I finally got enough courage to get a “real” haircut for my son. I admit, I was having a difficult time letting go of those precious baby curls! We got him a haircut a few months ago, but I refused to let the barber cut off the curls in the back of my son’s head. My husband said he looked like he had an 80’s style mullet!

Over the weekend, I took a look at him and realized that he looked a mess! His curls were long and unruly and his hair was hanging in his face. It was time for a proper haircut.

I know that some cultures have traditions about hair cutting. My friend’s husband shaved their daughter’s head when she was a certain age for “good luck and good health”. Another friend’s husband insisted that they wait until their son was a year old for his first haircut. Even though he still didn’t have much hair, they dutifully took their child to the barber to continue the family tradition.

My husband took our son to his barber and asked for the same haircut that he has. I had no clue that barbers don’t just trim the hair! This barber had a suction machine which sucked up the hair as he trimmed it. Luckily, I’d cut off a few precious curls before taking him to the barber.

The barber let him sit in my husband’s lap which seemed to help and we let my son hold onto his security blanket. Nevertheless, there were a few tears–both my son and I shed a few.

After his haircut was done, the barber gave him a certificate and a lollipop! What a lucky little kid!

My son’s curls are gone and I’m adjusting to the fact that he’s growing up! It seemed like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital with very little hair on his head. Now, the barber is trimming his hair to look like his father’s haircut.

I’ve learned that it is important to do some homework before taking your child for his or her first hair cut. Does the shop take walk-in clientele? Must you make an appointment? What times of the day are less crowded?

Some shops just cut children’s hair, and others have clientele of all ages. Which would you prefer? Another thing to ask is if they have certificates or other keepsakes for the first haircut. After you pick out the shop you want, ask for a kid friendly stylist. You want someone who won’t be rattled when or if your child has a tantrum!

The first haircut is a milestone to be cherished. Enjoy!

Cradle cap is a common occurrence in infants. You can tell your baby has cradle cap by looking at his scalp. Cradle cap will look like thick, brownish red scales on your babies scalp.

Cradle cap doesn’t harm or hurt your baby at all. It will, supposedly, go away by itself over time. Some parents choose to do nothing and let the condition resolve itself. Other parents want to speed up the process.

As my children had light colored hair, I found that the cradle cap was very obvious and I grew tired of the comments from people and relatives. Nowadays, they sell cradle cap shampoo, which I have never tried.

Instead, I’ve always used the ‘oil remedy’ with my children. Any sort of natural oil can be used but olive oil or baby oil are the most common oils I heard to be used probably because most people have them already on hand.

You can begin by rubbing the oil in your child scalp gently especially if your child is very young and still has ’soft spots’ on their head. Let the oil sit in the scalp for around 15 minutes. The oil should begin to soften the scales during this time.

Take a fine toothed comb and begin to gently comb your child’s hair. The scales should comb out somewhat easily. Some babies don’t mind this process, and others are bothered by it. If your child is bothered, you may want to do a small section of scalp each day. After you comb out your child’s hair, wash the hair with baby shampoo. This should remove whatever was left on the scalp, or was stuck to the hair during the combing process.

If your child’s cradle cap continues to worsen, or spreads beyond his or her scalp, or you have concerns, it’s advisable to contact your child’s doctor for medical advice.

How honest are women about their alcohol drinking habits during pregnancy? Actually, the answer is a bit shocking, according to the latest findings by Swedish researchers who surveyed 103 pregnant women. Pregnant women were asked about their alcohol use and their urine and hair were then tested for alcohol byproducts. Alcohol markers can be detected in the hair even months after alcohol consumption. Lab tests on hair samples can also differentiate between moderate social drinking from heavy regular drinking.

Well, surprise, surprise! Ninety-four of the women interviewed (91%) swore to complete abstinence during their pregnancy while nine admitted to occasional drinking (1 to 4 times a month) while pregnant. However, the hair tests told a completely different story. 19 of the women participants did actually drink alcohol, and 7 are likely to be heavy drinkers.

So, in the end 25 % of the participants actually consumed alcohol during pregnancy, but only 8.7 % admitted to doing so.

These results are troubling because many studies on the effects of alcohol on the unborn child is based on self-reports by women during pregnancy and after delivery. How can we rely on these data if the study participants themselves are prone to lying?

Also, the fact that many women concealed their drinking habits is not a good sign. It implied that they know that they shouldn`t drink but did anyhow, or simply couldn`t help it.

SOURCE:

American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, April 2008.

Other posts on alcohol and pregnancy:

Binge drinking during pregnancy

To drink or not to drink (alcohol) ? that is the question for pregnant women

Thank you. Moms just love to get compliments about their children, don’t they?

Except that he’s a boy.

My son, almost two, is usually to be found wearing a dark blue shirt with a firetruck on the front, grey (or similar color) sweatpants, dark blue boots, and will be clutching one or more of the following: plastic snake, plastic beetle, real beetle, plastic alien, plastic pirate, stick, pebble, truck of some kind.

But he has long blond curly hair, and long blond curly hair seems to surpass all the other “boy” things about him. It’s not even that long, just below his collar. It’s never been cut, so it’s the hair he was born with. I can’t bear to cut it.

What’s wrong with long hair on boys? Plenty of adult male people have long hair, and no-one thinks they are girls, do they?

I’m not the only one, although I seem to be in a minority, especially in the Midwest. Perhaps I should move to Hollywood?

Cindy Crawford, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Julia Roberts’ sons have, or have had, long hair at one time.

Kate Hudson is quite well known for her 4-year-old son Ryder’s long hair, although she cites “religious reasons” for not cutting it.

I’m just too much of a wimp and I’ll cry if I have to chop off his baby hair.

The current plan is to get it cut if it looks like it will get caught on things, or when he asks for a haircut.

So what are your feelings on long hair for boys? Awful, or cool, or just don’t care?

Do you know that a single strand of our hair can tell lots of things about us?

A recent study says that the tap water that we drink leaves a ?signature? on our hair that can provide a history of where we?ve been or have lived. It seems that the chemical structure of water is influenced by its geographic location resulting in what is called ?isotopic signature.? This signature differentiates water of different sources or from different locations. Since local water is the primary ingredient in most of the liquid that we drink, this isotopic signature is carried to our hair. These imprints on our hair can trace people’s past movements and may become an important tool in studying human history and police investigations.

This signature is also seen in our bones and nails. However, the hair has the advantage of maintaining its chemical make up as it grows longer.

In the field of forensics, the technique has already been used in the USA to confirm that a murder victim has traveled around the western states for over two years.

The technique is not without shortcomings. Signatures in the hair can be influenced by certain factors such as variations in individual metabolism and diet. More research is necessary to ensure the accuracy of the technique.

Source:

Nature News, 25 Feb 2008