Now don't worry, I'm not going crazy over this {believe it or not} but Bennett has this small mark that I noticed back in October and I'm pretty sure it wasn't there when he was born in May. When I saw it I took a picture to see if it would grow over time...
I know you're thinking how on earth did she even notice that??!!
I know you're thinking how on earth did she even notice that??!!But sure enough, it has...
His pediatrician called it a hemangioma and she was pretty sure that if it has only gotten this big that it should go away on its own and not get "too much bigger" by the time he turns a year old. Just wondering if anyone has had experience with hemangiomas and if so, did it go away by the time your baby was a year old or did you get it removed?
His pediatrician called it a hemangioma and she was pretty sure that if it has only gotten this big that it should go away on its own and not get "too much bigger" by the time he turns a year old. Just wondering if anyone has had experience with hemangiomas and if so, did it go away by the time your baby was a year old or did you get it removed?
I realize that they can be much bigger and I know Bennett's is very small but I'm afraid if it gets much bigger he may eventually pick or scratch at it. But maybe not. Anyone know about these things??
I get so worked up over these... Sam has a few but I have not noticed a change in size, per se.
ReplyDeleteDr says the same thing though - just let it be.
Hmm...
I have a friend of a friend that has a newborn with a very large hemangioma. He's having to have laser treatments to slow it's growth and keep it from invading his eyes. But his doctors are still very optimistic that they will be able to completely treat his hemangioma with minimal to no side effects. Hopefully Bennett's will not need this treatment.
ReplyDeleteI just can not get over how adorable this little man.
My son had 3 hemangiomas that were about the size of Bennett's and 2 of the 3 have completely disapeared and #3 is slowly fading, although I think that they took a little longer than a year to fade. He never really noticed them and I never had one bleed from being scratched, etc. I stressed about it too but now I laugh at myself for being so silly. ;)
ReplyDeleteHi! I am a faithful reader of your blog - you have a beautiful family and I always look forward to reading about what you are up to. A friends daughter had two large hemangiomas, one on her forehead and the other on her shoulder. They appeared around the same time Bennett's did and did get bigger over time. My friends doctor informed her that her daughter's body would absorb them over time, and sure enough, that is what has happened. He assured her not to worry about them. Gabrielle is going to be 3 soon; it took a while for them to go away, but they did. We called them her angel kisses!
ReplyDeleteI don't even remembr which of my girls had one, but it did go away. I remember seeing it when it was just a spec, watching it grow and worrying, but it eventyally went away! Hopefully, Bennett's will too.
ReplyDeleteI do not have any experience with hemangiomas - i am sure it will be alright - do you have a dermatologist you could talk to? (like you need to add an "ologist" to your list!!!)
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any post about how your health is going and the results of your mri - are you alright???
I had one on my elbow about the size of a small strawberry and I just had to learn to leave it alone. I can bearly see it now but it is still there just faded alot. Hoping Bennett's doesn't get that much bigger. My sister has one in a place you wouldn't think of the back of her eye ball. The Dr found it when she got her eyes checked in the second grade. Wow, but she gets along ok. It wasn't real big.
ReplyDeleteTake care
Caroline
My oldest daughter had a small hemangioma below her left eye. I didn't really notice it at birth, but it grew a little over the years until it was about an eighth of an inch in diameter,and stuck out like a mole. I was a little concerned about it, because I had previously taken care of a toddler who had a large one right over her fontanel and had to be careful not to let her bump her head for fear of bursting it. Our Dr. said that because my daughter's hemangioma was small,it would not be a problem (other than cosmetically).One day, when she was about four years old, she and her sister got into a tussle over a doll.The sister let go, the doll's leg hit her right on that spot, the hemangioma burst, and she got a whopper of a black eye! The black eye healed, and the hemangioma never came back.I don't know if any of this helps you at all,but I guess I just mean to say don't worry, hemangiomas are generally not harmful at all.(and the girl I took care of is now 24, as she grew the hemangioma "shrunk" and with all of her hair you can't even see it)
ReplyDeleteHey Adrienne-
ReplyDeleteBoth Randy and Luke had them on their legs. They are gone now. They did grow some before dissapearing. They freaked me out in the delivery room with Luke's but the pediatrician said it was no big deal when he came in. Randy's appeared later on and we had a dermatologist check it out and it resolved on its own. He certainly is a cutie! Hope that helps-
Laura McIntyre
First of all, I have to say -- Bennett is so adorable. I don't know if you received my email, but my son, August was born May 23, 2009, just one day after Bennett. He also has Down syndrome. I was thinking it might be neat to exchange notes on our baby boys...your blog inspired me to start writing about little August -- the address is http://lostreshijos.blogspot.com. Send me a note if you would like to chat! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteEthan, my first born, has a hermangioma that appeared a few weeks after he was born on the bottom of his foot. It grew quite quickly at first, but he is three and either it has gotten much smaller or just looks smaller because his foot has grown so much ;-) It hasn't caused any trouble and amazingly he never picked at it even though he was always playing with his feet. The doctor wasn't concerned and said it would fade over time and I can definately tell it is getting lighter. Bennett's is so much smaller than Ethan's was, I would guess it will definately fade gradually.
ReplyDeletehey a,
ReplyDeletemy friend at school has a daughter who has a big one and its on her eye. she has been to hell and back because of it. it has affected her vision since birth and she has been on steroids for a long time which then affected her eating. her daughter is jt and harper's age. even now it is still there and she is still having issues.
so the good news is that it his is tiny and is is not affecting anything else and is on his head away from anything major. i would think if it has stayed pretty small it wont get out of control. but there are many things they can do to help control it. i will call you later in the week!
we are talking to out adoption "lady" tomorrow. i think that means we are close on the list for getting our kid. i will keep you posted.
erin
My 4 yr old has two. They both appeared within the first 5-8 weeks of life, and got bigger over the first year. One is the size of a pea, on her forhead in her hairline. The other is an inch long strawberry shaped, on her chest. They are lightening and flattening, but they're still there. Her pediatrician said they usually go away in the first couple years, but some take 10 yrs or so to fully go away. We call them her angel kisses. You can buy a light (ultraviolet I think) that makes them dissappear faster. Our neighbor did that.
ReplyDeleteMy niece had one right in the middle of her forehead. It looked just like Bennett's. By 1 yr old it started to fade and was completely gone by the time she was 2-3. She is now 20. She never has any medical intervention for it. I would wait until he is older before going to see a specialist. He is a cutie!
ReplyDeleteMy son developed one on his belly within a day or so of birth. It grew, darkened, and became more raised until around his first birthday. At it's largest it was about the size of a dime. Now he is 19 months and it has faded and is not raised anymore. We can hardly see it.
ReplyDeleteHey Adrienne! Both Lily and Landon have had hemangiomas. Lily was on her chest and was a got to be a little smaller than a dime. It went completely away by her first birthday. Landon has one on his pinky finger. It started as a tiny dot and got a big as his entire pinky (a lot of people ask if he hurt his finger). It has faded a ton, but you can still see it and it is getting smaller (he is almost 18 months). But, his definitely got bigger before it started shrinking. Our pediatrician said unless it bothered him, he wouldn't prescribe steroids.
ReplyDeleteI have a close friend whose daughter had one on her lip and since it could mess with her lip tissue, etc. she was put on steroids and it was gone within a few months (but gained a lot of weight!)...
So, I would say as long as it isn't bothering him, just let it go away on it's own. :)
Morgan had something that looked like that on her cheek but I think it was different because she got hers when she was 3 years old and it grew quickly (over a few months) and then it kept bleeding and she had to get it removed. I remember being nervous because whatever she had can sometimes spread all over after it's removed. She has a small scar but it's never come back.
ReplyDeleteOur daughter has a hemangioma on her cheek. At birth it appeared like a dimple and it slowly became bright red and grew to about the size of a quarter. She is now two and it's amazing the transformation its gone through. After getting very bright and red (almost like a fresh scab), it has since started to dull, fade, and appear more like a black-and-blue.
ReplyDeleteWe are seeing a pediatric dermatologist who is recommending we wait-and-see, especially since it's faded so much in 2 years. However, I've also communicated with a lot of other parents about their experience and some will last for quite a while. If our daughter still has her's at school-age then we will need to decide on a treatment option for her (surgery, laser). For now, we are hoping that our story follow many others where it just completely fades over time and you cannot even tell it was there to begin with.
Just to help, if you want to see some pictures of how the hemangioma progressed on my daughter, I posted pictures on a blog I wrote:
http://functionalfather.com/what-the-hell-is-that-so-your-child-has-a-hemangioma/
Also, after writing that blog post, I coordinated an online QA session with a hemangioma specialist, Dr. Gregory Levitin. You can check that out on the functionalfather.com site as well.
Hope this helps. Good luck - I'll be checking back for updates.
So I realize that this was posted almost two years ago but I thought I would still respond. My name is Kourtney, I'm 16 years old, and when I was an infant I was diagnosed with hemangiomas. The journey was dificult for my parents, knowing that there was hardly any information on the birthmarks. They were afraid for my health (since mine were in my mouth, airway, on my lip, and side of the face), but even more than that more self-esteem. Now realize that your son's is on the side of the face and is not posing as much of a threat but I'm sure you're are facing some the same questions that my parents had about how I would grow up looking so "different" and how other people would respond. I wanted to write this because I wanted to give you hope. I lived in a home with lots of love and I was surrounded by so many people that cared so much. I am now a thriving, confident girl, who will graduate this year with more confidence than I probably need. :) What drew me to this site was my senior project topic: hemangiomas and raising money and awareness for treatment. I hope your son is doing well and will grow to be a healthy man. I not quite sure why I felt like I needed to write you this but I feel like God was calling me to.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is 9 weeks old and has a small one on her bottom lip. Does anyone have information on what they do for lip hemangiomas? We meet with a specialist in a couple of weeks. I hear they can grow larger and it makes me feel sad inside. Hers is smaller than the diameter of a pea and not raised. I have known of people to have surgery on them around 12 months to remove them. I have alos heard of steroids but they have side effects. Any information or advice is welcomed! :) How big did your son Bennet's get eventually?
ReplyDeleteMy son's did not get much bigger and totally went away at a year like the doctor said! So I would just wait and see, you never know but I know it's hard to watch and wait!!
DeleteHi...sorry, I know this is an old post - but I arrived here via Google.
ReplyDeleteMy 4 month old has a hemangioma on his cheek. It started off pin prick size and is now about 4mm at the widest part (it's heart shaped). It looks like a little spot and hasn't grown fast. My doctor moreorless told me the same as yours did and after extensive googling I just couldn't believe it could stay small and flat.
This has given me hope ! Many thanks for sharing this :-)