When Turner meets someone new, the first thing they say is "Awww, did he bump his head?" Depending on who's asking; grocery store clerk, co-worker, random lady walking, I adjust my answer. I usually just respond with yes, he's an active boy. But sometimes I'll give them the full explanation of his hemangioma.  A hemangioma is basically a build up of blood vessels.

I find it interesting how it came about, so I thought I would share.

Turner wasn't born with the mark.  A few weeks after birth a tiny light red mark appeared.  I thought he bumped his head. Way to go new mom I thought.  Then about a month later, the mark started to become much rounder and turned bright red.  At this point I'm thinking, Oh no, what's happening to my kid? Our pediatrician then informed us that he had a hemangioma.  Whew...that made me feel better.  We did see a child's dermatologist (or something like that), to make sure we took the necessary steps if it continued to grow near his eye.  Turns out not only did he have a superficial hemangioma (above the skin) but also a deep hemangioma (under the skin). The deep hemangioma protrudes out at times, and has a hint of blue. Thankfully the Dr. said that his hemangioma didn't look like it would spread much farther, and that it does not cause him any pain or discomfort.  She said it can take 1-5 years for it to completely disappear depending on the child.  She gave us some weird medication to put on it (I'm pretty sure it's for high blood pressure), but honestly I've only put it on him a few times.  

It took a while for me to get used to, especially when it was bright red and shiny, but now I don't even see it.  It has now stopped growing (it can grow from birth till around 14 months), and is slowly started to fade in the center. I'm thankful it didn't impair his vision, or wasn't on the tip of his nose (Seriously, a woman told me her daughter had one right on the end of her nose. I bet Christmas was a rough time for her!)  I wonder what Turner will think of his little mark when he gets older, or how he will respond to little kids when they ask.  Kids are always so interested. "Mommy, what happened to his head?"  I don't think he'll care, plus I'm going to tell him it is an angel kiss (corny, but I like it).