Sunday, December 29, 2013

Birth Mark

When I first noticed a mark on his leg at 2 weeks old, it was just a very small crescent.  I thought maybe he had gotten his leg pinched in the carseat strap or someone had accidently scratched him or something.  A few weeks later, I noticed that it had grown instead of getting better so I mentioned it at his 1 month appointment.  The doctor said it is a birthmark called a capillary hemangioma, also referred to as a strawberry birthmark.  This type of birthmark forms about 1-2 weeks after birth and starts growing at a month.  It can grow for 6 months up to a year and then should begin to shrink back on its own, usually resolving itself by age 10 or so.  Hailey calls it "baby brother's strawberry."  

Here it is at a month, after it had grown a bit from its original size:


Here it is at 6 months:


It pretty much seems to have stopped growing at this point, so now we'll just wait for it to start shrinking back.  I don't really notice it anymore, and it is such a part of him that I think I will miss it when it is gone.

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