Eddie and I decided right at the beginning that we didn't want to put photo's of Olive's nevus on Facebook. I think this was more to do with the fact that Facebook changes their privacy settings all the time with no notice etc, and we felt vulnerable. We are hesitant because we are afraid to have our photo's of Oli stolen by somebody and used for their own uses. We did/do not want to exploit Olive in any way and put her on show, so to speak.

We also decided that the more open we are about Olive and her nevus, the more open and comfortable she will be as she grows up. This is her 'normal' and our main wish for her is for her to love herself and be comfortable and proud to be who she is.

We also decided that the more information and awareness there is about GCMN, the more accepting and understanding people will be. And thanks to other GCMN owners having their photo's on the internet, we were able to find information we needed when Olive was born.

So, after much discussion, we have decided to post a photo. The benefits outweigh the negative in our opinion. The photo above shows her back, which is her bathing trunk nevus. You can see 2 of the 4 smaller ones on her scalp, as well as the one on her arm, the one on her leg, and the multiple satellites on her legs.

When we are changing and undressing/dressing Olive daily, we notice wee changes but the most effective way to refer back and compare, is with photo's. As well as taking loads of our own (anyone else got 3000 odd baby photos on their hard drive? haha), the hospital are doing medical ones every 6 months.