4-month doctor's appt

James saw the doctor today for his 4-month well baby visit. He is healthy, weighing in at 14lbs 7.9oz (45th%) and 24 3/4" long (also 45th%). His head was a petite 16 1/4" (25th%). All in all he looks pretty good. I did ask about the purple/blue dot on his head that is not a bruise (he's had it for weeks), and she said it might be a hemangioma and that we should watch it. I had to look up what a hemangioma is...

"Hemangioma: This term is used to describe a variety of blood-vessel growths. These flat or raised lesions can be large and disfiguring or small and not very noticeable.

Hemangiomas affect about 2 to 5 percent of babies and are more common in girls, preemies, and twins. Twenty percent of children who have hemangiomas have more than one.

Hemangiomas occur mostly on the head and neck, and, unlike other birthmarks, they can grow rapidly. They usually show up during the first six weeks of life — only 30 percent are visible at birth — and grow for about a year, usually getting no bigger than 2 or 3 inches.

Then, without treatment, they usually stop growing and begin to turn white and shrink. This reversal process can take three to ten years. While many hemangiomas leave normal-looking skin in their wake, others can cause permanent skin changes.

A deeper hemangioma (formerly called a cavernous hemangioma) appears as a lumpy bluish-red mass. It grows quickly in the first six months and is usually gone by the time a child reaches his teens. Such hemangiomas are bluish in color because the abnormal vessels are deeper than those in the superficial hemangioma."

I hope it isn't going to get bigger and that it goes away soon. It's hardly noticeable right now...

Other than that and some immunization shots, James is doing well. I have a feeling he will get cranky in a few hours though when the shots kick in. Oh well.