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METABUZZ
January 8th, 2009, 04:12 AM
I've got two friends who had long hair and when they got pregnant before having the baby they cut their hair a lot shorter, because the ammount of work that will cause the newborn... Having a baby brings a lot of work, but is reason enough to cut one's hair?

METABUZZ
January 8th, 2009, 04:13 AM
Sorry for my bad english...

AutumnLeaves
January 8th, 2009, 04:37 AM
Not to my mind, but to each his own, I suppose. I found pony tails worked just as well!

logica_divina
January 8th, 2009, 05:04 AM
I was wondering the same thing actually...
Not to mention those silly silly comments about how a woman MUST cut her her while pregnant if it's long blah blah.. I even heard a comment about this lady (who lives in my town) with almost classic length hair who unfortunatelly lost her baby.. Apparently, and according to some people, it was due to her extremly long locks, cause they "took" all the nutritions necessary for the baby to develop! I mean, c'mon!!

Katze
January 8th, 2009, 05:42 AM
I have not seen this, but then again several friends I know who are pregnant or who are moms already have short hair.

Personally I plan on "putting my hair up and ignoring it" for the birth and afterwards. Probably oiled braids will work best for me - if I let my hair get really dirty (7+ days without any washing) I can oil and brush it smooth and then have dark, straighter hair that stays contained better. Oddly, I usually get compliments on this kind of hairdo!

Still, showering and washing my hair makes me feel good about myself, which will be good for me and for my baby, so I might also enjoy my hair washed, too.

I don't see any need to change my hair just because I'm having a baby. It is in fact less work than it was when it was heavily layered and blowdried straight. At the very worst, I can clip it up and forget about it if I need to. But I plan on being the kind of mom who also takes some time for herself, which for me will mean SMTs and bathtub time with BF looking after our little one...

Lamb
January 8th, 2009, 05:46 AM
I even heard a comment about this lady (who lives in my town) with almost classic length hair who unfortunatelly lost her baby.. Apparently, and according to some people, it was due to her extremly long locks, cause they "took" all the nutritions necessary for the baby to develop! I mean, c'mon!!

:shocked:Good God, are the Middle Ages back again? Good job they didn't actually burn her as a witch.

lora410
January 8th, 2009, 06:07 AM
I cut mine becuase it kept knotting up, but back then I didn't know how to care for it like I do now.

Ms. Hollywood
January 8th, 2009, 06:09 AM
I have noticed that a lot do cut their hair when they get pregnant or have a baby. I hate that they do because so many have gorgeous hair! I don't know if this is related but I read somewhere that women cut their hair when the economy is not doing as well. So maybe they are cutting (unknowingly) their hair in hopes of saving money. :o

goodenough
January 8th, 2009, 06:14 AM
Just to play the devil's advocate--I would probably cut to bsl if I had a newborn again. I'm at waist now, and it tangles a lot more at this length. Any shorter than bsl would be more work though.

Xandergrammy
January 8th, 2009, 06:17 AM
I didn't cut mine until my son was a year old. He liked to yank on it and get his fingers tangled up in it. My situation had nothing to do with the work involved in caring for a newborn. Like Autumn Leaves said- a ponytail (or braids) worked pretty well in the beginning.

Arctic
January 8th, 2009, 06:26 AM
Many women experience huge shedding after the baby is born and I think that is a reason why some of them cut their hair. My friend was one of them, her hair just got very very thin. Now she started to grow again :)

GlassEyes
January 8th, 2009, 06:34 AM
Many women experience huge shedding after the baby is born and I think that is a reason why some of them cut their hair. My friend was one of them, her hair just got very very thin. Now she started to grow again :)
I was just going to say this.

I think (but I'm not sure) that after the birth, the flux of hormones in the female body can cause some issues, among them, Post-Partum Shedding, if I'm remembering my Family Living class well enough.

There are a few members on here who've cut/experiences shedding after giving birth and HAVEN'T cut, that I know for a fact...though I can't remember names. xD; Go me.:rolleyes:

Lady Verity
January 8th, 2009, 07:12 AM
I had always assumed it was a control thing. You can't control your body and all its crazy changes, so cut your hair. Maybe?

Alia
January 8th, 2009, 07:13 AM
I almost cut my hair when I was pregnant with my youngest...my hair was incredibly lank and greasy, and I felt so unattractive:(. Afterward, my hair went back to normal and didn't even shed that much. A quick braid or bun is way easier with a little one than a cut that needs styling to look good, IMHO.

The people who think long hair can harm unborn babies were probably dropped on their heads as babies by their short-haired moms.

logica_divina
January 8th, 2009, 07:16 AM
My mother was also one of those women who experienced shedding after giving birth. Before that she has had the most beautiful thick hair (iii). Now, at the age of 49, and after giving birth to one child only, the thickness of the hair is i. That's so sad :(

I'm really worried that the same thing would happen to me (genes and all).. shudder: My only hope is the fact that, unlike my mother I DO take proper care of my locks (she had a couple of perms before she got pregnant, she uses chemical dyes etc).

Islandgrrl
January 8th, 2009, 07:18 AM
I didn't cut my hair until my son was 2. My reasons had nothing to do with my children, who were both small at the time. I was just tired of it and wanted a change. But then I grew it right back (it did take a few years) to knee.

Um Enis
January 8th, 2009, 07:19 AM
I hadn't heard of this ever... I did notice woman as they get to be older moms cutting they're hair though.

Anyways, I've been pregnant a few times, thank God, and never cut my hair (although I did decide to give WO a try, building up to the post partum period--never liked it, by the way). I have a few kids too (result of those pregnancies) and I didn't cut my hair because of my stay-at-home mommy job either (although it does live in a perma-bun) now.

Oh, and I do shed a bunch, but it usually only lasts a few months. I never thought of cutting it because of that though? Why would cutting help?

Kerynna
January 8th, 2009, 07:27 AM
I cut my hair super short when I was pregnant with my youngest. The reason I did it is because I get very overheated while I'm pregnant, and this baby was due in October so I was getting large during August and it was just too hot to have all that hair. I was a much happier pregnant lady afterI got it cut way short.

MandaMom2Three
January 8th, 2009, 07:30 AM
I did this too :( . I kept envisioning the baby swinging off my hair like Tarzan :p Of course NOW I'm think "and I couldn't just put it up....why now?" :rolleyes: sigh

FallenAngel
January 8th, 2009, 07:38 AM
Many women experience huge shedding after the baby is born and I think that is a reason why some of them cut their hair. My friend was one of them, her hair just got very very thin. Now she started to grow again :)

That happened to me as well.

Now my youngest is 3 years old, and not only am I getting my hair back, I'm also finding it possible to care about anything in my appearence again when I'm not just dead tired all the time. ;)

rags
January 8th, 2009, 07:40 AM
I cut my hair when I was eight months pregnant (twenty-one years ago) because it was August and we were setting heat records every day and we lived in a trailer with no air conditioning. Everyone told me it would be cooler short. They lied! I couldn't get it off of my neck, thus making me hotter! I started growing it back out almost immediately.

Amoretti
January 8th, 2009, 08:13 AM
I've always wondered about this too. If it's because of post partum shedding I can understand that thinning hair would be depressing.

However, if it's for the sake of comfort, what's easier than putting it up? :D

Fluke
January 8th, 2009, 08:22 AM
I had my hair about shoulder length and layered while I was pregnant and caring for a toddler, but believe me that is more than long enough for those small fingers to grab and pull, she thought that was great fun... "Watch how I can maky mommy roar!!" Very funny..

I actually find it more of a hassle to have hair up at shoulder and above, it's too short for a braid and when I was home with my baby I used every opportunity I had to sleep, and ponytails are not very comfy to sleep with..

BUT if my hair had already been long I wouldn't have cut it because I was having a baby, I can't see how that would be either more comfortable (unless heat was a problem, as someone mentioned) or more practical.
In my opinion long hair (APL and longer) is the most comfortable and practical way one can wear their hair :)

On the other hand, my daughter, now 4 years old, loves to cuddle my hair as it is now.
I didn't like her playing with it even just a few inches longer than this, but now it feels just wonderful :cloud9:

Altocumulus
January 8th, 2009, 08:24 AM
I cut my hair from waist to pixie after my daughter was born and I HATED it. Really, it was horrible. It made me look 20 lbs heavier and 10 years older...not what a newly postpartum mom wants! My hair underwent a temporary color change (got darker) and a permanent texture change (curlier and coarser) during my first pregnancy, and it totally did not work with the cut. Then I had triangle head for a couple of years while it was growing back...ugh! Someday I'll scan the pictures - I even took LHC style back-of-the-head photos of the before and after.

When my son was born, I left my midback length hair alone and just braided it every day. So much better!

I don't know why I cut my hair the first time. I think I was thinking it would be faster to deal with in the few moments I had for personal grooming, but I was wrong - it took much longer because I kept trying (unsuccessfully!) to style it.

ETA I didn't notice excessive postpartum shedding either time, the first because it was all short, so the regrowth just blended in, and the second time I must have had shedding because a year or so later, I noticed lots of new growth all at a length corresponding to a year's growth, but I didn't notice it at the time.

relizabeth
January 8th, 2009, 08:25 AM
I didn't cut my hair while I was pregnant...just because I was warned not to. Unfortunately I didn't take great care of it either and chopped it off 6 months after my baby was born. :P

Solange
January 8th, 2009, 08:40 AM
I even heard a comment about this lady (who lives in my town) with almost classic length hair who unfortunatelly lost her baby.. Apparently, and according to some people, it was due to her extremly long locks, cause they "took" all the nutritions necessary for the baby to develop! I mean, c'mon!!


I had never heard anyone blaming a miscarriage on long hair before, but I can't believe some people actually still think that long hair takes away nutrition from the rest of the body. Once it leaves the follicle, hair is *dead*. It is not a plant...nothing flows through it. I've had to explain that one before. It's not quite as uninformed as fearing to fall off the "edge of the earth", but....

Masara
January 8th, 2009, 08:49 AM
I've had three babies, two with short hair and one with long. If anything long hair was easier because I could just wash it, put it up and forget it. The short hair needed styling and probably rebrushing a couple of times a day. Plus I remember having to try to work out the best time for my last hair cut before the birth so that I could wait as long as possible after the birth before having it cut again. It's not easy to organise yourself to a set time for a hairdressing appointment with a very young baby.

I did cut my waist length hair short (very short) when my son was a little over a year old. It was mainly for other reasons, but him catching hold of the fragile, painful hairs at the back of my neck didn't help.

I've always had thinnish hair and didn't have much postpartum shedding, nor did it seem much thicker during pregnancy. My sister on the other hand had enormous PP shedding and found that she could hide the bald spots (yes, it was that bad) with a shorter style.

Darkhorse1
January 8th, 2009, 09:06 AM
Many women cut as a result of massive shedding after having the baby. I know your hair grows in thicker when you are pregnant due to hormones, and then sheds when you have the baby. I know a few people who chose to do this as a way to reduce the length of shed hairs. It's a personal decision--it may also be something nice for a new mom to do for herself--new look :)

rhubarbarin
January 8th, 2009, 09:31 AM
I see this happening all around me. There's a reason they call short hairstyles 'mom cuts'. I think women do it because they don't want to deal with time-consuming hair care along with their newborn.. also many people aren't attached to their longer hair the way we on LHC are, it might be fun for them to get a short new do that will be easy to keep away from baby fingers.

Personally though, I find long hair (past the shoulder, long enough to get it all in a ponytail or bun) much easier to keep out of my way than I ever did any shorter lengths.. plus, shorter cuts take some styling after you roll out of bed. Otherwise you look like you just rolled out of bed.

If my long hair was high-maintanence (I don't get much tangling, don't brush it, just wash it every couple days and oil it sometimes), I might get rid of it for a baby, but since it isn't.. I plan on keeping it.

Themyst
January 8th, 2009, 09:52 AM
I had between BSL to Waist-length hair when I had my daughter. I didn't cut it - I didn't see any reason to. I don't remember one instance where my hair was pulled or an inconvenience. If I was going to change a diaper or something, I'd put my hair back!

Then when I was pregnant with my son six years ago, my hair became so incredibly thick and grew twice as fast - it was amazing! Of course I didn't cut it! When he was born, he loved to be draped in my hair. I'd hold him and he would hold on to it and smile, like a beloved blankie or something.

I've had many trims between then and now but I've never had the intention of cutting it short.

katiana
January 8th, 2009, 09:58 AM
I cut my hair shortly after my 1st daughter was born...someone told me to watch getting long hair caught around the newborns neck..and since the neck is so short with lil newborns you have to really watch out for it. Well, I co-slept with my daughter and once noticed a hair around her finger kind of wrapped around and I got so nervous about the neck thing I cut my hair! I used to just sleep with my hair all down. Now, I braid my hair at night and that really helps keep everything in place and out of sight.

Silver & Gold
January 8th, 2009, 10:35 AM
Being pregnant and having a baby can be an emotionally as well as physically overwhelming experience. Your emotions are affected a great deal by hormone changes and lack of sleep as well as the reality of being responsible for a tiny life.

If you are a person who tends to cut their hair when in an emotional state, pregnancy is a ripe time for this to happen. Also you can often be encouraged by others around you who seem to agree that you will be better off with shorter hair.

I cut my hair short when I had my babies for some of these reasons. But I've also cut my hair short during other emotional times as well.

I suppose that cutting seems like a quick fix or an easy way to make a big change. It's really a test of my patience and ability to ride an emotional wave without cutting in order to commit to growing my hair out now.

ReadingRenee
January 8th, 2009, 11:04 AM
I remember reading somewhere to never cut your hair while pregnant because your face looks different during pregnancy and you will regret it.

I had hair that I was growing out from a pixie while pregnant and I did really well all through out my pregnancy with not cutting it but when my baby was around a month old I cut it all off to my ears. I liked it though because there was no maintenance required. I don't think I cared how I looked back then either.

This time with this pregnancy my hair is BSL+ and Im not cutting. I always have my hair up in a bun anyway and I figure it only takes me 5 seconds to put it up, thats way less time than blowdrying and styling a shoulder length cut AND its out of reach of baby fingers. I have been kind of stressing over what to do with my hair during delivery though. LOL the things that long hairs worry about! :lol:

mommy101405
January 8th, 2009, 11:26 AM
My hair was short before my pregnancies so I can't say I really cut it due to my pregnancy. I think for a lot of women its hard to watch your body change so much and gain a bit of weight. You just don't feel pretty and sexy anymore. Changing your hair is something you can do to make yourself feel pretty again. Its a part of your body you can control. Not everyone feels the same way about their hair as most LHCers do.

And also, especially with a first child you are about to really make a huge life change. A lot of women feel like they want a new style to go with it.

mommy101405
January 8th, 2009, 11:32 AM
I cut my hair shortly after my 1st daughter was born...someone told me to watch getting long hair caught around the newborns neck..and since the neck is so short with lil newborns you have to really watch out for it. Well, I co-slept with my daughter and once noticed a hair around her finger kind of wrapped around and I got so nervous about the neck thing I cut my hair! I used to just sleep with my hair all down. Now, I braid my hair at night and that really helps keep everything in place and out of sight.

That always did scare me. I know my girls used to get my hairs wrapped around their fingers really tight and my hair wasn't even all that long. I've read that it can e a serious problem with boy parts too. Although hair doesn't necessarily have to be all that long to have this problem.

Its funny b.c my older daughter loves my hair and always wants to brush it and play with it. My younger daughter hates it. She can't stand if it touches her like if she is sitting in my lap or if I bend over to kiss her. But when she was nursing she used to reach up and play with it all the time. I don't know what changed. :confused:

If and when we have more children I definitely want to keep my hair long. There were so many day I wished I could have just thrown my hair up in a ponytail or a bun when my girls were infants.

Eden Iris
January 8th, 2009, 11:42 AM
Both my kids were hair pullers from day one, so I learned to put it up at shoulder length. Ironically, the first year of my second girl's life I stopped cutting my hair because I couldn't get to the salon with a toddler and an infant, so I let it grow and decided I liked it much better.

I never noticed hair wrapping around my babies while we slept, but they slept lower down (head at breast level for obvious reasons) when they were tiny, and all my hair was draped over the pillow behind me.

suicides_eve
January 8th, 2009, 01:03 PM
i let mine grow out instead of cutting having a baby i just never had time for it so i always kept it tied back. i never really had problems with my baby pulling my hair- now my short haired friends on the other hand- i felt sorry for there locks. to each his own i reckon

Themyst
January 8th, 2009, 01:54 PM
I cut my hair shortly after my 1st daughter was born...someone told me to watch getting long hair caught around the newborns neck..and since the neck is so short with lil newborns you have to really watch out for it. Well, I co-slept with my daughter and once noticed a hair around her finger kind of wrapped around and I got so nervous about the neck thing I cut my hair! I used to just sleep with my hair all down. Now, I braid my hair at night and that really helps keep everything in place and out of sight.

I was in a store a couple of weeks ago and an older woman was just astonished with my hair - she exclaimed loudly (over and around a crowd of people) "Well, ain't your hair perty! I ain't never seen hair that long before" and as I quickly thanked her and tried to slink away, she exclaimed, "Be careful you don't choke yourself with it in bed at night!":disgust:

Has this hair choking thing really ever happened? Or is it some kind of myth? I also co-slept with my babies and this is something I've never been concerned with, I never thought I had a reason to be.

Arctic_Mama
January 8th, 2009, 02:21 PM
I cut my hair after my first baby and I can honestly tell you it had NOTHING to do with maintenance and everything to do with an identity change. I had a rough go of the pregnancy and postpartum depression, cutting off my hair was a way to express the internal and emotional changes in my life. I liked looking different to go with my new baby, and I liked doing something proactive for myself.

In hindsight, I should have just gotten a facial or had a shopping spree, but at the time I needed that change. While I miss my long hair and want it back, cutting it was personally necessary.

I now advise my pregnant friends against such a chop, but the reasons for doing it are rarely upkeep with ANYONE I have talked with. That's the 'easy' reason to tell people, but the need to change one's look is often much more profound than that, and difficult to explain to people who aren't you, you know?

It's not unusual that people couple identity transformations with mirroring physical transformations, and vice versa. I put the baby chop in this category. Though it certainly isn't fun to loser a chunk of hair to a newborn's fist it's rarely the tipping point for a haircut if you really love your hair at the length it is (as opposed to just growing it because cutting it takes time and money).


Also, many women I know cut off their hair to mask the worst of the postpartum shed. Some women get ridiculously thin and can't stand the look of their ends once the shed is complete. So evening it up and starting over seems like a good idea.

OLLIE
January 8th, 2009, 02:39 PM
Well I have two boys. I have always since High school had long waist lenth hair. I never did cut my hair or even think twice about doing it. I don't believe in those myths that your new born will choke or it will get wrapped around there necks or any of that. As a matter fact. After I was in my 9th month my hair was even longer. All I did was the day before wash and put it in a tight braid so when that time comes I didn't have to worry about it.
I believe some woman do cut there hair for the simple fact that they want somthing new and they think that having long hair is a young girl look and to be more older looking you cut the hair clear up to your ears. LOL... But this is just my 2 cents. I would really love to know why every woman I know has short hair and the older they get the shorter it gets. I always have comments that I should cut my hair to look my age LOL who the heck wants to do that? not me....

burns_erin
January 8th, 2009, 02:43 PM
I was in a store a couple of weeks ago and an older woman was just astonished with my hair - she exclaimed loudly (over and around a crowd of people) "Well, ain't your hair perty! I ain't never seen hair that long before" and as I quickly thanked her and tried to slink away, she exclaimed, "Be careful you don't choke yourself with it in bed at night!":disgust:

Has this hair choking thing really ever happened? Or is it some kind of myth? I also co-slept with my babies and this is something I've never been concerned with, I never thought I had a reason to be.

No, the hair choking in bed thing is NOT a myth, lol, while it has never killed me, I have woken up to some pretty narly situations.

LawyerGirl
January 8th, 2009, 02:46 PM
I cut my hair short when I had my younger son... I think it was partly because he always had his fingers in it, and when he spit up in my hair it was beyond disgusting! But also... I think that after being huge and pregnant for such a long time, I needed an instant fix to make me feel like something other than a baby-making machine. What's quicker than a major haircut?

I definitely will NOT cut when I have the next one though!

mommy101405
January 8th, 2009, 02:57 PM
I was in a store a couple of weeks ago and an older woman was just astonished with my hair - she exclaimed loudly (over and around a crowd of people) "Well, ain't your hair perty! I ain't never seen hair that long before" and as I quickly thanked her and tried to slink away, she exclaimed, "Be careful you don't choke yourself with it in bed at night!":disgust:

Has this hair choking thing really ever happened? Or is it some kind of myth? I also co-slept with my babies and this is something I've never been concerned with, I never thought I had a reason to be.


Its not a myth. It can wrap around a finger or a penis and cut off circulation. I have not heard of it being a problem with necks but I don't see why it couldn't happen there either. I have a friend whose little boy was screaming for hours and they didn't know what to do. She went to change his diaper and found a hair painfully wrapped around the boy parts.

Elphie
January 8th, 2009, 03:03 PM
I fall into this catagory; I cut my TB length hair off after having my second child when he was about six weeks old. He had some medical concerns and I wound up having to run out with a wet head to get to the doctor with an infant and a toddler in tow. It made things easier at the time and I was ready for a change. I enjoyed having short hair for a while.

katiana
January 8th, 2009, 03:40 PM
Well I have two boys. I have always since High school had long waist lenth hair. I never did cut my hair or even think twice about doing it. I don't believe in those myths that your new born will choke or it will get wrapped around there necks or any of that. As a matter fact. After I was in my 9th month my hair was even longer. All I did was the day before wash and put it in a tight braid so when that time comes I didn't have to worry about it.
I believe some woman do cut there hair for the simple fact that they want somthing new and they think that having long hair is a young girl look and to be more older looking you cut the hair clear up to your ears. LOL... But this is just my 2 cents. I would really love to know why every woman I know has short hair and the older they get the shorter it gets. I always have comments that I should cut my hair to look my age LOL who the heck wants to do that? not me....


It's not a myth! I too heard about a friend who had found a hair wrapped around their son's penis..they could not figure out why he was so fussy..the neck thing, well, the woman who mentioned that worked in a hospital and said she saw this happen ( we took those birthing classes before our 1st baby was due and she was the instructor )...At the time, I was just paranoid remembering this and just did it...now I think just as long as you keep your hair nice and tidy and out of the way, it should not be a problem...I just always loved sleeping with my hair loose and out...now, I sleep with braids just got used to them.

spidermom
January 8th, 2009, 04:12 PM
I cut after the babies (all 2 of them). Ponytails and braids didn't work for me because my hair can squiggle out of anything. There was always more than enough hair for baby to tangle grubby little fingers in. Short hair was so much easier.

spidermom
January 8th, 2009, 04:15 PM
Oh, and I once found one of my hairs wrapped tightly around my newborn son's upper thigh. It cut into his skin a little bit at the inner thigh area.

Sissy
January 8th, 2009, 08:33 PM
I was wondering the same thing actually...
Not to mention those silly silly comments about how a woman MUST cut her her while pregnant if it's long blah blah.. I even heard a comment about this lady (who lives in my town) with almost classic length hair who unfortunatelly lost her baby.. Apparently, and according to some people, it was due to her extremly long locks, cause they "took" all the nutritions necessary for the baby to develop! I mean, c'mon!!

wow, I can't believe people would think that. I've never heard about cutting hair short while pregnant. It won't be my choice, but to each their own.

DolphinPrincess
January 8th, 2009, 08:58 PM
When I was pregnant with DS#2, I am one of those, that for some reason, cut my hair short. I went from about where I am now, but without layers, to not even shoulder length, with layers. And to top it all off, it looked horrid! She also decided that my hair was too thick, so she thinned it. I found out later that she did it horribly too, and I have damage in the back from it.
For me, it had nothing to do with the fact of caring for my hair vs. the baby or anything, I just wanted a change. Now that I'm pregnant with DS#3, I'm feeling the same urges, but not giving in! Go me! I'm waiting until around the time I'm due, when my MIL will be here (she's a hairdresser) so I can have her just trim it. I will have gone 7 or 8 months without a trim, and I feel that I should go ahead and do it, so that I will have had a 'cut' without losing much length.

NebraskaChick84
January 8th, 2009, 09:10 PM
I've got two friends who had long hair and when they got pregnant before having the baby they cut their hair a lot shorter, because the ammount of work that will cause the newborn... Having a baby brings a lot of work, but is reason enough to cut one's hair?
I cut mine because of little grabby fingers...

talecon
January 8th, 2009, 09:37 PM
I'm pregnant now and I'm not planning on cutting my hair. I only plan on growing it out more. i know most people experience a lot of shedding after giving birth and I could already tell that I will probably have that problem. Right now my hair barely sheds at all which I think is why people always think pregnant women have thicker hair. I'm trying to keep my hair as healthy as possible now so I don't have too much trouble with it later.
My mother had long waist length thick curly hair when she had me and my brother (we are less than a year apart) and she said she cut it because her hair was too thick and too heavy which bothered her a lot in the summer. and my brother and I kept pulling on it and getting all kinds of candy and drool stuck in it.

Bene
January 8th, 2009, 10:09 PM
i've never heard of pregnant women cutting their hair. but i have heard this of new moms, with the excuse of it being easier to handle. whatever happened to just bunning it and leaving it out of reach of a baby's hand?


tell me it's an emotional thing, tell me it's a self image thing, tell me about the changes taking place in one's life. i'll buy it and not make a peep. but i can't see how short hair is "easier".

Dez
January 8th, 2009, 10:18 PM
I cut my hair all 3 times when preggo AFTER it had grown out to almost bra strap length and was even thicker than normal. I have about 4.5" normally. I'm pretty sure it was hormonal. I wanted something new, something wash and go I guess. I think I also just felt so heavy I wanted something 'new' to make me look pretty again after baby. You usually look good before then everyone thinks how cute you look during and after... well blah LOL you still have all that extra weight. You are tired all the time, you barely have time to wash your hair let alone do anything besides a pony tail. I wanted to look different than just ponytail everyday and no makeup! LOL For some people short hair needs extra styling, but my hair is somewhat curly so when it's short I usually just wash, mousse and go. So it looked prettier than a pony tail with almost the same amount of work. and I definetly was not attached to my hair. My hair grows pretty fast also, so i've never really missed it because i knew it would be back soon.

NebraskaChick84
January 8th, 2009, 10:23 PM
i've never heard of pregnant women cutting their hair. but i have heard this of new moms, with the excuse of it being easier to handle. whatever happened to just bunning it and leaving it out of reach of a baby's hand?


tell me it's an emotional thing, tell me it's a self image thing, tell me about the changes taking place in one's life. i'll buy it and not make a peep. but i can't see how short hair is "easier".
well for me it takes less time to pull shorter hair into a pony the baby can't reach than to get it to stay in a bun. also I was growing out color. so I had more than one motive to cut mine ;)

Bene
January 8th, 2009, 10:28 PM
well for me it takes less time to pull shorter hair into a pony the baby can't reach than to get it to stay in a bun. also I was growing out color. so I had more than one motive to cut mine ;)

that makes a lot more sense.


i guess i'm so used to my buns staying put, and shorter hair being such a hassle that i just can't comprehend how it's easier.

spidermom
January 8th, 2009, 11:08 PM
i've never heard of pregnant women cutting their hair. but i have heard this of new moms, with the excuse of it being easier to handle. whatever happened to just bunning it and leaving it out of reach of a baby's hand?


tell me it's an emotional thing, tell me it's a self image thing, tell me about the changes taking place in one's life. i'll buy it and not make a peep. but i can't see how short hair is "easier".

Who has time to bun hair at 2 A.M. with a screaming baby demanding attention? I can't sleep in a bun. My hair slides right out of braids and ponytails. Short hair was much easier. I could hop into the shower and have it clean in about 30 seconds, run a towel over it a couple of times, and I was done with my hair for the day. It was pretty easy to keep baby from grabbing it, too; there wasn't enough of it to get a good grip.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/SHORT.jpg
See?

NebraskaChick84
January 8th, 2009, 11:28 PM
that makes a lot more sense.


i guess i'm so used to my buns staying put, and shorter hair being such a hassle that i just can't comprehend how it's easier.
my hair has either been too thick or too thin for buns. recently with my EVOO treatments it is now too slick to stay in a bun. I'm hoping to get some hair sticks next month and maybe that will be easier to keep it in the bun. totally OT. but yeah, I got my hair chopped 2 days before I went into labor with my oldest so with my 2nd I got my hair cut in the hopes that it would magically send me into labor ;) it didn't work very fast though (I think I went into labor 5 days later)

Lucky
January 9th, 2009, 01:44 AM
I cut mine while I was pregnant. It didn't have anything to do with convenience because it had grown back out during my pregnancy and was relatively long when my son was born. For me, it was sort of a symbolic thing, it was a big change in my life and I think that cutting my hair was a way for me to cut out the old and await the new. However, after he was born, I just wore my hair up a lot in buns, it was easier than trying to style a short do!

inspiral
January 9th, 2009, 01:50 AM
my friend with hip length hair just told me she plans to go short when she has a baby. part of it seems to be the time needed for upkeep, and partly as a way to start off fresh and new. i myself plan to have and keep long hair during pregnancy and after, braids will work perfect and they are fun!

Noortje
January 9th, 2009, 07:07 AM
I haven't had a decent haircut since getting pregnant with my first son, soon 3 yo. So for me it was the lack of time that got me to mid-back! :o I had one stick (homemade) ,so i was bunning non-stop, which got easier, and quicker, very fast.
Oh, the fact that I look like a dude with short hair does help too... :eyebrows:

Gladtobemom
January 9th, 2009, 07:21 AM
I think a lot of women cut their hair because they see it as simplifying the non-baby part of their daily routine.

There's also the post-pregnancy shed, which is a natural result of the termination of pregnancy hormones and waves of oxytocin. Shedding long hair is annoying. The hair is sort of everywhere . . . and when it gets on your baby and in your clothing and all mixed in with the little baby laundry . . . the effect can be :justy:

I'm one of those people that did cut my hair after the first pregnancy. I was so overwhelmed and it seemed like my long hair was impacting my ability to mother . . . I was wrong.

Gladtobemom
January 9th, 2009, 07:23 AM
I think a lot of women cut their hair because they see it as simplifying their non-baby routine.

There's also the post-pregnancy shed, which is a natural result of the termination of pregnancy hormones and waves of oxytocin. Shedding long hair is annoying. The hair is sort of everywhere . . . and when it gets on your baby and in your clothing and all mixed in with the little baby laundry . . . the effect can be :justy:

I'm one of those people that did cut my hair after the first pregnancy. I was so overwhelmed and it seemed like my long hair was impacting my ability to mother . . . I was wrong.

Just to be clear, for all the later pregnancies . . . the 2 second scrunchie bun became my hairstyle of choice until the baby slept through the night.

I usually wore a scrunchie on my arm and had one in my hair. If my bun slipped, I'd just twig in another scrunchie.

rhubarbarin
January 9th, 2009, 07:36 AM
Who has time to bun hair at 2 A.M. with a screaming baby demanding attention? I can't sleep in a bun. My hair slides right out of braids and ponytails. Short hair was much easier. I could hop into the shower and have it clean in about 30 seconds, run a towel over it a couple of times, and I was done with my hair for the day. It was pretty easy to keep baby from grabbing it, too; there wasn't enough of it to get a good grip.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/SHORT.jpg
See?

Spidermom you look like a baby pixie with that 'do, I can't believe you were a mom.

I think the experience of those with hair that is thick, slippery or tangle prone (or like you, all three!) have quite a different experience than someone like me..

My hair is thin, stays where I put it, and doesn't tangle much, growing it out and caring for it has really been very easy so far (when it's short it likes to stand straight out from my head, it took a lot of fussing and product to make it lie down and stay down).

I know a lot of women with thick hair who have cut it all off in exasperation many times due to the work involved, the weight, and the heat, not just when babies came into the picture..

JamieLeigh
January 9th, 2009, 08:45 AM
I have had five kids, and long hair always, and I have never cut it because it's too much work!! To me, shorter hair is too much work, because you have to constantly maintain a style...whereas long hair IS a style, and if it's in the way, it takes all of 12 seconds to put it up with hair sticks! You can't buy that kind of awesome at a beauty salon! :D

I will say, though, that I did trim a lot more FREQUENTLY when I was pregnant, just because of the extra hormones and vitamins floating around that caused my hair to grow insanely quickly! I like to keep it straight at the bottom, and it was murder on me to watch it growing uneven, after only a couple of weeks! (Of course, now that I'm nearly classic and plan to stop trimming once that goal of "thigh" is reached, I'd welcome back that growth!! LOL) :p

spidermom
January 9th, 2009, 08:53 AM
Spidermom you look like a baby pixie with that 'do, I can't believe you were a mom.


Haha; thanks. I was about 32/33 when that picture was taken and had a 6-7 year old and a 2-3 year old.

longhairedfairy
January 9th, 2009, 09:30 AM
*snip*
When he was born, he loved to be draped in my hair. I'd hold him and he would hold on to it and smile, like a beloved blankie or something.
*snip*

Aw, that is so sweet!

GlennaGirl
January 9th, 2009, 09:46 AM
My children are absolute murder on my hair. The five-year-old is growing out of it, but the two-year-old will still grab my hair and twine it in his fingers (roughing it up and tangling it) whenever he gets the chance. It doesn't matter how many times I raise my voice, set him down firmly, say "no-no," etc.

My hair has started to look rather bad at longer lengths due to this for the past several years.

That said, I don't think new mothers always cut their hair because it's "easier". I think sometimes we cut it because after childbirth, we often feel more "frumpy" (even if we don't look more frumpy) simply because suddenly, we're on continuous dirt detail. As much as we love and adore our children, we're suddenly coated with spitup 23 hours out of every 24, we're changing, wiping, on our knees in the middle of some rather degrading situations. And we're suddenly thought of as "moms" rather than sexy and vibrant beings, or at least we may think we're being thought of that way...if that makes sense. (It can take a while to realize one can be both.)

I think this can cause some moms to cut their hair to try to make some change to feel better about themselves during this wonderful yet very difficult and challenging time period.

LadyMoon11
January 9th, 2009, 10:36 AM
Oh, and I once found one of my hairs wrapped tightly around my newborn son's upper thigh. It cut into his skin a little bit at the inner thigh area. I found one of my hairs tightly wrapped around my son's toe- his little toe was slightly purple. :(



..... according to some people, it was due to her extremly long locks, cause they "took" all the nutritions necessary for the baby to develop! I mean, c'mon!!....Uhhhhhhhhhhh...... :confused::knuckle::bs: Wow- that's extraordinarily ignorant.




I understand the need/want to cut it- both for efficiency and psychological reasons.

I also cut my hair while I was pregnant with my first baby.
I think I was hacking into my hair because, like, EVERYTHING in my life and about me and my body were changing- it was therapeutic, I guess. At least it was for the first few weeks and then I mourned my hair and the easiness of long hair.

The second time around I did not cut my hair, and it was so shiny and thick while I was pregnant. My midwife begged me not to cut it ;). I did shed a lot after he was born, but I kept it long.

After experiencing both, I did honestly find the long hair easier- albeit it did become quite greasy at times when I went days and days without a shower when he was a newbornine and I was nursing. Who has time for a shower? :rolleyes: Shower or 30 min. of uninterrupted sleep? hmmmm.... Sleep! :cloud9: I would just braid, wrap or bun it up. I also used bandanas/scaves a lot.

smilinjenn71
January 9th, 2009, 10:40 AM
I cut mine with both pregnancies because I wanted something for ME!

Yea... that's pretty much it...LOL!

Misso
January 9th, 2009, 12:47 PM
I was pregnant three times. The first one I cut my hair three times during the pregnancy. The second one I cut it twice, I think. After each pregnancy I would regret cutting it. I think I did it mainly for a change, because I am tired, bored and restless with being pregnant. Realizing that, during my third one I had one hair cut and it was mainly to fix it up and did not take much length, like the other times when I would have it cut to mid back.

But mainly as I said I would cut it because I am restless and bored with pregnancy. Shorter hair is neither more practical nor easier to take care of for me.

Tangles
January 9th, 2009, 12:53 PM
I think it's also psychological most likely. Short hair, even shoulder or chin, feels brisk and efficient and generally has more bounce. A baby tires women out to the extent where they might not appreciate heavy hair. I'm not saying long hair is necessarily heavy, but it can definitely feel that way, like another "baby" to care for, haha.

Shorter haircuts don't have to be soccermomish. For some they are easier than long hair. For some they're much more high maintenance.

It's important to recognize that not only does every woman have different needs, but those needs and desires do change, and that's to be embraced at times.

Melian
January 9th, 2009, 01:00 PM
I have an 9 month old and I was prepared. When I got pregnant it was around hip length and right now it is tailbone. Just kept breathing and little one learned to be patient whilst I am combing or I am combing it if he is napping. It is always up and it is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo easy. Yes, the shedding was annoying, but it is over for about a month. Totally doable. And during the night my hair is in a braid in a sock. No problem whatsoever.

kpowell04
January 9th, 2009, 02:03 PM
I think its a personal opinion I do not think it necessarily means you need to cut your hair-- I just pull mine back in a pony tail. The DO get to the age where they like to pull it and stuff.. Put it in a bun.. theres other options..

GibsonGirlV
January 9th, 2009, 05:44 PM
I actually think short hair can be a lot higher maintenance than long hair.

Demetrue
January 9th, 2009, 09:08 PM
Hmmm - I never realized it but I cut my hair after each pregnancy - between feeling totally bedraggled, having 1/3 my hair fall out in shedding for months afterwards, never having the time to wash and dry it, so it hung in greasy thin strings around my face, it truly felt fresher and easier to cut into a short bouncy Lady Di style that I could wash in 1 minute in the sink and towel dry in 5 minutes. And also, my entire focus and love was poured out into each new baby and nothing else mattered, not even, gasp - my hair! I think that IF my hair had been longer than shoulder/bsl, I would not have given in to the urge to cut.

LawyerGirl
January 9th, 2009, 09:58 PM
This thread has made me EVEN more determined to grow my hair long!! I went through looking at pictures of my hair before and after...

33 weeks pregnant... btw this is just about the longest my hair has EVER been:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b66/Elena1282/belly33wks.jpg

Then because of this:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b66/Elena1282/DowsBday.jpg

I ended up with this...
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b66/Elena1282/redhair.jpg

it severely damaged my hair, of course... and after a year or so of straightening (eek!), dying (blonde, brown, black, red, purple, pink, etc!) I cut it short when I graduated from college. *sigh*
I haven't been long since. :(

Starr
January 9th, 2009, 10:27 PM
I have no idea. . . I let my hair grow through both of my pregnancies. ;)



//Hijack//

LawyerGirl, you little one is absolutely precious

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