My girlfriend recently had a baby boy. She is now the mother of five, with daughters who are 16, 15, 14, and 12. Having a new baby after all this time left her with reservations, but once her son arrived, she settled in to the new routine and quickly learned about new gadgets and products on the market to make life easier.
A month later she experienced her first real concern when she spotted a mysterious bruise on the baby’s tailbone.
Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what could have caused the bluish mar on her baby’s tender skin. He did tend to fuss whenever she put him in the car seat, so she checked it out to see if there might be something poking him, but that was not the cause.
As the mother of five, she wasn’t quick to call her pediatrician. She kept an eye on the bruise, but it didn’t turn yellow or green. It didn’t bother the baby, but then the following week as she changed his diaper she spotted two small bluish bruises on his stomach.
Now it alarmed her and she made an appointment to see the doctor.
In the back of her mind, it scared her on a couple of levels. First of all, what was wrong with the baby? Second, what would the doctor think? Would they think her baby had been abused?
She carried him into the office, feeling anxious. She undressed the baby and the doctor examined the mysterious bruises.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” the doctor admitted. They talked a little, and the doctor said. “Let me try something.” The pediatrician rolled her chair to the counter and grabbed an alcohol swap. She rubbed in on the bruise and a little of the discoloration came off.
The diagnosis? The decorative diapers my girlfriend used had strips designed to tell when the baby was wet. The blue color had stained his skin. The news left her feeling both relieved and embarrassed.
Photo credit: Kyle and Kelly Adams
