Hemangioma

Most of you have probably noticed the small red "dot" on Barrett's forehead. At birth, it wasn't much of anything and appeared to be a tiny speck of red. For the first few weeks, he was hardly noticeable and everyone thought it was simply a scratch.
At our 2 month check-up, our pediatrician told us that it was actually a birth mark. The medical term is, hemangioma, but we call it a strawberry. Within the first 6 months, it will grow in size and begin to puff out. Up to 70% of babies have one, and in most cases, they disappear on their own (most by 2 or 3 yrs. of age)
I can't help but laugh at the location of it though...right between his eyes. But it is what it is, and Barrett wouldn't be the same without it. It definitely gives him character.

Funny story...
A few weeks ago (just when his hemangioma began to grow) I went to Walgreens to develop some pictures. As I was scanning through the different pictures, I began to edit them (zooming, cropping, and adjusting the color) I guess I was in such a hurry, that I opted to automatically remove all "red eye" from photos, clicked the processing button, and waited on my photos to be printed.
Shortly after I got home, I began adding the recent photos into a family album when I ran across a "close up" picture of Barrett. There was a tiny black dot right between his eyes. I took my finger and wiped furiously, then began to scratch at it with my fingernail. Only to realize, that the choice of "automatically removing all red eye", the printer must have caught the red in the hemangioma and zapped it out...coloring it dark black.
I found myself laughing at the fact that Barrett now appeared to be part of another culture! Even one of my students at school who is of the Hindu faith, said to me, "Mrs. Barner, don't worry about it. My mom has a mark like that too on her forehead". Thanks Omar ;)