This morning at preschool drop-off, I was helping Milo to remove his jacket (while providing him the illusion he was doing it “all by self!”) and a teacher (let’s call her Jill) noticed we have the same color hair.
Jill said, “I guess that’s proof that you don’t color your hair.” I laughed a little and said I had heard that some moms will take their children to the salon and say, “make it that color” (pointing to the kid’s head) but no, I haven’t done that (yet!).
Yep, he's a redhead
Jill went on to say that another teacher in the infant toddler room had asked one child’s mom, “do you color Ethan’s hair? It’s so red!” and another (and this one’s my favorite), “do you give Jake those little blond highlights?” No and no.
As long as we’re on the topic of hair, Milo was so bald for so long that we didn’t know what color his hair would be until he was 18 months old. Granted, it still might change quite a bit, but for now we have a little redhead boy.
Milo was a very bald baby
Prancing around as a super pale redheaded child, I often cited that redheads were only 4% of the American population. More recently, I read that redheads are actually going extinct.
When I was little, I felt like an alien species at times. My hair would either be in style or out of style. It was never just hair. I was also mercilessly teased about my Caspar-like complexion. Even as an adult, strangers want to be photographed next to me to show of their suntans (this happens for real!) or the kind-hearted older ones will ask if I’m wearing sunscreen. Consequently, I always thought that fellow redheads were kind of icky. Being so pale and prone to sunburn was a terrible fate I wouldn’t wish on anyone I loved.
But now that I have a mini pale-face son with red curls and chubby (pale) cheeks, I wouldn’t wish for anything else. And some day, I might just color my hair to match his.
Wow. Milo was a very bald baby indeed. My stepson was so hairy you could brush the hair on his arms and legs and his head was full of thick, jet black hair. My son’s hair is lighter, so you can’t tell, but he’s basically just as furry as his brother. I’m considering looking for that hair product that Whitney used on Julian for his vampire costume.
First, Elizabeth, you made me laugh. My side comment in the hair gel post was aimed at Heather whose babies were both as bald as pictured until they walked! Second, my friend Danielle, a vivacious curly-haired woman who was labeled as highly-spirited by every adult who ever met her when we were growing up, told me to be cautious about making a fuss about Scarlett’s curly hair. She said that her own hair is a such a piece of her that she considers it part of her psychological profile, and she actually talks about it in her therapy sessions. The way people react to her is influenced by her hair. When I reported that Scarlett has curly hair and a personality to match, she enlightened me about how big that statement might be. So I will be careful about how I talk to Scarlett about her hair. Maybe this is not such a big deal for boys.
I imagine, not being a boy myself, that hair is very significant for boys too. Since they don’t wear makeup or many accessories, futzing with hairstyles (and later facial hair) is just about it for them.
Holden is always being told he has a great head of hair (by me and Alec but whatever!) and I suspect folks will attribute various qualities to Milo because of his curls and redheadedness.
With a red-headed mom and an auburn mother in law, I was actually hoping my daughter would have red hair, or at least have red highlights, but so far (she’s a month old), she has a head full of very dark brown hair like my dad and I…sigh…
I’m not a redhead but am only one tiny step removed from being just as pale. I would often get friends thrusting their arms against mine to show the difference in suntanning ability (of which I have none). I didn’t like those friends much.
My 2-year-old son has wild curly hair, and most people are rational about it. (“Love those curls!” etc.) But every once in awhile, we get someone who asks us if we curl it. I answer with an assortment of responses: Yes, but it’s hard to get him to hold still for the curling iron every morning. Yes, but it’s hard to get him to sleep on the curlers every night. Or, Yes, we went ahead and just got it permed. I usually then throw in a remark about how vain he is.
I’ve been accused of applying lipstick to my naturally cherry-red lipped daughter. My response is “No, she’s just naturally yummy like that.”
so funny, i love this. i have a little red head 11 month old and i feel like a have a precious little treasure (so rare and getting rarer!). i hope my girl will love her hair the way i do one day. not long ago i walked into a shop and the lady looked absolutely mortified and screeched ‘what’s with her hair?!’. apparently she was offended in some strange way.
“What’s with her hair?!”?!? That wins for most bizarre reaction.