Hair Obsession

"I love how Seth holds onto your hair!" one of my friends said to me at book club the other day, "it's so sweet!"

What is it about my boys? They've all had a "thing" for my hair! Forget security blankets; mommy's hair will do just fine, thank you!

It started with Scott. As soon as he started a nursing session, his little arm (the one not cradled against my body) would reach up and his hand would grope around until it encountered a lock of my hair. His little fist would close around it immediately, and he would hold on until he was done eating. He started this little ritual when he was only a couple of months old. Scott's love of my hair continued into his toddler years--he would play with a lock of my hair every night while I laid my head next to his on the pillow and sang him to sleep. (I was a new parent, ok? I hadn't figured out how to teach a kid to go to sleep on his own yet!)

Tanner engaged in the same grasp hair / nursing ritual as Scott--is it in the genes? I think he gave up his love of my hair much earlier than any of the other boys, though.

Jared had an extreme case of Mommy-hair-love, and perhaps because no other baby took his place until he was 8 1/2 years old, it lasted longer. Yes, he did the same ritual while nursing. Then as a toddler, he would stand next to me whenever I was standing on the couch, get a lock of hair in his hands, and twist, and twist, and twist....until it felt like the whole lock of hair was going to pull right out of my head!

Jared, Fall 2000

Seth was the only one who didn't hang onto my hair while he was nursing (my hair was really short when he was born) but at a young age he started running his hand through the hair on the nape of my neck. This habit has continued, and now pretty much whenever I pick him up, I immediately feel his little hand slide through the hair at the back of my neck. Sometimes he grasps as much as he can in his little fist and hangs on, other times he continues to run his fingers through my hair over and over. Seth has also learned to climb onto my shoulders when I am sitting on the couch; he'll sit up there and play with my hair for as long as I can stand it. (Sometimes he gets excited and starts pulling!) Actually, he will take just about any opportunity to indulge in this behavior. Even while I've been writing this post, he pulled a chair up behind mine, stood on it, and played with my hair for a while!

Seth, February 2008

Seth, December 2008

Seth, May 2009

Seth's love of my hair has, conveniently, transferred to his own head of hair. I know he's tired when he starts running his hands through his own hair. And more than once when I've put him in his crib half-asleep, I've seen him reach up and start to twist the hair on top of his head, as he drifts back to sleep--nice!
Who knows when Seth will outgrow his love for my hair--the other three all have. I just know that I will miss it when he does because for me, feeling a little boy hand pulling, stroking or twisting my hair is one of the more powerful ways that I feel like a successful, nurturing mother. My little boy might as well be saying "Mommy, I feel safe with you, and I absolutely adore you!!!"