Reindeer has always had an amazing quantity of fluffy dark hair. I remember my first glimpse of him and thinking: ‘He’s a boy! Wow, he’s so beautiful! And look at all that hair! And his ears, I’ve never seen such perfect ears!’ etc., etc. This went on for several weeks 🙂
I can’t remember taking him anywhere since he was born without someone (family, friend or stranger) taking a minute to come over and say how beautiful his hair is. It’s fluffy, sticks up in all directions and frames his face like a spiky halo. I have various photos where he’s sat in front of the window and the sunlight is illuminating his hair like a piece of Renaissance art.
Over the last few weeks his hair has begun collapsing under it’s own weight. Still beautiful, just less fluffy. In the last couple of weeks it’s been hanging in front of his eyes. He didn’t mind initially but yesterday it was clearly irritating him so we decided it was time for a trim. This is something I refused to contemplate prior to his first birthday and was still rather reluctant about, even whilst arriving at the salon.
We didn’t book an appointment first, but they were great and said they could do it straightaway. I’d brought a little bag with me for a lock of hair and, before I could even raise the subject, the hairdresser asked if I’d like one and did I have an envelope. This made me feel a lot better about the whole process and confident that they were experienced with little ones.
Reindeer stayed cuddled into me throughout and was quite upset by the whole thing. Although he’d been there before when I was having my hair cut, he seemed to find the experience of being the customer much less pleasant. I don’t know if it was having a stranger touch his hair, the sound of the hairdryer in the background (he isn’t keen on these normally) or a combination of factors I hadn’t considered, but he began crying almost as soon as she started cutting and didn’t stop until she’d finished and we were stood up again. In total, less than 5 minutes. Since he calmed down almost immediately I don’t think it caused any lasting impression (I always worry when he cries). The hairdresser suggested we come in regularly for little trims to help him get used to the idea, so we’ll go back for another trim next month. It’s £3 each time, and I have no idea how that stacks up against other salons, but they were so good with him that we’ll definitely be going there again.
So I now have a little boy who can see without hair in his eyes and a little bag containing a lock of his hair. I’m thinking of getting a locket to keep some in but haven’t decided yet. Once again I find myself wondering about how sentimental I’ve become since giving birth, and how much I feel that to be a good thing!
The Reindeer Chronicles 