Hi, my 3 month old's legs go dark purple if she was in an upright position. its been happening since birth, but has seemed to be getting worse over the last month or so.

It used to be only if i held her under the nappy, but is now happening if she is in any upright position: sitting being held up. if her legs are straight then it doesnt happen.

My midwife saw me every week to make sure she had good femeral heartbeats since birth, because specialist refused to look at her until she was 12 weeks. as soon as she turned 12 weeks, my midwife demanded for the specialist to see her immediately. i got a phone call saying her appointment was in 4 weeks, told her and then got a phone call the next day saying the appointment had been moved to today (2 days after the initial phone call).

The specialist said he has only ever heard of one other case but the baby grew out of it before she was 12 weeks.

As i said it is only getting worse. She is being sent for an ultrsound to look at the blood flow in her legs but dr is pretty sure it will come up clear.

I am starting to really worry, its not getting any better. anyone else had this? and got worse? what happened?

Thanks to all who have read my long story, i hope someone out there can help me smile

I'm sorry hun I have not experienced this I just wanted to say I hope your lil one is all ok and that there is nothing horribly wrong and it can be fixed xxx

thanks, the dr said "Hopefully" she will grow out of it, but thats not very reassuring.

I have googled and only found cases that were present at birth and then baby grew out of it, not got worse.

she is a very well behaved and happy baby, the purple legs dont seem to bother her,

thanks for your reply

thanks, the dr said "Hopefully" she will grow out of it, but thats not very reassuring.

I have googled and only found cases that were present at birth and then baby grew out of it, not got worse.

she is a very well behaved and happy baby, the purple legs dont seem to bother her,

thanks for your reply

I'm glad it's not hurting her that's a good thing smile could it possibly be like a blood vessel or something being pinched?? Poor lil mite and it must be scary for you too I know I would freak out!!
If the tests don't have any conclusive results do you k ow what the next step might be??

dr thinks it possibly be one of the main veins in the legs are pumping the blood into her legs, but then arent pumping them back out so the blood is pooling.

i asked if it has affected her or will it if it keeps going purple, he said no, she is very strong.

she is 12 weeks and weighs exactly 7kg. i think maybe its because she is really chubby that the fat is cutting her circulation, but have no idea how to fix it or if it actually is that.

i have no idea what the next step is, dr kept repeating 'hopefully she'll grow out of it'.

thanks for talking, i was so upset after the appointment that he had no idea, i took it out on my mother and husband, screaming at them because i said i wanted to get a new back pack for Ds, but didnt want to cause he already has one, they told me to decide if i wanted to get it or not, and i went off at them. I cried for an hour non-stop because of all the stress and the guilt for yelling at them. i spoke to my mother later and appologized but she said its ok, she'll give me space, then i told her how i was feeling, and couldnt stop crying again. Dh (as soon as we were alone appologized, so i told him and again couldnt stop crying. i think the amount of tears that fell, i would've been dehydrated and had no water left in my body. anyway thanks again smile

Hope your feeling a little better now. I have a very chubby legged 6month old and when she is sitting she also goes quite purple in the legs. In her case it has a lot to do with how fat she is smile and the position she sits in. My elder daughter was the same when she was a porky little one as well.

thanks shell

did they go purple when you held them and did they go purple quickly

Don't know, I've never really given it much thought. To me it's just like when you sit on your leg for too long and it starts to go purple - poor circulation but when you change positions it gets better. Think with my 2 year old it happened until she leaned out a bit (maybe about 7 months)

thanks, i feel a little bit reassured now smile

it just freaks me out cause it goes really dark purple so quick and all the time, i get tired of constantly telling people who hold her, her feet are going purple, you have to hold her a different way.

My mum said "i know what your going through, you did the same to me, except you were worse", i asked how was i worse and found out i was born with my lung on the wrong side of my ribs and mum had to wait til i grew and it would automatically slide into the correct position, so i agree she had it worse but its a terrible thing to worry about the well being of your child.