Hemangioma - getting my thoughts off my chest!

Shortly after my family left to go back to Canada (actually the day after they left) Iris had a check up with the doctor. I had noticed a red mark that hadn't gone away in a few days on her forehead. The doctor confirmed with us that it was a strawberry hemangioma. Hemangiomas typically start out as a faint pink spot, then they turn bright red, grow quite rapidly and puff out a bit. Doctors never know how fast they will grow, how big they will get, how long they will grow for and how long they will take to go away. So I felt like that day the doctor gave me the worst case scenario telling me that it will grow for about the first 5 months of her life. She did not know how big it would get and that they do not recommend treatment unless it got too close to her eye, threatening her eyesight. She also said it could take up to 10 years to go away. I wish my husband was there with me during that appointment to get all the details because once she started telling me about them I stopped listening for a while. I was upset and trying not to show it. It sounds very vain of me to be upset of a red mark on my perfectly beautiful and healthy baby. But all I could think about was it taking over her face. And heaven for bid what would other people think of her?? I knew I would always know how beautiful she is but I felt bad for the comments and strange looks I knew we would get.

Since then, her hemangioma has gotten bigger, brighter, and more puffy. However I have gotten used to it on her. In fact I kind of like it. It is a part of her and I wouldn't have her any other way. Iris is now 9 weeks old. The hemangioma hasn't grown as rapidly as it could have (based on other hemangiomas I have seen). So if it stays growing at the rate it has been we expect it to be about twice the size it is now, which will not affect her eye! We have gotten weird looks from people in public and almost every kid asks what it is and little kids point to it and say 'boo boo'. The comments don't really bother me as much as I thought they would. However it is amazing how this tiny and in the future will be an insignificant little thing has taken up so much of my energy. My husband says thank God we haven't had anything really go wrong with our kids. He is so right! I wish I could be as calm and collective as him all the time. He just knew how to put this small thing into perspective right away. As for me - it took me a little longer to put it there.

So with that being said here are some pictures of Iris. My little sweet pea. From 2 weeks old till now. She keeps getting cuter with every day. I couldn't even imagine a better behaved baby. She sleeps all the time and has been sleeping through the nights for well over a month. When she is awake she is so content and smiles all the time. She rolled over from tummy to back at less than one week old. She has done it a few times since then but hasn't done it for a while now. She loves to talk by making cooing sounds. She will move her mouth the same as me when I chew gum around her. She has dimples under her mouth when she smiles. Her eyes look like they will be as big as her brothers and they are going to be blue too. Miles calls Iris 'yummy cheeks' because her cheeks are so kissable :) I love my kids -they are my world!