Sure, there are other hopes and dreams that come with having a baby, but this one is by far the biggest. So imagine this, then: you carry a baby for nine months, do everything you're supposed to, and you give birth to a perfectly healthy baby. Smiles all around, right?
But...
...the baby has an unusual birthmark in a spot that's bound to draw some attention.
And it does. And people? Well, you know how they are. Almost everyone wants to see, hold, and pinch the cheeks of a new baby! When they see the perfectly imperfect baby?
They. Just. Don't. Stop.
What do you do?
Let's look at how one mom responded to this very situation:
This is six-month-old Charlie Crenshaw. She's a healthy baby with an incredible personality already shining through her adorable smile.
Isn't she just precious?
People hardly notice that though. Instead, mom and blogger Katie Mullis Crenshaw gets this blunt reaction: What's wrong with her face?
She tries not to let it bother her.
She writes: "I try, daily, to remind myself that most humans are kind and well intentioned. I don’t get angry about brief stares...
"...I understand that it’s human nature to do a double take when you see something about someone that makes them different."
All that being said, she decided it was due time to say a little more.
After all, the spectators just won't quit.
This is what she wants everyone to know:
First, there is nothing "wrong" with Charlie's face.
Charlie has a big birthmark on her cheek called a capillary hemangioma.
In layman's terms, she has a strawberry mark.
The cause and prevention are unknown. Katie says for some...
..."they can be troublesome if left untreated, because ... of their rapid growth. For example, a hemangioma that’s sitting near an airway could grow until it closed an airway or a hemangioma on an eyelid could block vision. They can also be a marker for some other more serious disorders."
But that's not the case here. In fact, Charlie's strawberry mark was deemed cosmetic.
That being said, daily medication is required to help stop the growth potential.
Strawberry marks can clear up over time, too. For Charlie and her family, this is no big deal.
But it's apparently quite the deal to others. Even with reassurance, they continue to question. In hopes of putting this to rest once and for all, Katie wants everyone to know this:
"We don’t need to talk about it every time you look at her. We see past the color of her face. Charlie is Charlie and it’s part of who she is. It doesn’t need to be constantly commented on, critiqued, or questioned. While I don’t mind educating curious minds, I don’t need your opinion on how it its progress or the effect it may have on her. It’s a part of her unique beauty...
...It may never disappear, and guess what? It doesn’t have to. I would much rather chat about her latest milestone achievement, her amazing smile, or how gorgeous her eyes are."
"She isn’t in pain or ill. She simply has an unusual quality about her appearance."
"The most common sentiments are 'I’m praying that it goes away.' Or 'Bless her poor little heart.' I’m constantly being asked 'When will that go away?' I’ve even heard things as harsh as 'turn her to her good side' or 'Too bad, she’s so pretty otherwise'..."
"I encourage you to, instead of praying it will disappear, pray that she grows into a confident girl who loves herself no matter what she looks like. Pray that constant comments and opinions from friends, family and strangers will end before she’s old enough to overhear them."
"Pray that she will be a strong person ... in an age where we are bullied for any number of reasons.
"I encourage you to look past it. What if I came up to you and loudly asked “What’s wrong with your baby’s weird ____ ?” Or, “I will pray for your child that her (genetically unusual quality) goes away.”
Just consider that. Consider that you are offering to pray away one of my daughter’s beautiful features that makes her who she is.
Hold the pity. She’s a healthy baby girl and we are blessed. Her hemangioma is just as insignificant to who she is as a freckle on her arm. You don’t need to mention it, and you don’t need to wish it away.
She doesn’t have a “good side” that we choose for family pictures. I don’t retouch her hemangioma in photos. Her entire face is my sweet Charlie, and it doesn’t matter what it looks like."
"I encourage you to look past it. What if I came up to you and loudly asked “What’s wrong with your baby’s weird ____ ?” Or, “I will pray for your child that her (genetically unusual quality) goes away.”
Just consider that. Consider that you are offering to pray away one of my daughter’s beautiful features that makes her who she is.
Hold the pity. She’s a healthy baby girl and we are blessed. Her hemangioma is just as insignificant to who she is as a freckle on her arm. You don’t need to mention it, and you don’t need to wish it away.
She doesn’t have a “good side” that we choose for family pictures. I don’t retouch her hemangioma in photos. Her entire face is my sweet Charlie, and it doesn’t matter what it looks like."
Main and collage image via Instagram / @katiemcrenshaw
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