Don't Push Her "Button"

My daughter is fearfully and wonderfully made. There is no denying that. She is sweet and funny and loves to be my little helper. She is also weird. I mean this statement with as much love as possible. This child has the most incredible fascination with her BELLYBUTTON! Maybe more than a fascination, more like an obsession.

I would always notice her playing with her bellybutton and thought nothing of it. Then the comments started coming. You know the kind. So how did that make me feel? At first I ignored them, thinking her bellybutton was apart of her body and I couldn't take it away from her; so what was the big deal? It became a big deal.

Presley has lots of clothes. Included in her wardrobe are cute jumpers/onesies. You know the ones that button underneath. When she was little, I loved the simplicity of these things. They were cute and easy and made for a quick diaper change. Presley was always accommodating (she didn't have much to say about it at six months old) Then it all changed when she discovered the "button." Gone were the days of jumpers and onesies. Oh no! That would never work. She couldn't get access to the "button." I remember a few months back when I put one on her. I could hear her in the bedroom getting frustrated. She came out a couple of minutes later and had managed to unbutton the thing and had her finger jammed in her bellybutton. She refused to let me button her back up, so I let her go to school just like that. Onesie hangin' past her knees. If they weren't already I'm sure her teachers were getting ready to nominate me for the "Mom of The Year Award." They (her teachers) would ALWAYS make comments to me about how much she played with her button. One day, I think I took it a little too far. The conversation went something like this:

Teacher: "Presley always has her finger in her bellybutton. We always tell her to stop because its gross."

Me: "Well, I suppose it's better that her finger is in her bellybutton, rather than down her pants like that little boy over there. Oh, and I think he just stuck his finger in that little girl's mouth."

As you can guess, the conversation about my daughter and her button was over. Though I find it somewhat odd that she always wants to touch it, I have never thought of it as "gross." Just this morning I had to pull over because she wasn't able to lift her shirt far enough up in her car seat to get a hold of built in "lovey." Keller's lovey was and still is a little, stuffed baseball guy. Presley's lovey is her bellybutton. I suppose there are worse habits she could have, and while this one is peculiar; it's one more reason why my baby girl is unique. Let's just hope she grows out of it before junior high...

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14