Preparing for postpartum shed, and pic of my bebe! <3

[Mary <><]

I had a bouncing baby boy 10 weeks ago, and being my second child I know what lies ahead. Clumps of hair all over the house, and very little left on my head, lol. Any advice to lessen the blow? It is a good thing he is such a cutie! Here is the pic of the culprit!


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/MLeary/DSCF8088_zps43c254e1.jpg (http://s23.photobucket.com/user/MLeary/media/DSCF8088_zps43c254e1.jpg.html)

[Scarlet_Heart]

I don't have much advice except to maybe ween off your prenatal vitamin instead of stopping it cold turkey. And maybe keep taking folic acid for a while. And of course I have to mention how wonderful your son is. He's beautiful! Congratulations. :heart:

[lapushka]

Congratulations. I'd keep the hair up at all times, and detangle well before putting it up, and after you take your hair out at night. This way you catch all the shed hairs instead of finding them all over.

[Mellybee]

No advice or anything...
Just wanted to say congrats and what a cutie!

[Lila_grace]

What a cutie!!! I lost tons of hair after both my kids especially around the temple/forehead area. The little baby hairs growing back drove me crazy so the second time around I decided to embrace it and get bangs so at least all the tiny hairs seems intentional. Ha ha.

Congrats!

[Marika]

Congrats on your baby! He's cute!:heartbeat

I had a baby 3.5 months ago and I haven't had any shedding yet. My hair looks actually quite good (=getting thicker) and grows just as fast as when I was pregnant (like a weed).

When postpartum shedding usually begins (if it begins)?

[Rushli]

Congrats! He is adorable. My little guy will be 10 weeks old next Tuesday! I know this is a hair thread, but how's your sleep? We get a good night of sleep (7 hours) then a poor night of sleep (constantly nursing!) then is starts all over again.

Back to hair, I normally shed around 4-5 months pp. That is usually the time I start to forget to take my prenatal. It was not a priority because I had stopped breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is going well for me this time and don't see us needing to stop until 1 yr+ so I am hoping the shed either does not happen or is minimal. I guess I will find out in 2-3 months! I do have to mention too that my shedding was still probably minimal compared to what you are mentioning. Could be because I was still taking the prenatal every once in a while?

[SkyChild]

Congratulations on your beautiful baby!
No advice on shedding really as I didn't get any to speak of. Just adoring the baby pic!

[JessicaAnn]

I don't have children so no advice on the shedding. Just wanted to say how presh your little bundle is. Those are some supremely squishable, kissable cheeks going on there!

[slynr]

What a beautiful baby! I don't think there is anything to do about the shed. At least you know it will eventually stop and regrow. I shed tons after my son but very little while pregnant so I just chalked it up losing what I would have during pregnancy but in a short time. Congratulations!!!

[HazelBug]

I had a bad shed at about 4 months postpartum with my son. My hair didn't get back to it's former thickness before I got pregnant again. I hope there is something that can minimise it this time!

[Mary <><]

Thanks for the kind words about my little sweetie! Also, thanks for the tips. Guess I just have to bite the bullet and embrace it. Though perhaps since I am successfully nursing full time perhaps it will be better this time? Had LOTS of nursing trouble with my first.

Rushli - Congrats! My little man sleeps from around 9 pm through to 4 am, sometimes more! AND he takes a 3 hr nap a day! ;) But during growth spurts we have seen him not sleep at all for an entire day!

[diddiedaisy]

Awww I can smell that newborn baby smell from here, just beautiful. Congratulations.

No advice here neither sorry. I've had four boys but I don't remember the shedding. I was probably too tired!!!

[Ambystoma]

He's adorable - congratulations! I'm personally not planning on stopping my prenatal vitamins (or the supplemental D3 my midwife has had me on since the beginning) ever - since I'd be taking a vitamin anyhow and I can get the Blackmores Pregnancy/Breastfeeding Gold for $30 per giant 3 month tub, which works out cheaper than a regular multi plus if I went off the D3 I'd just end up deficient again so hopefully keeping up with the vitamins helps me out - fingers crossed all us new mums get to hang on to as much hair as possible!

[hairpleasegrow]

Huge congrats!!!! What a beautiful boy. I have an 8 month old. Yes keep up with prenatals ...also women that have had children are low in B vitamins after pregnancy, and take some iron too like Floradix :) enjoy your baby and avoid the urge to trim or cut after your shed like i did ;)

Edit- I mean avoid the urge to trim like I DIDN'T (I cut off 7 inches eek)

[hairpleasegrow]

This thread got me thinking and I've been thinking about this alot lately....

What do you think exactly happens to your hairs when you shed?? Why do you think we shed after pregnancy is it because the hair weakens after you give birth?

When I look at my pregnancy halo regrowth and I look at the short individual hairs growing back in by my scalp, I can't figure out if the short hairs BROKE off at or near the root, or if the hair FELL out from the follicle and regrew. I'm just wondering about maintaining and potential future breakage on these hairs that are growing back in. Should I oil and condition at the scalp as well so that I don't miss caring for these new ends??

Mary I hope you don't mind me asking this on your thread.

[HazelBug]

Thanks for the kind words about my little sweetie! Also, thanks for the tips. Guess I just have to bite the bullet and embrace it. Though perhaps since I am successfully nursing full time perhaps it will be better this time? Had LOTS of nursing trouble with my first.

Rushli - Congrats! My little man sleeps from around 9 pm through to 4 am, sometimes more! AND he takes a 3 hr nap a day! ;) But during growth spurts we have seen him not sleep at all for an entire day!

I'm not sure that nursing really has an effect on postpartum shed except to maybe make it worse. I breastfed for 15 months. We slowly transitioned to a cup after a year. But my little on never had formula or supplements other than starting solids around 6 months. After you give birth your estrogen levels drop off. High estrogen is one of the things that makes your hair grow faster. When you breastfeed then your estrogen levels are supressed further. I think breastfeeding is wonderful for mom and baby. But I do think it will make you shed a little more. I aslo noticed that my skin and scalp was dry all the time. So you will probably need to pay special attention to oiling your hair and getting enough fatty acids in your diet.

[embee]

Congratulations on the new one! How's your arm? Did it finally heal completely? That old thread seems like yesterday to me. ;)

Keep you hair up and covered (I know you do already) because there's no point in cutting (like I did pp#2).... that baby can grab and pull short hairs just as quick as long ones when nursing!

The shed is probably hormone related and not much can be done about that without other meds which you probably don't want.

[Lucky]

Congratulations, what a doll!! I had my last one a little over 5 months ago, and I'm in the throes of the PP shed myself! In the past I've had luck with a product called Priorin, but depending on where you are, it can be kind of difficult to get (i.e. expensive). I agree with other posters, try to keep taking your prenatal vitamins, or a good multivitamin. I've been doing a lot of braids lately, bunning sounds like a good suggestion too.
Good luck and many blessings for you and your children!

[RapunzelKat]

No kids here yet, so no advice :D but I wanted to drop in and say congratulations on your adorable baby boy! :flowers:

[Mary <><]

Again, thanks to each of you for your kind words and advice! embee - Arm is ehhh a little better, still a long road ahead though. We should meet up one day at the nature center sometime! Hairpleasegrow ask away!

[itdontmatter48]

Beautiful baby you have there. And those cheecks....oh my!!

[1nuitblanche]

Congratulations on your little boy! He looks like a sweetie. I don't have any advice on the shedding, but wish you good luck - maybe this time there will be less or it!