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When Jack was born and the pediatrician came in to check on him she said to me, “the birth mark on his far head will fade in a few months”.
I was still in a daze from having been up all night giving birth and I thought I heard her wrong. My son is perfect he has no birth mark. Yet when I held my little boy there it was a purple –ish splotch sort of in the shape of Autobots symbol from transformers.
How had I not noticed it?
Even in the few minutes after his birth I was still blind to his imperfections.
The birthmark faded a lot in the first few months of his life. But it was always there. It can be seen in his baby pictures and when he gets angry. At his 2 month appointment they told us it would fade by the time he was a year, then at the 6 month appointment they told us in a year to 2 years, and at the 9 month appointment in a couple of years.
And while it has faded from purple to a light pink color, it is still there. And most days I still don’t notice it. But other people do. The lady in the library who asked if he had prickly heat or the woman in Old Navy who pointed out to me that he seemed to have a heat rash.
And I explain, “It’s a birthmark I’ve been told it will fade”.
But I always feel like they are looking at me funny, like I did something wrong, like I caused the birthmark. And sometimes I do wonder if it was something I did.
Did my decision to push rather than continue to labor on somehow cause this? Was he stuck? Did I not push hard enough or fast enough? Was he hurt? And yet every time I Google birthmarks it I find no reasonable explanation for the birthmark except that it will fade with time.
I worry about the birthmark more now as he is approaching a year old because kids can be cruel. Kids notice things. Kids ask questions. I fear he will have his feelings hurt and be bullied for something that he was born with. Something that his mother didn’t even notice because in her eyes he’s perfect.
Did you worry about birthmarks? Is there something about your kid that you are afraid will get them picked on?
Jack just hours old.
Jack at 10 months
Linked up with Things I Can’t Say for…
Oh, hon. It's not your fault.
And I had to squint to even be able to see anything.
Goodness, all I can see is how absolutely beautiful he is! What an angel!
All I noticed was what a cutie he is!! I really could barely see it.
The first few paragraphs are eeriely similar to my own story with my first born.
http://notwifezilla.blogspot.com/2009/02/birthmark-bump.html
All I see here is a beautiful little boy! 🙂
I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't mentioned it. He is so super cute. My oldest was born with a deep wrinkle above her eye and like you, I thought it was the most precious mark because I thought she was absolutely perfect. One day it was gone and I wondered when it had happened.
I wouldn't have noticed it had this not been the topic of the post. He sure is adorable!!!
On the subject of birthmarks, this post really struck a chord with me. Bella was born with a hemangioma on her right arm. During the first few months after her birth, it grew at an alarmingly fast rate and then ended up ulcerating. Now, she's left with a scar that pretty much covers her entire upper arm. People ask about it all the time, kids have said cruel things to her but she's always maintained a healthy, positive view of herself. She knows people are curious and she's patient when answering their questions.
But as a parent, it's hard when others notice our children's unique characteristics and consider them flaws. When we look at our kids, we just see the beauty and how special they are.
My sister had a mark just like that on her forehead when she was a baby. It might take a while, but I know that my sister's mark faded entirely and is just a memory!
Now, the beauty mark of a freckle right under my daughter's eye worries me more. I think it's an adorable part of her personality, but already people always ask if it's a boo-boo. I'll let her decide if she wants to keep it or have it removed when she's older.