Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Baby Bangs? Seriously?

Some of you are wondering if you're at the right blog. You are! Yay! I am so excited about the new design.

Others of you are wondering what the heck "baby bangs" is supposed to mean. I originally talked about this phenomenon in THIS POST.

During pregnancy your scalp holds on to every precious strand of hair. Almost no shedding for 9 months! Your hair becomes gloriously thick and beautiful, which I think is God's way of allowing you to keep some self-esteem while your ankles and waistline disappear. It gives the skinny women in your life something to admire. Besides the baby to come, of course.

Due to hormonal changes after childbirth, many moms experience an avalanche of shedding hair when their babies are a few months old. And those that don't may find that they've pulled their hair out due to stress and lack of sleep. Boy did I have an avalanche. I had to clean out my brushes every other day. I could pull about eight strands of hair out at a time just by putting my hand through my hair. And I could do it over and over again. My husband made me clean out the shower drain multiple times because it was obviously my hair that was punishing our plumbing. I couldn't even protest. That was a pretty gross experience to say the least.

It's possible that I could have avoided such a drastic loss of hair had I cut it short, but I was 100% committed to withstanding the temptation of a mommy cut. I had warned my hairstylist that anything I suggested in a hormonal daze after giving birth was to be explicitly ignored.

So after a few months of this, what was I left with? A wretched hairline with sparse patches above my temples. And then the hair began to grow back. Thank You, Lord. So I had tiny hairs growing all over my head, especially around my face. There you have it - baby bangs. If you look closely at Tom and Katie's wedding pictures, you'll see that Katie was sporting her baby bangs on her big day. Way to work 'em, sister.

My baby bangs are a few inches long now. They still poke out all over my head. I have to remind myself that the ones around my face need to be straightened with the Chi. On days I forget, like today, I have perfectly smooth hair with short curly pieces framing my face. Now THAT is pretty. Of course my new hair is growing in curly. OF COURSE IT IS. You should have witnessed my excitement when I realized my baby bangs were long enough to Chi. But I have to be really careful because if, heaven forbid, I scorched them off I'd be starting over again! I heard a rumor that the shedding process starts again after weaning. Oh Lord, have mercy!

13 comments:

Big Mama said...

Well, look at your new fancy look! I love it!

Oh and I could tell horror stories about my postpartum hair. I still have nightmares about it.

FitzandMolly said...

I have one patch of baby bangs that do various things depending on the day. Try using clear mascara on them. It'll hold them in place. Cover Girl is the only brand I've seen to carry it.

boomama said...

I LOVE IT!

The illustration looks great - I love it.

And I just thought Katie had her hair cut to look all Audrey Hepburn-like - but she was totally working her baby bangs.

I have learned something today. You know they say the internet can teach you things. And I believe them, too.

Michelle said...

Girl, You are becoming a professional blogger! We may need to hire you up here! ;) love the new look and the baby bangs... gives me a heads up for whenever I come to that point in my life!

Michelle said...

i love your new site! so cute! :) I think my baby bangs are about an inch long...but the good thing is that they only have 2 more inches to grow.

debra parker said...

Love the new layout design! The chi is a marvelous tool. My hair is in love with it.

Janelle and Ella said...

I am a huge testiment to the baby bangs as you know! Mine are in that horrible ackward stage where they aren't long enough to chi and hairspray does not work, so they just curl up around the rest of my hair as if they are trying to put a protective barrier around the rest of the normal ones. Courtney I am definitely trying the mascara thing! LOVE LOVE LOVE the new look!!!! Adorable!!

Kelly @ Love Well said...

Too fun for words. It looks great, Amanda.

I never had baby bangs. But I'm still shedding enough hair to make a new Troll doll daily. I pull out handfuls of loose hair in the shower and then stick them on the shower wall to keep them from going down the drain. Otherwise, I'd be on drain duty weekly. And who wants that?

Sunni at The Flying Mum said...

Extreme Blog Makeover! I'm in love with your new design--it's perfect! My baby bang status--1.25 inches. Maybe they'll be grown out at Ava's 3rd or 4th birthday??? Super.

Karla Porter Archer said...

I've managed to maintain some sort of baby bangs since my daughter was born 6.5 years ago.

The weaning, the subsequent births and weaning of #2 and #3... and now #4.

I guess I'm doomed to have baby bangs until they are married...

blessings,
Karla

Mary Craig said...

That is hilarious! I was the only one of my friends to get the baby bangs, so I thought I was some sort of hair-challenged freak show! So glad to know I'm not alone. I was hoping it was just some kind of weird hormonal mistake after the first baby, but then it happened again after my 2nd, too!

Kimmiemcneely said...

A Widow's Peak for the pregnant? I like that!!

Really, I noticed those pictures in the photos and wondered if those were a weave!

Missy said...

I know this is a really old post but I just read something recently that I thought was amazing.

I always begin to lose my hair right at about 4 months after the baby is born. Which is also about the time that my babies start to get the bald business man look, but I never put the two together. Yet they are totally related.

Turns out, there is a hormone that makes your baby's hair grow in utero. Since it is coursing around our sweet little fetuses (fetusi?) we get to share the love and get the fabulous movie star hair whilst we are an incubatrix.

Then, the baby comes out. It takes about 4 months for that hormone to deplete from our body - AND BABY'S. So both of us start losing our hair at the same time.

Fascinating, huh? Well, I thought it was, anyway. :)

We are fabulously and wonderfully coiffed.