So what did you do this weekend? Well… I had my tongue pierced. I’ve wanted to do it for three years, but due to being pregnant, breastfeeding, caring for a baby then a toddler. I only just got around to it.

I took a friend to hold my hand. My friend, who was laughing at wussy old me before, looked rather nervous at the sight of the needle. I think it was scarier for my friend than me!

If you are not familiar, tongue piercing involves sticking a metal needle through your tongue, then insertion of a metal barbell. It actually hurts less than you think. And while the person being pierced can’t really see what’s happening, the friend holding the hand gets a great view of metal going through flesh. Not for the faint of heart!

Then your tongue swells up to twice it’s normal width and you talk strangely for a few days. Your toddler laughs at you. It’s sore to eat and it’s a bit of a pain to swish your mouth out with mouthwash several times a day. Your toddler will want to drink the mouthwash. Remember to put it somewhere high up. If you don’t consider juice as a paving stone on the road to hell, buy the toddler some blue juice as a consolation.

I’m a couple of days out of the piercing, and it’s still a bit sore, and is still swollen, but I can just about talk normally and I love they way it looks. In a month, I’m going back for another bar through my ear.

Are you considering a tattoo or a piercing?

Tattooing and piercing, while generally considered safe, are not recommended for pregnant or nursing women. Your body has plenty to deal with right now, so don’t add in anything else, let yourself focus on your baby. Consider the time taken in the aftercare of the tattoo or piercing – will you find the time, or even remember to clean it? Also, infections and complications are possible, and harder to deal with while pregnant or nursing or looking after a baby.

So here’s the question. What is your opinion of moms with tattoos, or moms with piercings? Do you think that they look trashy on moms? Would you think a tattooed or pierced mom is a bad mom? Or in 2008, when almost one-third of the population has a tattoo, does it matter at all? And do you have any tattoos or piercings?