Solomon's Birthmark

I discovered it about 4 hours after he was born.  It was late, the ex-husband was asleep on the pull-out sofa in our recovery room and Solomon and I had just sort of gotten the hang of nursing.  I inspected his bruised and misshapen head, thanks to the vacuum extractor.  I noticed that he has a cowlick on his forehead in the same place I have one.  I unwrapped his receiving blanket and looked him over.  I'd always thought it was weird when people said they counted their new baby's fingers and toes, but I did that, without even thinking.  And then I saw it -- a large, very dark birthmark on his right ankle, across the Achilles tendon.  I wondered if he'd be self-conscious of it when he grew older.  And then I thought how cool it was.

Throughout Solomon's infancy, people noticed his birthmark all the time.  He was born in late spring so there wasn't much need for socks and definitely not for shoes for several months.  Some people thought it was weird.  Others thought there was something wrong with him, and suggested that maybe I had forgotten to pin something metal to my clothing during the lunar eclipse that occurred while I was pregnant.  (I hadn't.  I don't buy into that sort of stuff, but I'd worn safety pins on my shirt that night to appease my in-laws and their friends.)  I still thought the birthmark was cool; it was unique and special, something that I'd never seen on another baby.

In the last few years I haven't given much thought to Solomon's birthmark.  He talks about it sometimes but mostly in neutral terms and I've never thought to ask him what he feels about it.  Tonight he mentioned that the skin is peeling from it.  He says it's shrinking.  He is troubled by this.  Part of it is his tendency to over-dramatize things, I'm sure.  But another part of it, I'm realizing, is that he thinks it's cool, too.  He identifies it as a part of him and he likes it.  I'm glad for that.

To appease Solomon, I traced the outline of the mark with a Sharpie and told him that we'll watch it for a couple of days to see if it's actually shrinking.  I'm pretty sure it isn't.

The tracing was fun.  Solomon is the most ticklish person I know.  It's become legendary.  He's so ticklish that having his physical exam done is almost impossible.  He can't stand to be touched with the otoscope, stethoscope or any other scope.  He's so ticklish, he's convinced himself that I can tickle him from across the room with my brain.  I'm serious.  So tracing his ankle with a Sharpie was hilarious!  I may or may not have gone over it a second time, just for grins.