June 29, 2015

summer cuts

Frederick is a BIG time thumb sucker and hair twirler. He's a pretty intense, active kid and thumb sucking/hair twirling is his way of winding down in the car or when he's tired or upset. I get that it's very common and I haven't been too worried about it because I figured he'll outgrow it. I've talked to his dentist about his teeth and he doesn't think it's anything to worry about right now (but he did give me a few helpful tips). We haven't really addressed the issue at all with Fritz - just let things run their course and not make it a big deal.

A couple of weeks ago, David pointed out a spot on the top of Fritz's head that looked really thin. I looked closer, and sure enough, he had twirled a good chunk of hair off his head. Maybe things were particularly stressful for him lately but we decided that the best way to help him wean off the hair twirling (especially while he's sleeping) was to cut his hair really short. Now, the very idea was breaking my heart because I really, really love my boy's hair - especially Fritz's summer hair. He gets really great blond highlights in the summer but short hair is better than bald spots.
I buzzed his hair really short the other day and when I was done, I seriously almost cried. I know it's stupid and vain that I care so much but for some reason, it is just so sad! I think it's that he looks so old and so different and that's a tough pill to swallow.

After his hair was cut, I decided to give Will a shorter summer cut too and ended up just buzzing it. At least they match and it'll grow back really fast! No matter what, they are CUTE boys and I love them so!

3 comments:

  1. I love buzz cuts on little boys! Always have.

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  2. Just FYI, I had a thumb-sucker; our dentist also told us not to worry about it...but six years later she needed an expander and braces for a year (at age 9) to correct the high palate and overbite created by thumb-sucking (same dentist). (We broke her of it just before her third birthday; basically we put a band-aid on her thumb and drew a picture of the prize she wanted on the band-aid, so she didn't rip it off since the picture reminded her that if she kept it on she could have the prize.)

    I know that thumb-sucking doesn't guarantee identical orthodontia down the line, but it does seem pretty common in the parents of other thumb-suckers I've talked to, so just wanted to throw that out there for your information. :-) Like both of our dentists seemed to indicate, it doesn't cause problems when they're young, but it does seem to have some need for correction down the line. None of our other four kids sucked their thumbs and none of them have the palate & overbite issues that our oldest had.

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  3. I don't know if I told you, but one time when we were driving to the cabin, Paul kept pulling his hair out absentmindedly. Later, we realized he had a bald spot about 2 or 3 inches around! It was HUGE! He was so embarrassed. (This was right before starting second grade, I think.) We basically had to do an old man comb-over for almost a year! It was hilarious. :)

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