Getting Tattooed As A Mom
Becoming a mother is one of those occasions that many of us want to share with the entire world. There are mamas who buy those amazing ‘Mama Bear’ shirts, moms who create Instagram pages dedicated to how they raise their young, moms who buy stickers that inform the person behind them to take care ’cause there’s a munchkin in their car.
Then there are those mommas who decide that the best way to mark their glorious transition into motherhood is to get tattooed!
Tattoos used to be taboo, now people of all backgrounds, professions, and ages are getting tattooed. As a people we’ve all been interested in marking special occasions. Tattoos have grown in more popularity as a way to showcase these memories and displaying our individuality. I got my first tattoo at age 18. It was an impulse decision. I had done no research nor had any experience so I stupidly got the tattoo right on my rib cage. The pain wasn’t fun, but I stuck through it. Looking back I don’t regret getting the tattoo, but I did regret that I didn’t research or ask for an original design.
Now that I’m a mom I wanted to get a tattoo that would accurately describe my journey.
When people stop and ask me what it represents I want to tell them that it’s about my first miscarriage, my rainbow baby, and my belief that my deceased grandmother watched out for us along the way. There’s another part of me (probably that part that never grew up) that wants to rebel against the ‘norm’ and proudly display a colorful work of art for all to see.
Before I give you a glimpse of my new work of art I’d like to share some knowledge.
Research should always be done to ensure that you are going to a safe and clean tattoo shop.
You can always ask what their process is for cleaning and sanitizing work stations, etc. These days many tattoo artists utilize sites like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, personal websites, etc to display their work. They’ve got online portfolios of what they do and you can see if their style meets your needs.
If the type of ink matters to you speak out! See if your artist either uses the specific ink you’d like to use or is willing to order the ink for you (heads up it could cost you more). Since we’re a vegan family I’m always on the lookout for artists that utilize vegan ink. The difference between the two? Non-vegan inks sometimes contains glycerin made from animal fat or bones and/or gelatin from hooves or beetles. Not my cup of tea. After spending hours looking through Austin artist’s style of tattooing and different shops I settled on Josh (click on his name to see his Instagram) and met with him to discuss what I wanted. See it below!
The 7 birds (7 is a magical number per Harry Potter) symbolize a rainbow as they carry the little fox (my daughter) up to stare at the moon (my grandmother loved seeing the moon). It was important to me to have as much color as possible. All my other tattoos are either one color or black and grey. I cannot wait to add more ink to my body. I hope you like my interpretation of my journey to motherhood!
Please feel free to share a photo of your tattoos and their meaning with us!
While we respect your right to get tattooed anywhere please keep the pictures PG!
