babies skin color much darker than both parents?
i gave birth 3 weeks ago and since the babies arrival the elephant in the room is the babies complexion. he’s much darker than either parent, and darker than other members of the extended family. he doesn’t resemble his cousins at all from either side. he had jaundice and we had hoped it was just coloring from that, but he’s pretty much cured from it and still very brown. he also looks quite asian because of his eyes.
i def have postpartum anxiety/paranoia that showed up in multiple ways. i keep worrying he (my son) will be rejected by his dad or that side of the family (tho they only show endless love. idk it doesn’t make sense), or that he might not even be mine and was switched at the nicu (they took him right away before i could really look at him). i voiced these concerns to my husband who assured me the baby is ours and he just “looks different”.
how is this possible? when we take pictures with the baby, he looks completely different than us/adopted. if he doesn’t look dark brown, he looks purple or red (depending on the lighting), and i will note that his skin is very thin and veiny. we still love the little guy but it’s alarming how he doesn’t resemble us at all and it’s something we both don’t want to voice too much but i know we’re both thinking it…
edit: i added a photo reference in the comments. i don’t find fair skin to be superior, im actually more attracted to tan/dark skin, but neither me or my husband are dark skinned. if i had married someone darker, and the child was darker then it would make sense cuz he would match the father. but my baby doesnt match either father or mother or extended family on either side. it feels like an episode on maury (tho my husb has no doubt he’s the father, the paranoia only comes from me). i know talking about skin color is a sensitive issue, but im more concerned with the baby looking nothing like us/paranoid rather than just a simple colorism scenario