Over the next few weeks, my belly really started to grow. I could see my belly button becoming more and more shallow until week 23, where half of it started to become an outie. It's funny how some women never get an outie and others get one very early on. Some women are really bothered by the fact that they develop an outie, but I didn't really care. I only wondered if my belly button would continue to pop out until it was a full outie, or if it would just remain in this in between stage throughout my entire pregnancy.
Aside from the outie belly button, I also developed quite a visible linea negra. The linea negra is a dark line that appears on your belly during pregnancy, running up and down your belly. It is usually most prominent under your belly button, but I developed a thin linea negra all the way up my belly, with a thicker line under my belly button. Apparently the hormonal changes that come with pregnancy stimulate increased pigment production, causing this area to darken.
What bothered me more than my outie or the linea negra was the dark pigmentation that developed around my belly button, making it look bruised. I'm guessing that the hormonal changes that cause the linea negra to form may also explain the darkening around my belly button. Regardless of the cause, I've heard from a few other women who have been pregnant that the skin just sloughs off after you have the baby and it looks normal again. (Kind of gross, but good to know it returns back to normal after pregnancy.) I have had a few people tell me that the pigmentation looks to be in the shape of a heart, so at least I have a semi-cute looking "bruise" around my outie :)
There are so many changes that your body goes through with pregnancy... what change has bothered you the most? What change occurred that you never expected?
Saturday, October 24, 2009
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