Short hair, not by choice

Yes, I had Alexandra's hair cut ridiculously short.

I did not do it because I wanted it short. I did it because we deemed it necessary.

Truth be told, Alexandra's had significant amounts of hair since the day she was born. It just got lighter in hue and longer. It was well on its way to developing into thick curly locks - the kind of hair I've always wanted. So, you must be asking yourself why we did it. The answer is simple: she had tugged out about 1/5th of the hair on her head, all on the right side.

Yup. Just slowly kept plucking hairs, out of boredom. She'd be waiting for food ... or be in her car seat after dropping a toy ... or be in her crib after jettisoning all of her toys overboard, and with nothing else to do, she'd absentmindedly (I say this because when we would draw her attention to it, she'd startle a bit & stop immediately) pick hairs & twist them around her fingers.

It could be the start of tricotillomania, or it could be a phase. Either way, having lengths of hair ranging from 1/2" to 4" was really pretty lopsided. We had to start going to great lengths to "get her good side" in photographs. And on windy days, it looked like she either was wearing a poorly attached toupee or she was going through chemo.

So, my stylist tried a couple of things, but in the end, we determined the best course of action was to make it the same length, so the least common denominator reigned supreme and her hair was down to about 1/2" all over.

I miss the curls. And I have had many people comment on the fact they miss them, too. There seems to be some degree of admonishment, that as a parent I have made a horrible decision. It is HAIR people. She is 19 months old. We'll just see what happens as it grows back in, okay?

I think most people are reacting because they have no memory of her being without lots of hair. Many strangers believe she's a boy, and I don't usually correct them. Let them treat her like a boy. Doesn't that expose her to different experiences than she might already have. Most of her wardrobe is hand-me-downs, and among them are boys' clothes. (How does one tell girl-overalls apart from boy-overalls, anyway??)

So, although the short hair wasn't my preference, I am embracing the new opportunities it affords us. It also gives us a good reason, in this colder season, to trot out hats. And now that she doesn't have thick, wavy hair, the hats actually stay on, which is a huge bonus.



Does she look different? Certainly. Is she any less beautiful to me? Nope. Now, without the longer hair, you can easily see her cheekbones, her eyes, and her cute little ears. You can even see a little swirl shape on the top of her head.

I dare you to tell me she's not cute.