SKIN DEEP MAGAZINE • 27tentions run much deeper than the surface, and as always
I can only speak for my own experiences.
Why was I so quick to tattoo my new son’s name on
my neck? In a post-birth aftermath that was filled with
confusion (“what on earth is this new thing living with
me?”), adjustment (“how do I look after this new thing
living with me?”) and guilt (“oh no, am I failing this new
thing living with me?”)—was my new tattoo a desperate
attempt for me to convince myself that I would, and could
be, a good parent? Was my tattoo purely a celebration of
love, to welcome new life into the world in style? I’m not
sure it was either of these things, actually.
For me, selfishly, my new tattoo was for me. Of course,
on some level it declares a permanent unconditional love
for my new child but really, that goes without saying and
decorating my skin with five letters has no influence or
impact on that. No, this tattoo was to mark transforma-
tion—to acknowledge the shedding of an old skin and the
growth of a new one, to commemorate my journey from
maiden to mother, to reclaim a body that for nine months
was home to someone else and as a result will never feel
the same again.
From now on, after having experienced something
which has so vastly changed me mentally and physically,
getting tattooed will always be an attempt for me to re-
gain strength, re-embrace this canvas which feels so in-
credibly different and re-cover from the beautiful trau-
ma of pregnancy and birth. This new tattoo is also about
ritual—after sacrificing my own self-care for the first few
months as a new mother, treating myself to this day-out
was a chance for me to remember the old me, to get back
into the swing of my world, a world which—perhaps like
yours—spins to the tune of a tattoo machines buzzing.
Evidently, a name tattoo can mean much more than
the eye would have you first believe. Perhaps the name
isn’t just a name, but a reminder, of what we have been
through and who we are. And if that isn’t a very good rea-
son to get tattooed, then I don’t know what is.