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Original poster

Trivial question, but when do 'stork bites' disappear?

43 replies

WigWamBam · 04/01/2006 15:59

Trivial question, I know, but I'm curious. When dd was born she had a large, red stork bite on the nape of her neck, and another running in a line from her hairline to the bridge of her nose. I was told they would disappear by the time she was 6 - 12 months old ... she's 4.5 years old now and still has them. I'm not really concerned about them, just curious as to how long these things really do take to disappear, and whether this is a birthmark that she's stuck with rather than something that will disappear.

OP posts:
Bethron · 04/01/2006 16:01

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Kelly1978 · 04/01/2006 16:05

my dd has one at the nape of her neck, which is still there at 5.5, but it is mostly covered by hair now. Ds has the same, and his is still pretty noticeable at 3.5 so I guess it is still fading.

sparklymieow · 04/01/2006 16:07

My dd2 has a strawberry birthmark, are these the same?? Its fading now, but still there, she is 4

jenkel · 04/01/2006 16:09

My dd has one and she is 3 1/2, hard to see as its covered by hair but still there. She also had the one on her forehead which has now dissapeard until she gets in a temper and then you can see it again.

mumfor1sttime · 04/01/2006 16:09

My ds also has a strawberry birth mark, he is almost 12 months, it has almost gone, but its in his hairline, so dont really notice it.

Original poster
WigWamBam · 04/01/2006 16:11

Oh yes, they go really red and angry when they get into a temper, don't they!

Strawberry birthmarks are different, I think, sparkly - bigger and more noticeable. Stork marks are fainter, dd's look a bit like someone has splashed her with red wine.

I wonder why they tell you that they will disappear in the first year when it seems quite obvious from your posts that they don't!

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sparklymieow · 04/01/2006 16:17

Oh right, spursmum has a stork mark (well she did when we were at school) Dd2's birthmark is on her face and its slowly fading, its not as big as it was, but I was told it would disappear by aged 1, and its still there.

Katemum · 04/01/2006 16:27

Ds (5) and dd (19mnths) still have theirs, matching at the nape of their necks.

Mascaraohara · 04/01/2006 16:33

Good job I read the thread as I was just about to post and say are your sure it's a stork bite and not a Strawberry Mark.

My dd has a Strawberry Neavis it's beginning to fade now but Strawberry marks, according to the consultant, are the best they're going to get by 9years old. I don't know much about Stork Bites though I'm afraid.

Rach69 · 04/01/2006 16:37

I'm 36 and I've still got a stork bite on the back of my neck! My mum used to put my hair in bunches which showed it off rather, these days I don't much care. Generally I think they do fade but are easily covered up with make-up when she's older.

HRHQueenOfQuelNoel · 04/01/2006 16:40

DS's have both got Mongolian Blue Spots - which I was told would fade by the time they were 1 (well DS2 they didn't even mention them LOL) - but poor DS1 (who's now 5) still looks like someones kicked in the backside

Original poster
WigWamBam · 04/01/2006 17:53

Rach, I do hope that dd's fade eventually - they don't bother me or her, but when she gets a bit older and more into her appearance, I can see her hating them. Her hair is very short and fine but thickening up now, so the one at the nape of her neck won't be a problem, but the one on her face is pretty obvious. It's not a problem on a 4 year old but much older and she's going to be self-conscious about it. I know that other people have much worse things to worry about but it's hard to explain that to a child!

QOQ - at least it's on his bum ... could be a lot worse

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HRHQueenOfQuelNoel · 04/01/2006 19:17

oh I don't know about that WWW - can you imagine

"Any distinguishig features" - Mongolian Blue spots in his bum crack

Original poster
WigWamBam · 04/01/2006 19:19

At least not too many people will get to see them there though ... which has to be some consolation!!

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thelittleredreindeer · 05/01/2006 07:26

My kids all had these stork bites - dd's (the eldest) were the worst. When she was born I was told all sorts of different timescales for when they would disappear. When I look back at her baby photos now, she had quite a lot of her face covered - forehead, eyelid, place between nose and mouth... (also has one on the back of her neck). I remember a few people asking me if she had a rash (one of whom had one himself on the nape of his neck!) I didn't feel too concerned about it, mainly because my mum told me I was the same (apparently a near-stranger came up to her in the street one day and said how terrible it was that her first-born was so disfigured )

I would say that by the time dd was 2 it had faded a lot. I think the ones on the nape of the neck are more or less there forever. You can still see the one on her forehead but she wears a fringe so it isn't very noticable. Agree with jenkel that they become more noticable when they get upset or are crying. My dd has very fair skin so they are probably more noticable because of this. She is 8 now btw.

WWW, have they faded at all in comparison to when she was born?

mummyhill · 05/01/2006 08:08

Mine used to take up the whole of my left chek and my parents were told that it would disapear by the time I was 12 months. It now covers about a quarter of the space and has faded in colour. I used to get teased at school but most people don't notice it now unless i am ill or close to exhaustion. I used to cover it with make up but don't bother any more. I am 30 now btw.

Miaou · 05/01/2006 09:05

Dd1 had stork marks in the nape of her neck which were still there when she was 5 but I haven't noticed them subsequently.

nightowl · 05/01/2006 09:25

why are they often in the same places? dd has one on her neck and some right down the middle of her forehead, one also just above her top lip. they really flare up when she's been crying too.

Original poster
WigWamBam · 05/01/2006 09:48

Reindeer, they haven't really faded at all since she was born, but your point about having fair skin may well account for the fact that dd's is so noticeable, she's very pale skinned. She did have one on one eyelid, but that's completely gone now ... which is another reason I was surprised that she still has the others. Although looking at some of the responses, it's not all that unusual for them not to disappear.

Mummyhill, I have to say that I didn't notice yours when we met ... it's certainly not that noticeable (either that or I'm not that observant ).

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Cadeauxbury · 05/01/2006 10:01

My dd's stork marks were still pretty noticeable until; she was about 2 but now they only show up when she is tired or angry. She had them on the nape of her neck and between her eyes. Ds has them on his eye lids and I can still see them now. He is 2 and a half.

hornbag · 05/01/2006 10:06

DD had one at the nape of her neck -throughout toddler years it had faded a bit but became more obvious if she got hot or agitated. Shes now 6 and theres no sign of it although not sure when it went exactly!

Auntyfatasbutter · 05/01/2006 12:47

Is a stork mark the one on the back of the nech(where you were carried by a stork) My Dd had one..as far as I know it is still there but now above her hair line so cant be seen.Ds has a birth mark on his leg a purple one I was told that nothing would be done about it till he turned 2, if we wanted anything done! 2 of the boys have cafe au lait marks.

Original poster
WigWamBam · 05/01/2006 12:50

Yes, they're the ones that they get at the back of the neck or above the bridge of the nose where they were meant to have been carried by the stork!

My dd has cafe au lait marks as well, on her back, they developed when she was about 9 months to a year old - strange how they come on so late.

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Auntyfatasbutter · 05/01/2006 12:56

mine wer born with them.
Ds3's is very faint on his chest and ds4's is darker more like a mole colour on his leg

mummyhill · 05/01/2006 13:41

DD has a cafe au lait on her botom and ds had a large cafe au lait on his left thigh.