out. Plus it's the 2nd piecing I've had so if I took it out and it closed up there would be no redoing it for me, to much scar tissue.
  • Cook3133 said:

    Never to old!! 33 here and have kept mine in with every pregnancy, onto #4.
    My button never went to an outie though just stretched way out. Plus it's the 2nd piecing I've had so if I took it out and it closed up there would be no redoing it for me, to much scar tissue.

    I never thought of that! This is my second re piercing too. Had it redone because it got seriously infected when I was younger so it had to come out. Guess I won't be able to re pierce.
  • My chest tattoo is already stretched out! Luckily when I got it done the artist factored in that one day I might have kids or sagging or body changes and did it in a way that it would stretch normal. At the time it was uncomfortable (couldn't wear a bra or shirt) but I'm thankful now!!
  • LizQ2LizQ2 member
    I have a large tattoo on my side that goes from my bra line down onto the side of my stomach and upper thigh. It has survived 2 pregnancies so far and still looks the same as it did when I got it! It started to look like it was stretching/getting wider when I was further long with the last two but has always gone back to normal.


    *YCSWU July Siggy*


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