Considering chopping cause my 9 month old pulls my hair incessantly!

[Fluffy01]

I don't know what to do....I've bunned it, but she still pulls all the hair out of the bun and at the nape of the neck. It hurts...she's breaking it off too. :( What's worse is that she has to do it to fall asleep it seems. On top of that, my thyroid has been out of whack and now my hair looks like poo....whoever said hair is dead once it leaves your head never had a thyroid problem!

[Firefox7275]

Silk scarves or suchlike around your edges? Why does your nine month old need to be anywhere near your hair when they fall asleep? Bad habits can be broken with perseverance and repetition: if you can teach a puppy or kitten not to engage in painful behaviours you must be able to teach a human baby.

[rock007junkie]

I had the same problem with my young one and found that french/dutch braids are very effective. Since hair is braided close to scalp is harder to pull and produce any damage. For even more protection, bun the remaining braid.

[SerinaDaith]

My boys would both grab my hair no matter the length. A few firm no's may help get that baby out of your hair without a chop. My oldest would work his fingers into my hair when it was pulled up so I chopped it then he would just yank on it. It's rough but enough to keep up is easier to take care of and easier to keep out of reach.

[spidermom]

I had to do babies with short hair. I could get it securely styled with no stray ends for baby to grab during the day, but at night it would be stringing down, and with a screaming baby - I couldn't take the time to get it secure. I couldn't keep scarves on my head. Both my babies would grab onto any hair within reach and hang on like little monkeys do. Sometimes those little hands had puke or worse on them - ick! Trying to separate grubby little fingers from hair was worse than letting them hang on, and that was bad enough. Short hair all the way - very short (pixie).

[ladyfey]

I have a lot of breakage at the nape from my 4 year old. His security thing is my bra strap, and when he goes to hold it, he always gets some hair, no matter how well I've put it up. His comfort trumps my hair concerns for me. Someday he'll not need to hold my bra strap and the broken off hair will recover. I just treat it very kindly myself, so it doesn't get more abuse.

[lunalocks]

I used to carry DD in a backpack when I did housework, dishes, etc. and she would fall asleep tightly holding my braid. I would be stuck with her in the backpack for the duration of that nap. I considered a bathing cap, but resorted to wearing a shower cap over a bun. Give her something else to "finger" while she falls asleep, a soft toy she likes. I like the idea of a scarf - maybe she could finger the ends.

[jacqueline101]

I'd try wearing a hair net around them. If not maybe a do rag or something. A large snood might work.

[jeanniet]

Babies love to finger anything smooth and silky. It's very soothing to them. You might try wrapping your hair in a silk scarf so that your baby starts fingering that instead of your hair, and then make some small blankies for her. I made squares of about 12", with one side flannel and the other side satin. I had extras so I could wash them (he didn't seem to care about that). My older son used those for years--he was a thumb sucker and I swear had a blankie stuck to his face all the time, lol. I latched onto the blankie idea because I realized he was fingering anything silky he could get his hands on, especially tags and the silky edges of blankets. It would be worthwhile trying to get your little one switched to something like that.

[Seeshami]

I always kept it up with my niece and nephews. One of them focused the efforts of hair pulling on shirt straps and sleeves and destroyed several but generally up in a high bun babies forgot about it and around 1 and a half where over it.

[emeraldfaery]

I cut my hair from about 37" to a little above shoulder length when my son was 3 months old and I regret it! It wasn't really that he was pulling on it, it was just the upkeep, a very heavy post-partum shed, and the heat (having a summer baby is no fun) that convinced me I should cut it before it was just a mess. Looking back on it, I should have just stuck it out and put it up more. Your situation is different cause she IS pulling your hair. I would work on stopping that and diverting her attention to something else while she's trying to go to sleep. Maybe a super fuzzy stuffed animal or something to pet. :)

[dulce]

I had waist length with my first baby,he tried to pull my hair and my earrings and a VERY firm[very strong voice]'' no'' did work with time[a few months] and perseverance.I also pretended to be very hurt saying'' ouch you hurt me ''and really hamming it up in a serious[not funny way]. It did work and I kept my long hair.Babies and toddlers can learn limits very early.While my kids were growing up we had cats ,dogs and birds[all at the same time].We have pictures of my little 1 1/2-2 year old daughter handling our birds very gently[always with supervision] even at a young age.None of my kids were ever allowed to treat our pets roughly and they all learned at an early age to respect animals and my hair.While still teaching those limits try a French twist[nothing to grab there] and use stud earrings.Good luck,it can be done.

[alexis917]

Well, I'm a teenager and don't plan on having kids yet.
That said, braided buns helped a lot when my cat was still a kitten!

[longNred]

I'd do a silk scarf wrap, or even a bandana covering the back and tied on top. And then give your little one something else as a trade... A doll maybe?