Siena's Dot Lasered

Siena has had an infantile hemangioma since she was 2 months old.  It's been a handy way to tell them apart.  But for some reason it seems that Jaide often gets a blob of red food on her cheek.  She probably does it to fake us out.  Here are two examples - Siena on the left, Jaide on the right:

I think Siena's dot would go practically unnoticed, except she's an identical twin.  So everyone uses that mark to distinguish them from each other.  Often people will ask "which one has the dot?"  Or they'll say "Siena - Spot."  It was bothering me that people were pointing out her facial imperfections - I mean, how would you like it if people were always pointing out your zits or moles?  Jamie Bingham (one of my BFs) is an identical twin herself.  She said she and her twin had tiny moles by their eyes, but in slightly different locations.  People were always scrutinizing their faces to tell them apart and it really bothered them.  So I don't think I'm way off base to think that Siena will be bothered by people pointing out her dot when she gets older.

I asked the dermatologist what our options were.  They said they treat these all the time.  It will most likely go away on its own, but since it hasn't left already it will probably take several more years (even up to ten).  She is getting old enough now to start understanding what people say to her and I don't want her to feel like there is something wrong with her since she has a "dot".

The infantile hemangioma is a collection of superficial blood vessels.  The dermatologist said they use a KTP laser which is a green light that is absorbed by the red blood vessels (so it doesn't effect the skin or surrounding tissue).  The green light heats it up and cauterizes it.  They often use it on newborns when the hemangioma is large or disrupts normal functioning (like eating or seeing).

So Jake and I decided to treat her dot.  I told Scarlett I had to get a babysitter cause I was taking only Siena to the doctor to get her dot off.  Scarlett asked: "Why?  Then they're both going to be named Jaide!?"  haha!

Here's Siena before her first treatment:

The dermatologist was very understanding.  He had a paper and pencil.  He had us draw a dot then use the eraser to get rid of the dot.  He explained that the laser is like the eraser and we were going to remove her dot.  I'm not sure how much she understood, but I appreciated his effort.  Then all the adults put on orange glasses to protect our eyes.  They had me sit on the table and hold Siena tightly against my chest so she couldn't move.  The nurse held white gauze tightly over Siena's eyes and the doctor used the laser.  It was all very quick.  Siena screamed and cried.  I think that she was more bothered by us holding her so tightly and not knowing what was happening.  Once we left the room she calmed right down.

Right after:

We had another appointment six weeks later.  Her dot was significantly better, but still there:

So we decided to do a second treatment.  (Siena was excited to find a "circle!" on the wall)

This photo was taken last week (about 6 weeks after the second treatment).  You can still see the dot there, but it's significantly less noticeable.  The dermatologist said we could do another treatment but he would probably use a different laser and treat it more like a birth mark at this point.  Or we can just leave it alone.  I think we'll leave it for now.

I was worried about leaving Jaide with a babysitter.  Luckily my rock star friend Janice was willing to help.  Her kids are mostly grown and she told me that "crying babies don't scare me."  HIRED!  During each appointment she texted me a photo proving that everything was really ok!  I only wish I had a way I could help her so I didn't feel guilty calling her all the time.