The girls have been alive for a good 17 months, and after a couple reader questions, I realized that I should probably address Paisley’s Hemangioma.
It’s a birthmark. When she was born, it started out as a bright red, flat, mole-type thing. The nurses at the hospital acted like it was no big deal. But when we got home and it continued to grow, I was a little alarmed. It’s very 3-dimensional. Like the top of a mushroom.
The Dr assured me this is what’s supposed to happen… and that eventually after a couple years, it will shrink back to be level with the skin and turn back to skin color and disappear completely.
I had never heard of a Hemangioma before, but I was surprised by how many people see it and say ‘oh! She has a Hemangioma! I used to have one!’ But of those people, some say it left a scar, some still had the birthmark in it’s truest form, and some said it did indeed go away completely.
It doesn’t bother me. I’m just glad it’s not on her face. Mostly I’m worried that she’ll pick at it or it will get caught on something and it’ll break open. (She had one break open when she was itty-bitty… NOT FUN!)
It’s cute when other kids notice it or try to grab it… cause it kinda looks like a glob of strawberry jelly. We just tell them ‘it’s Paisley’s owwie’ so that they will leave it alone.
I’ve been known to erase it in photos from time to time. Not because I’m embarrassed of it… I just like to practice my photoshopping skillz and see if I can make it go away! I’ve stopped doing that, because I want her to be proud of it and not feel ashamed or feel like she’s different in a bad way.
When the girls were tiny, friends and family appreciated that it was there so they could use it to distinguish the babes from each other. Now they don’t have a problem with that… with them looking TOTALLY different these days.
And that’s the rundown on Paisley’s Hemangioma! We think she’s perfect in every way, and wouldn’t change a darn thing!
Did you (or anyone you know) have a Hemangioma? What was your experience? Did it ever get caught on things, or prevent you from doing certain things? Is it still there? Or is there a scar?
Related:
-
Every spring, I have grand plans of having the most epic vegetable and flower gardens!…
-
Howdy friends! We've been using and abusing our Sven Sofa and Armchair from Article for…
-
Is it too early to call this spring cleaning? The truth is, we've been planning…
My thought is that while she was born with out and out is not physically harmful, it is quite noticeable. Why not just get out removed for her so that she doesn’t have to deal with it for the rest of her life. Life is hard enough without her growing up having tho be self conscious about it. You, your family, and your friends may not mind, but kids can be sensitive to others kids always asking about it.
My daughter is one years old and she has one on her chest. We have tried oral meds and even topical creams to help reduce the size. We are afraid she will be insecure of it as she gets older. We are thinking of getting it removed. I’m scared of the thought but nothing else seems to make it go away. It is very similar to your daughters..just slightly to the left under her chin.
I would give it some time. Paisley turns two today (!!!) and hers has reduced quite a bit. We’re hoping that it’ll be gone before she starts school so kids don’t make fun of her. But at home we treat it like a special thing. She knows it’s beautiful.
My son is 16 and I just remembered he had one at the base of his skull when he was a baby. It went away so gradually and is so totally gone, I had forgotten about it until your posts. You have two beautiful girls. Mazel tov!
My younger sister has one. Hers is on her chest (about the spot a bikini top hits) and is in the shape of a strawberry. That’s what we call it. She’s 2 years younger than me and a shirt covers it up, so I can’t tell you what it looked like when she was little, but she’s 21 now and it’s smooth to the skin. It faded a bit over time, but still a very bright red. She loves it.
I love that your sister loves her Hemangioma! If Paisley’s sticks around, I hope that she can be confident enough to rock it. 🙂 All the other kids will be jealous… hehe!
I have two hemangiomas….on my liver! Found them quite accidentally during an ultrasound. I was a bit alarmed “Wha..??”. But, we’ve had them re checked and are assured they are benign and, as you said, doing what they are supposed to do. And even on the liver they are considered a birth mark. 🙂
Hi. First and most importantly, your daughters are lovely… My daughter was born with several hemangiomas, on her face and the back of her neck. We heard several of the comments posted here from various doctors in our area. We then decided to take her to see Dr. Milton Waner in New York – a specialist who only treats patients with vascular anomalies – hemangiomas are a vascular anomaly. There are lost of medical questions to be answered, I can tell you that they are more prevelent in multiple births, hemangiomas are VERY common and happen in 10% of all births – I was also shocked by the occurrence rate. After my daughter finished her treatments, I became a patient advocate and formed a foundation to help others get treatments and answers to their questions – since there is a LOT of mininformation curculating with respect to hemangiomas and vascular anomalies. I am happy to help you answer questions or find answers to your questions if you would like – feel free to e-mail me at sfoster@wanerkids.org. I wish you the very best in your search for answers.
I have twin nieces and both were born with one. My sister was told by her dr that it is very common for premature girls to have one. One twin had one on her head that continued to grow and it was removed when she was 2. The other twin had one on her back that shrunk and eventually went completly away!
My daughter Torie has one on the back of her right forearm. Very light but getting darker by the month. If it gets too bulgy I’ll have it taken off. Otherwise we don’t mind 🙂 she was born with it 🙂
Caitlin CA 🙂
Hey! I actually have a set of Identicle twin boys one of which also had a hemangioma on his back his shirt mostly covers it but when it makes an appearance every now and then people always have lots of questions. He is almost two and it has already started to turn white which means it is loosing blood supply and getting ready to disappear or shrink. Your girls are just so adorable! I love your blog and find you very relatable!
WHO KNEW that this type of birthmark was so common?! Thank you all for sharing your stories and experience with Hemangioma’s. It’s so fascinating to me! Each of us has something ‘special’ about us… and this makes us unique and BEAUTIFUL! We love Pais and her little ‘angel kisses’. <3
My daughter had one – tiny like you described, then it grew. It was beside her eye and we called it her strawberry kiss. Since it was beside it did not in any way block her vision. It was small and never got caught on anything. I would have to look to see if there is any hint of color left. I think for her it went away by age 2 but I can’t remember. Obviously it was not a very big deal! 🙂
I was born with one on my shoulder, about the size of a half dollar. While it hasn’t disappeared, it has significantly faded to a very pale pink. I think most people’s do fade so don’t worry. It’s just part of her charm 🙂
Our 3 year old son has a hemangioma on his neck behind his left ear. It also showed up as a dark red spot and slowly became larger. Now, it is starting to change color (more skin colored) and getting smaller. Our doctor told us that it has a growth period and then a ungrowth (getting smaller) period until it is “gone”. We have always gotten curious kid (and adult) questions about it but now that he is a little older, he is noticing it and asking about it. It is really so cute. Love your blog and your cute babies.
I don’t know anyone that has one but something you brought up in the post made me giggle. I have a big dark mole right by my collar bone (it kind of looks like I spilled a drop of chocolate – lol). Every time I pick up my niece she picks at it like she’s trying to peel it off for me – it’s kind of funny.
My little girl had one on the very top of her head from about 3 months old until she was around 2. It was very big and puffy…I was so scared she would hit it on something, but we never had trouble with it. I always put a little bow in front of it and we went on with our business. It starting going away and before you know it, it was completely gone. No scar or sign of it at all. I called it her “easy button” LOL Your babies are adorable.
Hi there, my daughter was born with one on her rear end of all places as well and I was thankful that it wasn’t on her face too. She is 17 years old now and still has the marking from it although it is skin color but you can definitely still see it. She always says to me “mom remember when that doctor kept telling you that it would go away, it hasn’t gone away”, but she is OK with it. Your daughters are truly beautiful and such a wonderful gift…merry christmas
Funny thing is, I’ve followed your blog since before the girls were born and have seen countless photos of them, yet have never even noticed it! I went back and looked at some pictures and sure enough, you can see it, but all I saw was how incredibly adorable Paisley is 🙂 I’m sure everyone Paisley meets will see the same!
My youngest daughter had 3 on her head. It is a little alarming when they just keep growing, but our doctor said the same thing, by the time she starts school they will be gone. She will be 2 this month and they are all gone(not even sure when they faded away). You can’t even tell where they were.
My sons appeared on his ear when he was a few months old and it was getting darker and larger by the month so at 9 months he saw a pediatric derm. and started on propanolol and now at age 2.5, it’s almost gone. It took about a year of the Rx to lighten up and by almost 2, it was light enough and had stopped growing that he is off of the Rx and now it’s almost gone. I was really happy with the Rx and there were no side effects (small dose 2x’s/day) and no surgery. Yay! Anyway it was cute the 1st few times kids asked about his “owie” (or joking he had cauliflower ear like wrestlers, asking if he fell, if he was bleeding, etc.) but by the 1858th kid I was like, “Ok, it’s going.” I didn’t want him to get poked and prodded until age 5, when the dr. said it would naturally start disappearing and by that age he would be in kinder and kids can get mean. It’s a personal decision and your daughters isn’t as visible so you prob don’t hear it as often as we did. Good luck!
PS: New reader! Yay!
*Propranolol (Spelled it wrong. Oops!)
My cousin and my husband’s cousin both had one. My cousin’s was on her hand and my husband’s cousin’s was on his forehead. Neither of them went away on their own. My cousin had her’s removed before she went to school because her parents were scared if she fell at the playground or something, it would be bad! My husband’s cousin’s parents had his removed at 6 because kids kept staring at it and bothering it in kindergarten. The doctor’s told both of them that it would go away on it’s own but they never did and they never started shrinking. There are no scars from having them removed. Your girls are beautiful. I personally would have it removed, not because I would think they are flaws, just for safety reasons.
My little girl has one on her stomach. The doctor told me the same thing as yours and assured me it won’t keep her from wearing a bikini as a teenager. Believe me, I’m not too worried about that quite yet. I had never heard of them before she had it though. It seems so strange to me that it will disappear?! The human body is so strange sometimes.
i had one when i was a little baby (i came out with it) and it was right on my forehead…after a couple of years it went away and i dont have a scar or anything the only way people knew i had one was when they look at my pictures from when i was little…..my mom always told me a angle kissed me when i was born 🙂
My youngest brother has one on his lip. It was pretty noticeable to begin with … now he’s 11 and it’s gradually been fading and shrinking. No one hardly notices it any more. 🙂 It made him even more special.
I have a friend that had twins, a boy and girl. The boy was born with a big one that covered his nose. When he was very young, it was very red and very predonimate. He is now 5 years old and it has faded a lot and flat on his skin. This seems to be a pretty common thing and hopefully Paisley’s will disappear in time. And you are right, it makes Paisley who she is and if it doesn’t go away, you will still love her no matter what!!!
My roommate was born with one on her eyebrow. She had to have it removed since it messed up her vision. She does have a scar, but it may only be noticeable because it cut through her eyebrow and hair never grew there.
My daughter (a twin) had one on her face. My Mom asked me once if it bothered me and I said yes, but only because I knew she would get teased about it when she got older. Otherwise, I didn’t mind it. My daughter is 16 now and there’s no trace that it was ever there. I can’t remember when it went away but she was pretty little.
My Macy girl has two of them, but twin sis Peyton doesn’t have any. Our doc said it is more common in white females and multiples! I think I read that on a website somewhere too.
I didn’t notice Macy’s when she was a tiny baby, but they grew quickly. She has one on the top of her head and one on her left shoulder near her front armpit crease. I was totally freaked out at how fast they grew, even though the doc assured me they were totally normal. The one on her shoulder was always covered by clothing (born in winter), but the one on her head sure stood out until she finally got some hair! In the summer, sister and friends at daycare starting trying to touch and squeeze the one on her shoulder, so we tried to keep it covered just for safety. It’s never bothered us, but I don’t want her to get hurt! Now at almost 1, the one on her head is completely flat and is starting to change colors (less red). The one on her shoulder is getting smaller, but is still pretty protruding. Neither got much bigger than a penny in circumference, but the one on her shoulder sure stuck out a lot! I like your mushroom comparison! It’s weird that they feel warm and squishy too! Hahaha!
i had a friend who had one on her neck as a child and it didn’t go away so when she was in the fifth grade her parents had it removed. honestly, i think if it it’s there by the time she goes to school, i’d have it removed.
personally, i had three large moles on my face and one huge one on my back… when i was in the seventh grade my mom had them all removed. now, i have my own children and wouldn’t you know my girls all have moles on their faces. likewise, i’ll have them removed if they get too large. the thing is, my grandpa died from melanoma so we’re all kinda freaky about moles.
i love reading your blog and hearing about your sweet girls. mine are all big kids now and it’s nice to remember the fun things babies do. 🙂
It’s so interesting that you would mention the idea that it might be related to multiples… I’ve wondered that myself, because one of my readers mentioned that one of her twins has a Hemangioma. AND several years ago I nannied for a set of boy/girl twins, and the little girl had a Hemangioma behind both ears. Of course I didn’t know what they were at the time. But it seems too coincidental that all these sets of multiples would have them. Though the Dr’s never told us that it was common for twins or anything. Who knows! 🙂
I have one on the bottom of my foot, and I’m a triplet — I’m not sure if there is a correlation between multiples and hemangioma, but neither of my siblings do. My parents tell stories of using it to distinguish me from my sister, too!
Anyway, 25 years later, you can barely see it and it is back to skin level. It is the size and shape of a quarter, and it only hurts now if you directly push on it.
My nephew has one right on his forehead, we affectionately call it his horn because the word hemangioma sounds so intimidating. It was really scary at first to watch it grow before we understood what it was, and now we’re just hoping it’s gone before he starts school since kids can be so cruel to one another.
My nephew has one on his forehead it is now skin colored and flat. I’ve heard it referred to as a stork kiss or strawberry.
I went to school with a girl that had one above her lip. It started small as a young child and grew bigger to where it appeared she had a bubble lip. Dr.’s told her parents it would go down once she got her period and it never did. Her parents never wanted to have it removed because that’s just “who” she was. Once she graduated and moved out, she had it removed and it was so liberating. Her personality finally blossomed. She was finally happy!
In my humble opinion (is there such a thing), if it doesn’t go away in a year or two, have it removed. She will appreciate not having to go through her entire childhood with it. Especially high school when you start wearing bathing suites and such.
She and her sister are little cutie pies, though!!
My 6 month old nephew has one on top of his head, near his hairline. It’s not noticible because his hair covers it. The docs told my SIL and bro that it’ll go away by the time he’s 7.
love your blog 🙂 and your daughters are adorables! ;D
Don’t worry it really will go away. Our GD#3 was born with one just to the left of her crown in the hair. At the age of 2.5 you can hardly see it unless you know it’s there. Hair is growing out of it. We, too, had never heard of it. DD’s doctor told her white females are born with hemangioma more than any other race. When she started daycare I could also find her on the camera … not true now. We live 4hrs away but we can see her everyday on the camera.
I was so very self-conscious of my many large birthmarks as a kid. Someone once told me that they were angel kisses, which I thought was sweet. Paisley, you are absolutely beautiful!
-Megan Reid
54 years ago when I was born I had 3 hemangioma’s, 1 on my cheek & 1 on each hip. My parents took me to a physician & he froze them off & I do not have any scars! Love your Blog! Your daughters are precious! Happy Holidays!