Sep 18, 2011  •  In Aerin, Personal, Pregnancy

My Second Belly Button

Two months after my appendectomy, my incision scars still hurt. The largest — a 1.5″ cut about 4″ above my belly button — is the most painful and remains an angry red.

My doctor tells me that this is what I should expect with a surgical scar on a growing, pregnant belly. He says that while the skin and muscle on my stomach will continue to expand with the pregnancy, the scar tissue will resist stretching. And as a result, the incision scars will take longer to fully heal.

Additionally, because the rest of my belly continues to grow with no regard to the scars, there now exists indentations where the scar tissues lie.

When I am sitting/crouching, and the skin and fat on my stomach contract, the largest scar seems to indent even further, creating a funny-looking cave that looks like a large, second belly button.

I would take a picture, but it’s kinda gross. :mrgreen: So here’s something I found online to tide you over:


I couldn’t believe this is a real children’s book!
It actually looks pretty interesting…

Now that BebeDeux’s due date grows near, I have been wondering how the scars will look after giving birth. Not right afterwards — because I still looked like I was 4 months pregnant for at least a month after my last delivery — but when my tummy finally shrinks.

In other words, I was 25 weeks pregnant when I had my appendectomy. My belly was already full and round when the scar tissue formed…so will the scars remain stretched and raised after I give birth?

I guess only time will tell. But one thing is for certain: despite my use of silicone scar patches, vitamin E, and shea butter, the appearance of the scars has not improved any…and so I think it’s safe to say that my bikini-wearing days are over.

I just had an additional thought: if I end up getting a c-section with BebeDeux, I will have four surgical scars on my stomach!

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6 Responses to “My Second Belly Button”

  1. Angela says:

    ouch! haha and you still retain your great sense of humor. 😀

    i have keloid prone skin, so if i had to get a c-section i would’ve ended up with an ugly red, raised mess. i’m so scared of any sort of surgical scar or scar in general.

  2. Brooke says:

    I knew a boy in middle school who had no belly button, because of a surgery due to Chrohn’s disease. Though men don’t have to deal with as much judgement as women on their appearance, he never hid that fact. I think as long as you want to rock a bikini, you should! You’ll have two beautiful babies to credit those scars to, and what better reason for them than that??

  3. Carol says:

    you are such a super woman! I tell people stories about you…. “You think that’s painful? Well I knew someone who had her appendix taken out WHILE she was pregnant!” You win all the time. =)

  4. Sarah says:

    Oh that sounds so painful : ( I’m sure it will all heal and work out though! And I agree… don’t be afraid to rock the bikini if you’re not ready to let it go! : )

  5. Joy says:

    So Sorry to hear that. I had two c-sections and the incision is not so bad. It’s almost hidden really. After a few years (yes years) you won’t even notice it!

  6. Hayley says:

    So I’m not the only one who thinks I look like I’ve got a second belly button. I got my appendix removed 5 weeks postpartum and of course still had my wobbly belly from pregnancy, but now it looks like they’ve stitched the incision below my belly button too deep to the point that my husband asked which was my real belly button. Did urs pop out eventually or do u still have what looks like 2 belly buttons.

    It makes me self conscious when I’m naked obviously and leaves me wondering if it will ever go away & just leave a little scar minus the indent.

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