Your first connection
Before you were born, you grew inside the body of the mom who carried you, called your birth mom.
A soft, bendy tube called the umbilical cord (um-BIL-ih-kul) connected your tummy to her body. It brought you food and oxygen, so you could grow.
You didn't need to eat or breathe air yet. The cord did that work for you.
From cord to belly button
After you were born, you could breathe and drink milk on your own, so you didn't need the cord anymore.
The cord was snipped, and that didn't hurt at all, because the cord has no nerves.
A little stump was left. Over a week or two, it dried up and fell off, like a leaf from a tree. What was left is your belly button.
So your belly button is really a tiny scar, the very first one you ever had!
Innies and outies
Most people have an innie, a belly button that dips in like a little cave. Some people have an outie, which pokes out a bit.
Whether you have an innie or an outie depends on how your skin healed after the stump fell off. It doesn't depend on how the cord was snipped.
Innies and outies are both completely normal. Some belly buttons are round, some are long, and some look like a little smile.
Belly button lint
Ever found fuzzy lint in your belly button? It's tiny bits of fiber from your clothes.
Scientists who studied it think the little hairs around the belly button help catch the fibers and steer them in as you move.
Belly buttons, especially innies, can also collect sweat and dead skin flakes. Washing your belly button in the bath keeps it clean.