Tallis' Hair

Tallis' hair has been LONG overdue for some documentation. It's been through so many changes that I can hardly keep track of it.

First, Tallis was born with a head-full of brown hair with red undertones, very long and full. We even saw his hair on the ultrasound when he was only about 5 months along in the womb, so we knew he'd be born with a lot of it. He got many, many comments when he was a newborn by people struck by the amount of hair on his head, complete with a full-grown mullet. Here's a fair shot of his head of hair at 3 days of age:

This picture was taken at 1 month of age, showing the mullet a little better. I think of the '80s every time I look at this photo. Not much had changed, but it was starting to thin near the forehead line:

The thinning that started to occur was a result of my zealously trying to keep scaly cradle cap under control with a soft hairbrush, combined with the fact he was going to lose his hair anyway. At 7 weeks he was just starting to look like he needed a comb-over, with bald patches starting to show up:

At 9 weeks he was looking pretty bedraggled, with only the finest peach fuzz starting to grow in where the other was lost:

11 weeks was worse:

By the time the poor kid was 17 weeks old this is what we had progressed (or should I say "regressed") to:

This final look was the clincher: mullet, mohawk, and a great big rooster tail coming out of the top. Fine blonde hair was starting to fill in the holes, but it was hardly noticeable in contrast with the leftover dark newborn hair in all the wrong places. It was time to call in the family barber - Great Grandpa Bryce White! In a very experienced and professional fashion, Great Grandpa worked wonders on our little boy. It was obvious that he'd had a lot of experience with giving babies haircuts; he gave me my first one 30 years ago, by golly!

Even though a first haircut is not an experience Tallis will remember, we will never forget Great Grandpa's gentle touch and expert manner, nor Tallis' patient and excited demeanor.

The final result? A little boy who no longer looks like a baby. Sad? Maybe a little. Exciting? Definitely.

Tallis did miss the long locks at the top of his head, at least for the first couple of days after getting sheared. He'd formed the habit of grasping his "topknot" in his right hand and holding on tight when he needed comforting. After a few times of reaching and finding nothing, he let the habit go. His hair is now growing quickly and filling in very well, and he's most definitely a blonde. So much for my redheaded baby boy dreams, at least for now!