Avery's Birthmarks (strawberry hemangiomas)
Hard to believe my baby will be 2 months old tomorrow. Avery had her two month well baby visit today. I have been waiting for this for a while now as I have had a few things on my mind...I know worrying doesn't make things better, but how do you help it when you are a mommy? I went in with 3 main questions today...
1.) Her head
2.) Her birthmarks
3.) Her blocked tear duct
As far as her head goes...Avery was in very "tight" quarters for 9 months (aren't all babies?) and positioned with her head squished up against my uterus and possibly hip bone. This caused her forehead to be slanted up slightly to the right, and the back of her head is also slightly mishaped (I didn't notice the back of the head like I did the forehead). My concern is that she would have to wear a helmet to correct the shaping of her head. Dr. Russell is not concerned at this point as Avery's head circumference is growing normally and she is developmentally appropriate and on track. The goal for right now is to just watch it and re-evaluate it at her next appointment (4 months). Dr. Russell is confident that is should correct itself with time as her brain grows and as she grows. We cannot exclude the possibility of her having to wear a helmet at this point though. If she has to wear one it has to be done before she is two years old...I prefer it as a baby so she messes with it less...but we will see how things go. Please pray that it just fixes itself with time!
Avery has two strawberry hemangioma birthmarks on her back. At birth they were very pale and barely visible. Now they are hot pink in color, raised and have tripled in size. This type of birthmark will continue to grow for a while and then start to fade and go away over time. It should be almost gone by the time she is 5 years old. There is no treatment for this, and they cause no harm with it being on her back.
Her blocked tear duct is just a nuissance. It is not harmful in any way. It is just no fun having to see her little eye all gooped up all the time and matted shut when she wakes up in the morning. It should open up on its own between 6-12 months or hopefully sooner. If it does not it requires a simple procedure to open it after she is 12 months of age.
Otherwise...she is a healthy, happy, and BEAUTIFUL baby girl! She will always be perfect in her mommy's eyes.
Avery's Two Month Stats:
Weight~ 11 pounds 9 ounces (73rd percentile)
Length~ 22 3/4 inches (65th percentile)
Head Circumference~ 15 1/2 inches (63rd percentile)
She is my little peanut and I love her so!
4 comments:
Hey Missy!
I just wanted to tell you if you end up getting a helmet or ever want to chat about it in general, my Klaire had one for a few months...I'd be happy to chat about it. I know I liked to hear the mommy perspective of it:)
She is a beautiful babe!:)
erika
Thanks Erika! If she needs one I would love to talk with you! They are NOT covered by insurance...right?
She is so cute! Jessica is going through the helmet with Riley now. She has been in one for about 2 months. She is doing really well and her head looks great. Most insurance doesn't cover it. Jess is fighting with her company now. It was $3300, so you really want to appeal! Hopefully it will work itself out. Avery is a doll.
It depends...we used the helmet clinic at Children's and they were great about writing letters of medical necessity (they know the right words to say to help get it covered especially if it is not strictly cosmetic) to help with the appeal process. We did end up getting it covered. I have a feeling she will be just fine. I should send you some pictures of Klaire, yikes! :) Anyway, if you wanna talk about it you know where to find me, gotta love the internet:)
erika
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