Does your child have a birth mark?

[Spod]

My dd has a red birth mark on her face...between her eyes and another on one eyelid. they are fading but have never really botherd me. Other people's reactions to it have surprised me though. some people dont want to mention it at all... many say things like 'what a shame' or ' you'll have to get that seen to' . Someone even offered to 'touch it up' and remove it from photographs!!! TBH i was quite grateful as it meant that my dd was recogisable and harder for someone to pinch in the hospital. Has anyone else had strange reactions to their baby's birth marks? and, for facial ones will you 'get it seen to'?

greensleeves...thank you so much for sharing your picturesthey have given me even greater reassurance that my dds will go eventually

fanargadeb he's just gorgeous. love the bottom photo, he looks like he's really pleased with something!

greensleeves what gorgeous boys you have. you wouldnt think a birthmark could have such an impact (re. the eyesight) glad that it sorted itself out tho, without need for injections. its barely noticeable now tho, for sure.
am confident that dd's will fade, but its nice to have photographs, as its part of her and i know it wont be there always. probably sounds a bit strange

DS has a brown one on the end of his little finger - i noticed it but didn't mention is as i have about 4 on my legs and 1 on my back - mil thought he's got a dirty finger and tried to scrub it off when ds was about 18 months old

dd2 has a starwberry cluster thing on her leg (its never been officially named that btw) Just for info my big brother has a large port wine mark on his face. he was bullied at school and is still a little shy, but he is the most talented, clever bloke you will ever meet. He always seemed to have about 10 girlfriends on the go when he was younger and he's just married a total stunner 10 years his junior, who adores him (quite rightly so). He is having treatment now as the tissue around his eye is 'puffing' up which causes some irritation - I believe this is fairly common in port wine marks.

My DS has joined toes, a mongolian blue spot, a darker patch of skin on his back and three little red marks on his wrist. His toes are being seperated which was offered to us straight away and the blue spot should fade.

I think they are all gorgeous and I'll never get him mixed up with another child! I'm starting to have second thoughts about having his toes seperated now as they are cute.

I had a large strawberry mark on and around my right eye. People often asked me whether my brother had thumped me! I don't recall ever feeling self-conscious about it, it was just part of me. Although I was bullied the birthmark was never a target. Perhaps because I was quite cool about it, but sensitive to other issues.

The birthmark grew until I was about school-age or a little less, then prgoressively faded and shrank until it was virtually gone by age 16. Most people who have got to know me since then are completely unaware of it, unless they see me laughing from the side. The skin crinkles up differently. I've had makeup artists and photographers try to retouch it out - and I always object. I have no issues with it, it is part of me.

I knew someone with joined toes (an adult). She was quite proud of them and wore sandals whenever it was remotely warm enough!

I've added a picture of DS's webbed toe, it's not a great pic.

I agree, his foot is cute

Spod, I meant to add that I have had lots and lots of comments and attention over ds2's birthmark - some really horrible, some just a bit odd. I had one woman accuse me of throwing boiling water over him - eh?!?! As you can see in the picture, it just doesn't look like that at all! I have had people stop me and tell me about their child's birthmark and how it went away on its own, not to worry etc, which is always lovely.

If you're upset or worried about it, I'm always around and more than happy to chat. We went on quite a long journey re: possible treatments, saw lots of doctors and did lots of reading etc (for all the good it did us! ). People's feelings about things like this differ so much. I found it very difficult to cope with when the mark was really huge and thretening his vision. I hated the negative comments/accusations and was always trying to catch people up to explain to them after they'd made a throwaway comment and walked off . Also it frightened me - it was threatening his vision and it grew very quickly. It used to pulsate black when he was angry, I was terrified it would burst (apparently they bleed very profusely, luckily that never happened in our case). Once it started to involute by itself though(the first sign of that was a sort of grey furriness on the surface, like the bloom on a plum) it receded really quite quickly. I never had the impression that it was painful or uncomfortable for him, in fact he didn't know it was there until he saw me looking at photos the other day!

Sorry this is long and waffly, just wanted to say I'm here if you ever need to chat about it.

My dd who is now 15 had stork marks on her eyes and forehead, a mark at the back of her head and then three similar looking marks spaced down her spine. I was told that they would fade by about a year but they are still there but unless you actually looked for them you wouldn't notice them.

Ds has a mark by his knee on one of his legs it looks like the england shape from a map but it is purple like a bruise in colour.

Dd has one on the side of her left cheek it is tea stained colour not dark at all but i notice it alot, it has faded slightly but she is only 22 months at the moment.

My son had a birthmark on the back of his neck and his was very red. Its fine now and i think he only had it for maybe 6 months.

My neighbours kid had a red one on his face too and again that has gone down and only comes out in crtain weathers.

I also have 4 birthmarks and i like them one is in the shape of england and ireland. ITs part of me like its part of your child.

My dd1 have loads of cafe au lait spots, but she has NF1, so it's to be expected. I have a mongolian blue spot at base of spine (arse)and it's never faded and I'm 21 39.

Grreensleeves, I'm relieved that you like it when people tell you about how their child's mark faded, because my mum used always to drag me over to any parent she saw who had a child with a birthmark, and show me off to reassure them. Utterly utterly embarassing, even though I understood it to be well-meant.

Now, as a mum myself, I often talk to mums (at babygroups etc) with babies with strawberry marks and show them how it can fade - but I'm never sure whether my intervention is welcomed.

Prettycandles, I've always been really pleased and touched when people do this - partly because it's a kindness which counteracts all the less positive attention, and partly because I was genuinely worried and distressed about it, and it was genuinely reassuring to hear from people who had had positive outcomes. I tend to try and do the same for other people now ds2's is so much better, although I sometimes worry I am going to told to mind my own business

DD has mongolian blue spots on her bum, back and shoulders, stork bite mark on her left eyelid and between her eyes and nape of her neck, a small birthmark on her face near her ear and a cafe au lait spot or two on her leg.

ds3 has a small cafe au lait mark on his leg- wehad to monitor it for a while as Dad has NF (which could be linked to DS's SN) but he never got any more.

DS2 has quite a large one on his chest, sort of like a flat mole about an iinch across, various HV's etc have seen it and not expressed concern but we have to keep[ it covered in the sun etc. he refers to it as his 'special spot'

Dd1 has a little tiny mark under her one arm.

Dd2 has a faint brown mark across the top of her bum, and I have exactly the same mark in exactly the same place

Ds didn't have any at birth but now has a tiny red mark on his forhead.

DS has one that is slightly lighter than his skin.

On his bum

In the shape of Australia

My DD had a perfect heartshaped strawberry nevis on her forearm when she was born. We were told that it would get bigger and then fade over time. She is now 22 months and it has completely gone.

She also has a brown freckle above her ear but it's pretty much covered by her hair.

I have a mole on my right cheek (facial cheek!) and it's exactly where ladies used to paint them on in the olden days. As a youngster, i hated it but then people started referring to it as a 'beauty spot'.
I'm kind of attached to it now!

I VE GOT A MOLE DEAD CENTRE OF MY BACK ABOUT 2 INCHES ABOVE MY BUM!! I DIDNT EVEN KNOW I HAD IT UNTILL KRISTIAN (MY FIANCE) MENTIONED IT LAST YEAR SO IT HAD BEEN THERE WHEN I WAS LITTLE AND NO1 NOT EVEN MY MAM MENTIONED IT TO ME!! HOW CAN I NOT NOTICE IT LOL!!!

my dd1 has a couple of smallish cafe ou lait marks on her wrisst and hand and one big one on her leg. there very faint until she gets out in the sun but i love the colour they go and have never seen them as being a prob. she got them at a few mths old and thought they were bruises.

both dds had stork bites on the back of there necks which went within a year or two.

my niece had a strawberry birthmark on her head that was about the size of a 10p, its gone now and shes 2.

Hi all, i hope this helps some of you.. my daughter when around 10 days old, developed a small pink mark on her cheek, over the next few weeks ( despite constant 'dont worry' from GP and HV) It grew to the size of a ten pence piece, raised and became a terrible dark crimson colour.. it absolutely broke my heart, not just because i was a new mum and if we are all honest you want them to be perfect, but i was scared for her going thru life with this.. After alot of thought i argued with a private Paed. to get a referral to a dermatologist. We have been having laser surgery ( 4 sessions in 4 months) and the results are great.. no more growth, lightening and soon resolution we are told. I think just the feeling of knowing it is not going to get any worse and you are doing something helps us sooo much. We are seeing Dr Neil Walker in Oxford, the costs so far are around £1500, but worth every penny. Good luck and lots of love to you all xxxx