Conference moira::parenting_v3

    My daughter also has a nice olive complexion.  Frequently when we go to 
    the pedi's, one of the nurses will comment that she is "yellow" and we 
    should stop feeding her so many carrots.

    In our case, however, it seems to be Michelle's natural coloring.  I
    cut out yellow veggies entirely for three weeks before the last visit,
    and the nurse STILL accused me of feeding her to many carrots!

    For what it's worth, my pedi says that lots of yellow veggies is not
    harmful, but it can cause the skin to turn yellowish.

    Sheryl,
    
    	It could very well be your child's natural skin coloring.
    				or...
    	Are you breastfeeding her?  There is a condition called
    	Breast Milk Jaundice.  I'm not sure a child would get to
    	9 months without a doctor noticing it but anything is
    	possible.  My son was still 'yellow' at 6 weeks of age
    	and his billiruben levels were still slightly elevated,
    	so the pedi took my son off breastmilk and his yellowness
    	cleared up in about two days.  It's worth checking into.
    
    Jodi-

    It can also be caused by feeding too many yellow vegetables --
    squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. My pedi said to watch for
    yellowish skin when I first started Andy on solids. My neighbor's
    child looks yellow next to my son and we figured that was probably 
    the problem. But I'd check with the doctor if you're worried.
    Sue

    Lots of people have a yellow tone to their skin.  Older books and
    articles tend to call it a "sallow complexion" while artists and
    fashion designers call it a "warm complexion" in contrast to a
    "cool complexion" which has bluish undertones.
    
    --bonnie

    Not to worry. Your 9 month old is eating too many sweet potatoes,
    carrots, and squash - as long as the whites of the eyes are white.  My
    pediatrician noticed my sons yellow skin color before I noticed.  When
    I brought him in his office he said to me "don't worry, but it is very
    common for a 9 month old to have yellow skin, it is caused by too much
    beta carotine in the vegetables you are feeding him."  So, I started to
    give him more peas and green beans and in a couple of weeks, his skin
    was not so yellow.  Is this what your pedi told you?  Please let us
    know.  
    

    
    Thanks for all of your replies.  We went to the Pedi's yesterday and
    Alexa got a clean bill of health, but when the doctor came in she
    said "Alexa, do you like carrots?"  The doc said that there is really
    nothing you can do about it.  All of the veggies for babies--sweet
    potatoes, carrots, squash, even green beans and peas will cause
    the yellow skin tone in some babies.  It's called carotinemic (sp?)
    
    By the way--she's 9 mos old and weighs a whopping 22 lbs!  The doctor
    was happy thought because she's in the 90th percentile for both
    weight and height
    
    wow!  i can barely remember how small she was when she was born a
    month early!!!
    

    I don't mean to be a wet blanket or anything, but I don't see why
    the Doctor should be happy because a child is on the 90th percentiles.
    All it means is that in a given sampling of 100 babies 90 of them
    will be shorter and weigh less than yours.  On their own, the
    percentile measurements mean nothing.  The fact that she is on the
    90th percentile for both height and weight does mean that at least
    her weight is not out of line compared to her height.

    I have one other thought about the yellowish color.  You said you
    notice it sometimes.  Have you observed the color or the baby's outfits
    when you notice the yellowish color?  Stay away from yellow's and
    green's and gold tones.  My children have olive skin as does my girl
    friends children.  I watch the colors I dress my children in (through
    training) which prevents the yellowish sick color.  However, I've seen
    my girlfriend's children dressed in awful colors for their skin (they
    are 15 and 13) and they look yellowish in those colors.  Just something
    to be aware of.
    
    

    The artist in me is unable to refrain from digressing on skin
    tones and colors:
    
    There's a yellowish sick color and there's a yellowish warm color. 
    If you're worried about appearance, buy a good fashion-color book
    about analyzing skin tones and choosing colors, or an artist's
    instruction book about portrait painting.  A lot depends on
    whether the yellow is in the surface layer or in the underlying
    layer of the skin -- if it's in the underlying layer, you need
    different colors than if the underlying layer is a cool blue- or
    pink-toned.  
    
    Warm and cool colors tend to go muddy or else cancel each other
    out when they're mixed together, so if you have a cool underlying
    skin tone you'll generally need to wear cool colors to bring out
    the underlying cool tone of your skin.  The layer of warm yellow
    will add a glow, like sunshine in a blue room.  Wearing a warm
    yellow-toned color like gold or green will bring out the yellow
    surface layer and as .8 says make you look sickish as the warm and
    cool tones conflict.
    
    On the other hand, if the underlying tone is yellow, you'll
    generally look better in warm colors to bring out the warm tones,
    while cool colors will call out the cool surface and muddy your
    skin tones.  This is usually a kind of washed-out dull appearance
    that's not as obvious as sallowness.  
    
    If you really know how to mix your colors, and have a good eye for
    that sort of thing, you can create some really interesting effects
    by the way you layer warm and cool colors in relation to your
    skin.  This is like painting a warm-toned portrait over a
    background wash of cool green or blue, or balancing areas of warm
    and cool colors when you're decorating a room.  
    
    --bonnie

    Avoid purple (opposes yellow on the "color wheel"); it will exaggerate the 
    yellow cast.

    re .7
    Stuart,
    
    I would suggest that the Dr. was happy because the baby was premature,
    and she has obviously overcome this - most preemies take 2 years to
    'catch up'.
    
    

    My daughter inherited my golden-tone (some might say sallow) skin.  She
    looks much better in yellow than in the traditional pinks.
    
    Color_Me_Beautiful (in paperback) is very good on learning about the 4
    seasonal color families and finding the right colors for the
    complexion.   There is also Color_for_Men.
    
    What is the hair color and eye color for the child in question?  An
    "autumn" may have dark red, dark blonde, brown or black hair and eyes
    of brown-green-gold hazel, brown, black, or sometimes intense
    acquamarine or violet.  A "spring" is lighter than an autumn although
    in the same general family.
    
    I wish I could get gold, peach, orange, and green colors for a baby. 
    (And please don't suggest I sew.  Ahem. . .)
    
    Laura               

    re: .12
    
    For babies, heck.  I wish I could get those colors for MYSELF this
    year!  Almost all the fashion colors this year are cool brights
    that make me look I've been receiving extensive chemotherapy for
    the last six months. 
    
    The Gerber baby clothes have some nice greens and aquas. 
    
    re: purple
    
    In general it's true that deep purples are usually cool colors and
    bad for a yellow-toned complexion.   But a purple or lavendar that
    has undertones of yellow added (to intesify the color) is good for
    a warm complexion, and purplish blues like periwinkle are
    absolutely smashing.
    
    re: color me beautiful
    
    A book that made a fortune by finding a memorable, useful way to
    present the artistic principles that had been around for hundreds
    of years.  :) :) :)
    
    --bonnie, spring

    
    Thanks for all of the replies--and the ideas of what colors to 
    dress her in...I have noticed that some days the yellow in her
    skin is not so noticeable--I'll have to pay closer attention to
    what she is wearing on that particular day.
    
    I'd like to clarify what I meant in my last note about my pedi
    being happy with Alexa being in the 90th percentile for both
    weight and height.  It is the fact that at her sixth month check-up
    she was 85th for weight and 50th for height that she was comparing
    the 90 - 90 to.  Alexa has "evened out" which means her weight is
    perfect for her height--that's what made the pedi (and mom) happy.
    Plus the fact that she was a premie and by looking at her now, you
    would never guess all of the problems we had!!!
    
    Sheryl
    

    Regarding the "right" color, try it with white.  For me, it's the
    easiest way to determine whether the person is a cool or a warm. Clear,
    bright white vs. ivory.  They are also the easiest colors to find for
    kids.  Not the best choice, but definitely abundant : )
    My son David is a "cool" baby.  He has dark brown hair, bluish-white
    skin, and black/brown eyes.  You should see this kid in 
    blue-red...stunning!  In green or yellow? Blech...
    
    Sarah (winter)