Our baby’s a cut above!
Blimey! Our littl’un was born with a big barnet
The sonographer gave a little chuckle.
‘Well,’ she said, as I lay on the hospital bed for my 20-week scan. ‘Your baby’s certainly going to have a lot of hair!’ ‘Really?’ I asked. All I could see on the screen was a delicate little wisp sticking up.
But she’d been adamant, pointing at the white glow, like a halo, around our unborn baby’s head. I still wasn’t convinced. I’d heard that bad heartburn in pregnancy meant your baby would have lots of hair, and I hadn’t suffered at all…
But then, in the last two weeks before Holly was due, it suddenly kicked in...
In December last year, I went into labour. And, checking how dilated I was, the first thing anyone remarked was, ‘She’s got a full head of hair!’
When Holly finally arrived, the first thing that struck me was her delicate little features.
Then me and my hubby Ashley, 28, saw what everyone had been talking about.
‘Wow! They weren’t wrong,’ I said.
A huge thatch of thick, black hair covered her scalp.
I’d been born with hair, too, but nothing like this!
Holly’s hair quickly became a talking point, with the midwives even telling colleagues to pop in and have a look.
‘Wow, she looks like a little doll,’ a couple in the lift remarked as we left the hospital with Holly.
Whenever we took her out, the compliments kept on coming.
I found it overwhelming in the early days when strangers came up to me in supermarkets, shopping centres, restaurants… But Holly wasn’t the slightest bit fazed by all the attention.
‘How old is she?’ people always asked, never guessing she was newborn. Other mums asked for tips. ‘My baby hasn’t got any hair yet. What do you use on it?’ was a frequent question.
Even I was envious of Holly’s tresses, as the hair I didn’t lose during pregnancy had started falling out after her birth. Now I wash Holly’s hair every two or three days. When it’s wet, it comes halfway down her back, and we have to blow-dry it on a cool setting so she doesn’t get a chill. During the day, we tie up her hair in a topknot to keep it out of her eyes and mouth. And, if I’m dressing her in a dress with buttons at the back, it gets caught if it’s loose. I’ve plaited the back, too – but, now Holly’s nine months, she won’t sit still long enough for me to do that. So now she’s sporting a fantastic, Elvis-style quiff! People do chuckle at that – but she just plays up to the attention these days. She’s such a bubbly, smiley baby. We’re planning Holly’s first haircut after her first birthday in December. Ashley’s already told me he’ll be keeping a lock of her hair in a special keepsake box. I’ll just be the proud mum, taking photos of every snip – so, one day, she can see her legendary locks for herself!
Holly wasn’t the slightest bit fazed by all the attention