# Will "stork bites" go away? Not trying to be superficial...



## sunwillshine

So, when DD was born, she had very dark, almost purple "stork bites" on her forehead, eyelid, and upper lip (note quite a day old, below).



I feel like they've faded some, but they're definitely still noticeable at around 4 months.



Anyone else's children have these "close to the surface" capillaries that presented as birthmarks, but then began to fade? Some days I feel I can hardly see them, others (esp if she's upset) they're clear as day.

Thanks for any feedback.  I think DD is the most beautiful baby ever, obviously. I'm mostly just really curious.


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## Knitting Mama

My Cecilia has an "angel kiss" on her left eyelid and a "stork bite" on the back of her neck (they actually go hand in hand, according to my ped, which is interesting!) Anyway, she's 10 months now and they are very much faded. You can only see the eye one in certain lights now. I think it will be totally gone by 1.5 or 2.


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## Snapdragon

my 10 month old has one on his eyelid and some small patches on his nose. Some times i barely notice them and other times they are very clear. I was told when he was born that they will fade, and they called them stork bites- but they haven't gotten any lighter. They are not as dark as the ones in the op pictures. I think at this point they might just be a birth mark but I guess time will tell.


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## sunwillshine

Quote:



> Originally Posted by *Cecilia's Mama*
> 
> My Cecilia has an "angel kiss" on her left eyelid and a "stork bite" on the back of her neck (they actually go hand in hand, according to my ped, which is interesting!) Anyway, she's 10 months now and they are very much faded. You can only see the eye one in certain lights now. I think it will be totally gone by 1.5 or 2.


Cady has them on the back of her neck and head, too!  Thanks for sharing your experience. BTW, she is such a cutie-pie in your user pic!


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## Knitting Mama

Thanks, mama! She's my dream come true.


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## TabithaB

When my son was born he had a "stork bite" above his eye. I asked his doctor when it would go away and he said he would let me know in about 8 or 9 years on it. Needless to say. It is still there.


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## ellemenope

DD was peppered with stork bites when she was born. The worst was on her right eyelid. It was very purple. Then she had a streak of them very similar to your DD's that went down her nose and above her lip. There was even some blemish right under her lip. She also had one the size of a nickle on the side of her head, covered by hair, and the traditional nape of the neck one.

She was also born with a small red blemish right next to her right ear that over the course of about a month grew to the size of a gumball (compound hemangioma). This was our main concern. We were just really thankful that the other marks did not grow like that one.

At 2.5, you would have no idea. I will always notice, but I don't think anyone else does. The stork bites might flare when she gets upset, but I am madly in love with each and every one of them, and they are nothing anyone would question. I love how her nose is always a little bit rosier than the rest of her face. The hemangioma is almost always covered by her hair now and is much duller, and will be surgically removed when we are ready for that.


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## Beltane

Our DD will be 6 months in a week, and she also has the stork bite on the back of her neck and had the angel kiss over the left eye and one on her forehead. The eye has faded a lot and most of the time doesn't show, but when she gets upset it becomes more obvious, but nothing like the first month or so! The forehead faded some but is still always there as is the back of the neck.


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## Tilia

IME, they fade. DD is 5 now and they are almost gone. She had a bunch of red squares at the nape of her neck, and half of her nose was red when she was born. They are mostly gone now.


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## northwoods1995

My 2 yo DD has a few--forehead, nose, and back of neck. They have faded (especially the forehead and nose) but I can still see them. I'm not sure they are really noticeable to anyone else unless she is upset.

I have one on the back of my neck still--and I'm in my 30's.


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## Knitting Mama

Quote:
Originally Posted by *ellemenope* 


> I will always notice, but I don't think anyone else does. The stork bites might flare when she gets upset


Same with Cecilia!


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## CBEmomma

ds1 had a bright stork bite on the back of his neck when he was a baby. He's 3.5 years now and it's gone. ds2 is 9 months and still has a faded one on his forehead. I think it'll be gone soon.


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## SilverFish

my dd has exactly the same pattern as yours, except she's also got a mark on her nose, and her right eyelid is almost completely red. she is almost 1 and they have not really faded much in my opinion. they're not obvious in photos anymore, but quite clear in person. anyway, we will wait and see. they are very easy to remove... it would be a simple laser treatment by a dermatologist. if they were still there when she gets older and she's not comfortable with them, i would be willing for her to have that done.

it sounds from other pp's like they might be gone by the time she's in school, but it made me feel better when the ped told me how easy they would be to remove if it came to that. maybe it is superficial, but i get it


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## Anastasiya

My dd's are very similar- a big one at the nape of her neck and another right where your dd has hers on her forehead. They have faded, but I can still tell where they are. And yes, they _always_ flare up when she's hot, crying, or upset. Oh yeah, and she's almost seven.


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## tzs

we had on the eyelids and at the back of the head. at 16 months the eyelid marks are gone as are the ones on the head....although i thought i noticed it was still a little red patch underneath her hair.

even at 4 months or so they were pretty faded. i remember a friend of mine calling them her "battle scars" and being bummed they were faded because she looked less tough.


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## mockingirdQ

My seven year old had a set of large jagged ones across his forehead when he was born - my niece always called them his Harry Potter marks since they were shaped like lightning bolts 

At one, they were still dark. At 3 or 4, they faded a bit except when he cried or was upset. Now you can barely see them if you know what to look for. One day you'll just look at your child in a photo and realize how much they have faded...

-Jan

SAHM to Todd (age 7) and Sean (8 months)


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## sunwillshine

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SilverFish*
> ...it made me feel better when the ped told me how easy they would be to remove if it came to that. maybe it is superficial, but i get it


 I'm glad some other mama's "get it." I guess my biggest concern will be whether she'll be bothered by them if they stick around.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences! Like I said, they already seems to be fading quite a bit, so I'm inclined to think they'll continue to do so. There's some photos of her where I don't notice them at all anymore (But notice in person, still, for sure). I am sheepishly admitting that sometimes I airbrush her photos. Sometimes I worry that makes me a bad, appearance-obsessed mama... but then I remind myself that a pro photog would offer the same service. 

Still, many of her photos I leave alone... I think the "battle scars" (like that term, tzs!) give her a subtle uniqueness that it beautiful (see below, from her 100th day). I'm mostly just been wondering whether they're likely to stick around...

Thanks again!!!


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## tink79

All 3 of my girlies have had stork bites on their foreheads and reaching around to the back of the head, neck and upper back. DH has it too but his isn't noticeable unless he gets overheated, then it comes out.

My oldest DD is 7 and hers isn't visible anymore. My younger two had more pronounced marks and they are faded somewhat but still very visible. I suspect they will fade somewhat over time but will always be there. Someone once stopped me when they were babies and told me that they were both marked with a "V" because they would be Victorious. I'll take it! LOL

Here they are at a couple of days

[IMG alt="newbornpayandpipes.jpg" data-id="21630" data-type="61"]http://cdn.mothering.com/0/0b/1000x500px-LL-0b1bdbac_newbornpayandpipes.jpg[/IMG]

About a year and a half

[IMG alt="pipers.jpg" data-id="21631" data-type="61"]http://cdn.mothering.com/0/0a/1000x500px-LL-0abcb031_pipers.jpg[/IMG][IMG alt="pays.jpg" data-id="21632" data-type="61"]http://cdn.mothering.com/c/c8/1000x500px-LL-c8dac4a3_pays.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG alt="untitled.bmp" data-id="21633" data-type="61"]http://cdn.mothering.com/f/f2/1000x500px-LL-f2e4385e_untitled.bmp[/IMG][IMG alt="pipers2.bmp" data-id="21634" data-type="61"]http://cdn.mothering.com/3/32/1000x500px-LL-323bb4d2_pipers2.bmp[/IMG]

And at 3 1/2


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## sunwillshine

Tink79, your girls are absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the pics!

V for Victorious... LOVE IT!


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## AnnieA

DSS 10 has one on his forehead right between his eyebrows and one on his neck at the base of his hairline. They were more apparent when he was younger and have now almost completely faded but like other posters, they become very prominent when he's hot or upset.


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## JudiAU

Yes, they will probably fade but expect it to take a long long time. DS at almost 4 still has visible marks on his face and head.


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## beebalmmama

Ds1 had more of what was a "strawberry" than a stork bite (more red than purple) above one eye and on his nose. His started fading a lot more around 2-3 yrs. Like others said I'd only be able to see it then mainly when he was upset. Now at 5.5 yrs I don't see either of them anymore.


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## caseykn

My older DD had one at the nape of her neck. She's 3 1/2 now and it's been gone for a while. I'm not sure when exactly it disappeared since it's been covered by her hair for a while so I kind of forgot about it. Then I went to look one day and it was gone. My little girl has one on her eyelid and I expect it'll fade after a while too.

OP, if your daughter's marks are already fading, I'd think that they'll continue until you don't notice them any more. My midwife says that most she's seen are completely faded within a few years.


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## Surfer Rosa

DD had them on her eyelids and nape of her enck, and they were mostly gone by 2 (I can see a few ilttle marks on her hairline if I look really hard, in bright light). DS had one on his upper lip, and it was fairly prominent until 18 months or so, and it only shows up now when he cries a lot (he's 2.5). I think it's on its way out.


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## daylicious

Both my older brother and I had these marks on our foreheads and the backs of our heads/necks when we were born  The one on my forhead is completely gone (by the time I was 3 I believe?), but the one on the back of my neck is still there, but it's mostly hidden by my hair, and it's fairly light. You wouldn't notice it unless I pointed it out  The one on my brother's neck is still there as well, and the mark on his forhead only shows up if he gets too hot, or if he's upset or crying


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## ~adorkable~

wow, great to hear all of these stories, my babies are super normal apparently!

both have eyelid ones and ones at the base of their hairline. wil keep an eye one them and see how they fade


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## Snapdragon

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *~Adorkable~*
> 
> wow, great to hear all of these stories, my babies are super normal apparently!
> 
> both have eyelid ones and ones at the base of their hairline. wil keep an eye one them and see how they fade


Adorkable- congratulations on the birth of your babies!!!! How old are they?


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## 34me

My 17 yo's have completely faded


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## ~adorkable~

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Snapdragon*
> 
> Adorkable- congratulations on the birth of your babies!!!! How old are they?


thanks! they are 2 months, but came a month early. everyone is great, birth was a blast!


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## Snapdragon

you mean you had fun giving birth? what do you mean a blast? just curious!


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## ~adorkable~

Yes I had a wonderful time with the actual births, there was a lot of hassle surrounding it that was just that, a hassle, but the birthing of babies part was smooth easy and completely joyful, no hassle could overshadow that!

Sorry for the thread hyjack. Back to our stork bites....


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## ellemenope

*


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## laerhk

My 3rd DD had stork bites that went away by age 2. Then her sister (age 4 at the time) ran her over with her bike("She didn't move out of the way!"), and DD's stork bites returned with the giant goose egg that appeared. They went away again a few months later.

I guess it depends on the bites/kid.


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## JFTB1177

My newborn has a storkbite on the right side of his nose (I will try to post a pic). I too have been worried about when it will go away, my ped said by age 1 but after reading PP's posts I see it may not


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## MsFortune

My 6 mo old was born with stork bite under her nose - totally faded now. Can't see it at all.


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## asberck

I had no idea so many babies had stork bites on their eyelids! DS has one on his left eyelid. He is 6 mo and it has absolutely faded. It is still there but I think I'm the only person who sees it unless he is throwing a fit. Also has one on the back of his head but it is hidden now by his hair.

Here is baby Ezra. Only a few hours old here.


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## accountclosed2

DD was born with stork bites. On one eye lid, sort of between the eye brows and in the neck. They've faded, and I don't think people actually notice them anymore unless they look for them, but they are still there. The one on the eye lid is actually gone, I just noticed. The one in the neck is really difficult to see even for us, as hair now grows out of that spot. Between the eyes it is more like some faded dots (so the bump on her forehead, and the bruise on her chin are a lot more noticable!

She just turned 3.

My midwife said they'd be gone within the first few months, the dr said within the first year. Oh well. It isn't like they bother her, and I'm not in the least worried anymore!


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## sunwillshine

Thanks to everyone for sharing their pics and experiences! At the very least, it's nice to know it's so common, and not like my Cady has some sort of "weird birthmark." Lol.

All of our babies are gorgeous; just have to throw that out there.  Here's a recent pic of my Cady, processed but without me "taking out" her bites via airbrushing or similar.

I wouldn't trade this face for anything!


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## Coco_Hikes

See my bold below. My almost 5yo's are the most noticeable when she's worked up or crying--any time a person would be red-faced, so to speak. I truly forget how "marked" she was as an infant until I look back at her super-newborn pics.

ETA: I deleted the huge photo files. Slowing my computer.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ellemenope*
> 
> DD was peppered with stork bites when she was born. The worst was on her right eyelid. It was very purple. Then she had a streak of them very similar to your DD's that went down her nose and above her lip. There was even some blemish right under her lip. She also had one the size of a nickle on the side of her head, covered by hair, and the traditional nape of the neck one.
> 
> She was also born with a small red blemish right next to her right ear that over the course of about a month grew to the size of a gumball (compound hemangioma). This was our main concern. We were just really thankful that the other marks did not grow like that one.
> 
> At 2.5, you would have no idea. I will always notice, but I don't think anyone else does. *The stork bites might flare when she gets upset*, but I am madly in love with each and every one of them, and they are nothing anyone would question. I love how her nose is always a little bit rosier than the rest of her face. The hemangioma is almost always covered by her hair now and is much duller, and will be surgically removed when we are ready for that.


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## Just1More

All those splotchy babies just look like babies to me, lol! I don't think I've seen many babies without some red marks here and there. To me, it's part of the squishy newness of a baby, and mark of how tiny they still are!

My kids have all faded quite a bit, too. I don't notice anyone's anymore...except the baby's. She, actually, has way more than the others. Her cord was wrapped tightly around her body twice, and where her cord was she has huge deep red/purple marks. As she grows, it is taking up less of her, but as a newborn it covered probably 1/2 of her back. I wonder if those will ever go away?


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## ~adorkable~

Wow marks from the cord, never heard of that one!


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## natalieslife

My daughter was born with stork bites.



She is a month old in this picture.

Here she is at 2.



you can still see them VERY LITTLE.

Here she is at 5.



She is 7 now and I can only see them when she has a fever or has been crying really hard.

I will admit my child has a little color and that might play into the fact that they are not visible but I dont really know.

Natalie


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## MrsGregory

Little Miss had stork bites on the back of her neck and on her back... she was born sunny-side up, I wonder if that has anything to do with it. In any case, they were so perfectly placed on her spine, and were hidden by her hair, I was actually sad to see them go. They're nearly undetectable now, she's 13 months.


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## fruitfulmomma

Old thread but my mil, in her 70s, has one on the back of her neck, still visible and so does my husband, almost 40, and all 6 of our children.


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## mamazee

Both of mine had stork bites. The oldest had a triangle V shape on her forehead that faded. It's my favorite part of her baby photos for some reason now. Just very babyish or something. The younger one had a dark one on the back of her neck. She's 3 and it's still there but barely. I don't ever notice it because of where it is.


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## Skippy918

My DD had stork bites on her eyelids and forehead. They've faded a lot but you can still see them.


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