We’ve had a strange relationship with baby hair in our family. First off, Honeybun had none. I mean, none. She was born with a bit but it was gone within a few weeks and took forever to come back. She was one of those babies that was so bald everyone assumed she was a boy. Even when I dressed her in all pink, people still asked how old “he” was (once she was even wearing a onesie which had “I am not a boy” written in pink and an elderly lady mumbled under breath after I corrected her “well, if you dress it like a boy…”). It wasn’t until just before we moved to Dublin (perhaps preparing for the cold?) that Honeybun, at 18 months, started sprouting some actual hair.
I assumed Sugarplum, who was born with a fuller head of hair, was going to be the same. Amazingly though, her hair has stuck around but stayed very short until around her 2nd birthday. Her hair mostly consisted of a tuft on the top which provided opportunities for different hair styles like the “cockatoo doo” and “fountain”.
Both girls have the cutest little curls and super fine hair. I vividly remember the first time I got each of them into ponytails. Honeybun was nearly 2 when I almost got her hair into a pony and it was a few more months before I accomplished the cute double pigtails. Sugarplum was a few months under 2 when I got two pigtails but it took longer to get it all into 1 pony due to the way it naturally grew in. I remember feeling so proud after years of watching other baby girls go by with cute little pigtails to be able to subject my own little ones with the same torture!
Honeybun’s hair has continued to grow and she now likes doing fancy things with it. She loves getting it braided (though most of the time I don’t have the patience to deal with the fine layers) and we put it in some kind of pony every day for school. I always let her choose if she wants a half of full pony and whether she wants it in the middle, on the side, low, or high (what we call a “Pebbles pony”.)
Sugarplum, on the other hand, engages me in a daily battle just to get her hair brushed. Her hair has a tendency to tangle due to the cute little curls and her rambunctious sleeping habits. I use detangling spray (“ouchie spray” to her) but she still fights me every day. She also isn’t as into getting her hair put up as Honeybun is. She’ll occasionally ask for a pony but they never last long and she ends up with crazy sticking out hair which only bothers me if we’re some place nice.
We’re all going in for haircuts tomorrow (unless baby decides to make an appearance). This will be Sugarplum’s first. Honeybun’s first haircut was just after her 3rd birthday and she’s only gotten it trimmed a few times since. I took Sugarplum last May when I had Honeybun in but chickened out and didn’t do it. I forgot my camera (the excuse I used) but really I wasn’t ready to do it. I was afraid of losing all the precious curls she had acquired. Amazingly, her hair has grown in nicely over the past year and you would never guess it’s never been cut. I’m a little bittersweet about the upcoming event. I know she needs it just to even things out and trim off the thin baby ends, but I still worry about losing those cute little curls.
