Interracial babies coming out white?

pcrock92

As you can see from the pic in my siggy, SO is very dark, & I'm VERRYY pale. He showed me baby pics from when he was born & he looked pure white for about a week, then finally started getting some color, even though both of his parents are fully black. His siblings all came out white as well. I'm just wondering if anybody's heard of this? It's probably a dumb question, haha, but I'm just curious!

eilatan&nhoj88

A nurse working at the hospital when my son was born told us that all black babies are born white. She said many times people don't know this and the men end up thinking the baby is not theirs.

Redsoxchick

Yes the pigmentation takes a while to develop I've heard.

Kelmarwil

I've heard of this as well, and is probably a lot more common than anyone thinks about. If you think about it, no baby really comes out with the complexion, hair, and eye color they will have for the rest of their life. Although I've also known someone to whom both her children came out with a perfect peachy complexion. They weren't extremely pink like most babies. She also did not look pregnant for pretty much the entire time either and didn't have to lose any baby weight. There's always that one woman...

selenawrites

I'm mixed and I looked pretty white (pink) when I was born. I think it takes over a year for pigment to develop, just like hair color--and texture changes a lot too. I had really soft hair, then it was a fro before turning into the ringlets I've had most of my life. My DH is Australian and gets really tan in the summer, so I suspect we'll have a tan little one once he's a toddler. I can't wait to see how curly his hair will be! I'm sure your baby is going to be gorgeous.

MrsKa08

eilatan&nhoj88:

A nurse working at the hospital when my son was born told us that all black babies are born white. She said many times people don't know this and the men end up thinking the baby is not theirs.

MrsKa08

Bump burp.

I don't think they necessarily all come out white. My nephew is African-both african born parents and while he came out lighter than what he is now, I wouldn't say he was white. Same with both of my nieces. I would say their skin color was more that of a mixed child-still on the darker side. I will agree though that it did take at least a year or so for their total darkness of the skin to come out. I am anxious to see how our LO will come out though-either way she will have gorgeous skin Me and my husband are similar in shades as the OP. I think my H is a tad bit darker though.

hwhalen

AH! I am so afraid of the PP comment about the SO thinking that the baby isn't theirs! My SO is fairly dark, and I am extremely white. I am so afraid of the LO coming out so light skinned that he will freak. I mean we both know its his, but still that would be such an awkward moment. Let's hope LO comes out with some color!

intdesigner925

As a blk woman myself I can tell you this is totally normal, my baby pics are the same way and as I age my pigment takes hold. He/she will eventually get their color it just takes a little time.

Penguinb83

Well if you think about it... the pigmentation in yoru eyes takes a while to develope as well so I guess this would make sense.

Penguinb83

You two are adorable by the way...

firegirle1

My dad is black and my mom is white.  I was born white and other than the fact that I can tan really dark look as white as they come.  I do look like my dad as far as features (I have his nose and eyes and our baby pictures look exactly the same if you ignore skin tone).  I am an only child but I wonder if I had a sibling, if they would be darker. 

staceymwiggins

My best friend is "pale" like you (I call her porcelin) and her hubby is very dark like your SO - their baby girl is quite light and has extremely curly but "white people" hair.  When she was born she was porcelin as her mama and the doctor told her that her future coloring would show up first at her cuticles.  It did but but she is VERY light still.

mhollidayesq

Most African-American babies (certainly not all) are born lighter than the complexion they will be as they get older.  I'm not sure the accruate word is "white" though.  LOL.  I rarely mistake a full African-American newborn for a White newborn.  However, it is possible that a bi-racial newborn could look white -- and potentially be darker as they age or not.  I went to school with a girl whose mother is African-American and her father is White, and we had no idea she was bi-racial, much less African-American (that's how she chose to identify herself) until she told us.  Of course her mother was of a lighter complexion, so when we met her parents it did make sense that she would look completely white.

That being said, a good measure of your child's final complexion when their born will be to check the ears.  Usually if the color of an African-American newborn ears (right at the top, sort of behind them) is darker than their overall birth complexion, 9/10 times their overall complexion will get darker as they get older.  Also, depending on where you live (if its a hotter climate), as they get older and play outside they can permanently tan.  It happened to two kids of a freind of mine.  Up until they were about 3 they were very light, after playing soccer for a few years, they are now darker and havent gotten back to their lighter complexion. 

mudluscious4

So, sort of related: https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20011175-10391704.html

 Crazy recessive genes...

Annya26

Yep, they definitely come out much lighter than they usually end up! I think most black babies are born far lighter, not always white per se, but definitely lighter than they are a few months later.

Also with mixed race babies you really never know what you are going to get as far as colouring/hair/etc.! My friend is white (brown hair, green eyes) and her husband is black and their two kids came out with quite light skin, brown curly hair and one has green eyes, the other has the palest blue eyes I have ever seen. Another little girl that I photograph has a blond/blue eyed mom and black father and she came out with fairly dark skin, green eyes and stick straight brown hair. 

My LO is mixed race (black/white) as well and I am just dying to see what he looks like! I will admit that I am hoping that he gets curls from his Daddy

Snowdog1

My DS is bi-racial.  I am really pale and his dad has a dark completion.  When my DS was born he was much lighter skinned with a full head of dark brown fine hair.  His hair is now curly and much more coarse. His completion is way darker than when he was younger.  As my DS got older the pigment in his skin gradually got darker.  He is also an outside type of kid, so in the summer he is considerably darker than in the winter.

mrsstacyclark

Both my parents are very light skin and I have been the same complexion since birth. I am not biracial at all, but most people assume I am due to my complexion. My friend who is dark skin and her husband is dark skin just had a baby and the baby came out as light as me and within a week is now dark skin. They say to look at the nail beds and around the ears to see the true color. One of the things I'm excited to see is what complexion my son will turn out to be.

pcrock92

I can see how the father might not think the baby is his in certain situations, but like a PP said, we both know it's his in our case, so that won't be a problem! It doesn't bother me if my child comes out white, tan, brown, black, or purple as long as he's healthy, I just didn't know if this was common or not.

 & thanks everyone for the helpful information!

RNmommyof2

A woman my mom worked with was black and her husband was white. She was pregnant with twins and when they were born, one was white and one was black. They were both beautiful children but it was interesting that they were conceived and carried at the same time.