Congratulations!  You have welcomed a new baby into this world.  You are excited, happy, terrified, uncertain.

And that baby looks nothing like what you expected.

If you, too, have been surprised by your perfect newborn’s unexpected face, I can perhaps offer some insight into the things you’re worrying and wondering about.

You already knew that you’d have to navigate the challenges of raising a child in this complicated modern world, but you weren’t prepared to do it with a strange-looking face.

You may be torn between calling your perfect little infant “perfect” and wondering what to do about this looming flaw.  Should you call it a flaw?  Will she think she’s not perfect?  Should you mention it to her at all?

You will Google this condition, and when you see all the ways these errant blood vessels can invade the brain, the eyes, the nose, and the gums, you will start watching for every daily milestone to make sure all systems are working the way they should.  At least, for now; those vessels will keep growing.

You will feel guilt at your concern over your baby’s face while other parents are dealing with issues so much more deep, painful, and immediate than this ‘cosmetic’ issue; yet, when someone else tells you to be thankful that you have “only a cosmetic issue” to deal with (and maybe even that “it’ll go away”), you’ll want to cry.

You will worry over every contact sport, every scratch, and every nosebleed, along with her eyes, gums, tongue, teeth, brain, and anything else these overgrown blood vessels touch.

And then, you will wonder what you’ll eventually say to her.  How will you talk to her about it?  And it will feel a lot like vanity, worrying about her looks, and surely, you’ve never been this vain before…

When it comes to her looks, you will struggle in the balance between truths – the truths that other people tell you, and the truths you discover for yourself.

People will tell you your baby is beautiful, and that’s true.  They will tell you that your child will be absolutely fine sporting a birthmark in our enlightened modern era, and that’s true.  They will tell you that beauty is so much deeper than skin, and that’s true.  They will even tell you that people hardly notice it after they meet your child, and that’s true, too.

But it’s also true that the uniqueness of each birthmark means that your child may never see another human being like them, and that’s isolating.  It’s also true that your decision to treat, eliminate, remove, or otherwise ‘fix’ this error will haunt your parenting conscience whether you choose to leave it or not, and that’s sobering.   It’s also true that our human instinct to spot aberrations in nature means that your child’s errant face will never not be spotted, and that’s overwhelming.

It’s a worrisome thing to raise a child with a strange face.  It’s okay that you’re dealing with those worries; it doesn’t make you a shallow person.  And you may not feel validated when people encourage you with all the truths about how cool it is to have a birthmark now; they’re not wrong; it just doesn’t feel validating.  That’s okay, too.  Take their encouragement; consume the truth they’re giving you.

You will think ahead to the first day of preschool, and the first day of kindergarten, and all the other firsts that she will walk into.  How will she carry herself into the room?  What will she say?

You will find yourself noticing all the unique features in other humans now.  And every time you see another human with a Thing on their Face, you’ll devour every hint that might give you clues to your own daughter’s future, all the way down to the way that one birthmarked guy orders his ice cream, and the way that one birthmarked girl slouches into her hoodie.   Ashamed?  Is that what your perfect, brilliant, precocious infant daughter will become?

People can assuage you all they want, but let me tell you, when you think ahead to all the things you have to prepare a daughter for these days, and then plan on having a weird face on top of it, it’s overwhelming.

You may not know what to do with all the overwhelmingness.  You may be quick to feel indignance: How dare Disney not have a princess that looks like my daughter?  You may be quick to feel offense: How dare that ignorant idiot ask my daughter what’s on her face?

Take a deep breath; be patient with all the other flawed humans around you.  They may not validate your concerns; they may not accommodate your daughter’s face, or even anticipate it.  They may ask loud questions.  That’s okay.

Have grace for other humans; give them room to err, because they’re imperfect, too.

Have a sense of humor; dress your baby up as a Dalmatian puppy on Halloween and call her ‘Spot’, because you only live once.

We’re reluctant to embrace vanity, but when we’re honest, we would admit that we desperately want to conform, we want to look “like”, and we want to be seen as pretty.  This is our vanity, and we feel guilty for it, and a facial mark rocks that guilt.  It may feel better to preemptively blame other humans for not accommodating your daughter in their princess lineup, but I think it’s healthier to admit that a natural dose of vanity comes with being human.  It doesn’t make you a bad person.

It’s okay to worry about all of this, and then it’s okay to let it all go and take “Spot” trick-or-treating.

Parenting is always uncharted territory.  Every child is unique, and every day is new.  I can give you advice, I can tell you what we’ve learned; but, ultimately, you will make your own path.  I’ve walked some of your steps, but not all of them.

And as I learn from each of our steps, I will continue sharing what we’ve learned with you, here.  But in the meantime, please know that I’ve felt what you’re feeling, and I can tell you, after more than a decade of parenting a Kid with a Thing on her Face, that it’s all okay.

Addy may not remember being dressed up as a Dalmatian puppy named ‘Spot’, but she thinks the pictures are hilarious.  She’s fine.  It’s all good.

You’ll be fine, too.