Tape a Coin on His Navel????

It is an old wives tale. It doesn't work. Innie or outie presentation of a navel is genetically determined. In a two month old, it can be normal and will most likely "innie" itself by the time he is 6-12 months old.

if he has an outtie now, it does not mean he will always be like that.
And even if he does, that is no big deal.

DO NOT put the coin there. Dangerous... he can choke!

I have 2 boys. one has and innie and one has an outie. I always thought that I would like the innie better, but the outie is much cuter.

I would leave it alone, whether an innie or an outie, who cares really?

I'd worry more about any tape being stuck to the skin for very long. My skin, and my kids skin would become angry with having tape applied.
Innie or outie - what difference does it make? It is who he is. (And at 2 months still may change.) :)
You would want to worry if it has a hernia. If you are still seeing your pediatrician for well checks you can ask at the next one. I would guess if they saw something wrong, they would have let you know by now. :)
Isn't extended family great? :)

The older generations in our family told us the same thing. We just smiled. No, you don't need to do this. I guess they used to be quite obsessed with innies in their day. It will do what it will do in its own good time. I would suppose it is right where it needs to be for the time. Blessings, and congratulations on your sweet new baby!

Ummmmm....talk to a doctor! I'm not sure a coin wouldn't be a choking hazard and besides that, this wreaks of mythology:)

some babies have innies some have outies-- what you are born with is what you get-- i wouldn't mess with it. what if he has a reaction to the metal from the coin? you wouldn't want an unbilical infection--- treasure the belly button he has and leave it alone!!!

My mum duct taped all of our bellybuttons (girls) when we were little to make sure they were "innies". I HATE it. I can fit an entire bullet in my bellybutton, and until I was preggers could actually poke my finger through my abdominal wall. Ugh. What makes it *especially* bad, however, is that my mum did this to me on purpose because SHE likes innies. (The whole James Bond belly danger who put a golden bullet in her belly button was what she wanted for all of her girls. So she just pinched it and taped it. ). Seriously. Before being pregnant it was over an inch deep. And now it's almost 2 inches deep. The boys were left au naturale and have *real* belly buttons. Nice ones. Innies, flats, or outies. I've been ticked about my belly button since I was 5. If I'd just been born with it, fine. But that she DID this I still have serious resentments about. If I ever get a tummy tuck, I'll have them make me a fake navel.

But yeah. Taping works.

It was a fad in the 70's, and prior to that during each of the egyptian/middle easter crazes in the beginning of the 1900's and in the late 1800's. Each time (to the best of my knowledge) it has to do with being able to put a jewel in ones navel. It works because all of the tissue is still healing and it is essentially an "open wound". Just like you can take any open wound and contort it so it heals in a specific shape.

I know in the scheme of things, it's a pretty minor gripe. But it's a 30 year old gripe.

I have heard of doing this, but didn't do it with my babies.
What I used were belly bands, the very same ones my mom used on me and my sister. They are made of soft strips of cotton that you wrap aound the baby's middle a couple of times and tie. (Kind of the wrap around skirt concept).
Women "back in the day" used them actually to help prevent hernia's from the babies grunting and straining. My sister and I didn't get hernias and both have innies for what it's worth.
I'd rather do cloth bands than coins just due to tape issues, etc, but yes, I have certainly heard of doing it.
Your pediatrician will tell you if there is anything to worry about as far as underlying problems.

I'm interested to see your other responses.

Congratulations on your baby!

did you flush rthe toilet to see if you'd have a boy or girl? lol

You can't change whether you have an innie or outie, just like you can't change the color of your eyes. It's genetics. It will change as he grows and probably not look so obvious. Right now he's very little and still changing. (Plus coins are disgustingly dirty.)

I put a big bandaid , the kind designed for really big scrapes and put a few cotton balls on her belly button putting the bandaid over the cotton balls. I tried just the coin but it didn't work as well.

I'm not positive but I think it was something people did years and years ago. But I don't think it really does any harm or good. I know with both my girls they have an outty while they are really little like that but as they get older it goes in on it's own. They are now 4 and almost 2 and they both have innies. I wouldn't worry about it enough to tape a coin to your baby. kinda sounds uncomfortable.

get some medical attention.. he or she could have i navel hernia not good they can take care of it .. i would not mess with it... i wouldent push agenst the belly button with a coin.. were born the way we are lol good luck

I think it's an old wives tale. My 4 year old nephew had surgery this morning to correct his "outie." The dr. told his mom that if it doesn't correct itself by 2 years old, it won't. If it doesn't correct, it really needs to be surgically fixed b/c a) it will grow as the child grows and b) the child will have a rough time getting teased by other boys (in jr. high or high school locker rooms...let alone by girls) when they see his outie. It may correct, but ask your ped. for recommendations for the future.

P.S. Wow, I am surprised so many responses say leave it, even if it stays an outie. It may depend on how bad it is...my nephew's was very big & noticeable. I would never let me son grow with such a noticeable outie, kids would torment him. Again, ask your ped. & just wait & see what happens. If it's protruding a lot, you may need to go the surgery route.

my son has an outtie, i think its cute what is the big deal?

Haha, that's an old wives tale. It will most likely go in on its own eventually, if not he's just an "outie". I would not do the coin trick.

I am a midwife. This is completely normal. Your baby's abdominal muscles are not strong enough to pull his belly button in yet. As he grows the muscles will naturally pull it in. The coin is an old wives tale

Lisa

I just came back from my well check and I had the same question. My in-laws are insisting that we tape the belly button of our 2 month old to make sure he doesn't get hernia beyond the baby hernia. The ped explained though that by pressing it, you may weaken the muscle that prevents hernia from happening. Made sense to me.

Defintley ask your pediatrician if it looks normal, since we can't see the extent of it but a belly button sticking out is common. Coin? I wouldn't do that...

Old wives tale! As you son grows and develops he will strengthen his stomach muscles making the belly button change. He sounds normal to me

Not all naval's become innies with time thats a myth, I seen hugh outie naval's on adults that looked pretty weird to me, buldge out like a minature balloon, those adult may or may not like it now, but they had no choice at the time when they were baby's so it seems to me it's ultimately the parent's decision to do what they wish, they may use an old family remedy or go the modern way, I haven't as of yet seen a Model with a hugh outie naval before just saying.

totally normal. old wives' tale.

I was always a skinny child and had a protruding button until nearly my 20's when I put weight on. I don't know if weight has anything to do with it, but that's when it finally went in and stayed in...along with the weight.

I have never heard of this but to me that's like forcing a left-handed child to be a righty. I wouldn't mess with it and let his body be what it is.

He may have an umbilical hernia. My 11 month old had one and by the time he was 3 months old it healed on it's own, which most do. I wouldn't worry about it and a coin isn't going to help. He now has a nice inny belly button. :)

Both of my girls have this problem. You have 21 comments so far so I'm sure by now someone has mentioned umbilical hernia. If that's truly what it is, no coin is going to work because there's a hole on the inside of the navel. It can be repaired surgically if necessary. Your pediatrician will advise you of what to do. I didn't do surgery for my now 8 year old daughter because she already had 2 surgeries on her eye before she was 2 years old. Even her pediatrician said at that time as long as there's no complications, we'd leave it alone.

My daughter's was like this, not quite an innie & not far enough out to be a full outie either. I left it alone & now she is 5 & has a very nice shallow innie.

I do agree with the other moms - could be an umbilical hernia - the penny is in fact an old wive's tale - talk to your pediatrician about it.

I never heard of this one before.
Generally coins are filthy, and even if you dip it in alcohol and sanitize it before using it, the child s sensitive skin might have a reaction to the metal.
I can't see any pediatrician recommending this as something that should be done.

My daughter was a preemie at 30wks, and her belly button is literally a button. It sticks out like a little rounded dome. Its ADORABLE, and while she may not think so when she's 18 and wants to wear a bikini, I would never subject her to surgery over something this mild and cosmetic like a previous poster suggested. I'm pretty sure she's not the only person in the world to have an outie, and its not something to be concerned over. As long as there is no umbilical hernia, then don't worry about it.