Another Epic Battle of the Mind

So, I did something crazy on St. Patrick's Day; something that took 3 years to accomplish and only minutes to erase.  More specifically, 3 years to grow and then minutes to cut.  We've talked about the Great Debate, but now there is another epic battle of the mind that seems to come along with motherhood.  Here are a couple photos of the aftermath of my decision:

Oh, the horror - ahhh!

It's amazing how long my beard was.... wait, what?!

Before getting pregnant, I had three personal goals:

First, I wanted to be in a regular exercise routine.  I took a Yogilates class (yoga + pilates) as well as a Zumba class (aerobics disguised as salsa/regaetón/hip-hop dancing).

Second, I wanted to give up caffeine.  I was able to drink a big cup of coffee, loaded with caffeine, right before bed without any affect to my sleep.  I figured it would make things a whole lot easier if I didn't have to cope with caffeine headaches along with the usual dose of pregnancy symptoms.  After two weeks of being an absolute crank going cold turkey, I kicked the habit.

And finally, I wanted to have long hair.  There is a stereotype that all women who have babies get "mom hair" which is short, unsexy, uncool, and lame.  Now, this isn't to say that short hair or women who are moms and have short hair are any of these things.  I'm just stating the stereotype.  For me, in my oh so naive mindset, I just wanted to stay clear of short hair so as not to fall into the dreaded grasps of the stereotype.  Needless to say, I have a much better understanding of why mothers choose to cut their hair short, and I found myself staring down short-haired strangers and friends to see how they styled short hair and made it look so good.

Let me preface the Big Reveal with a few explanations:


1. I've Been Jonesing for a Change.

Ladies (and guys too maybe?) - you know the feeling.  When you sit down and the stylist says, "what would you like to do?"  Your original intention was just to get a little trim off the ends but what comes out of your mouth is, "let's do something drastic".  That's what I've been craving.  I've had a few styles over the years:

Starter Hair

Platinum Toothless Hair

Brother Matching Hair

Dark Brunette Hair

Red + Blonde Hi-lights Hair

New Mommy Hair

2. Hair Can Lead to a Trip to the E.R.

Bears & Dogs - oh my!

What do the adorable little animal footies above have in common?  They are vessels for Hair Tourniquets (normally I would include a link to Wikipedia, but the article has some semi graphic pictures, so feel free to look it up on your own, but be cautioned that it isn't a pleasant experience).

What are these Hair Tourniquets, you ask?  Basically, Momma Hair gets stuck to clothing, becomes trapped in the footies of baby's clothing, baby slides their feet into the footies, Momma Hair gets tightly wound around baby's toes, and Hair Tourniquets are formed that have to get trimmed with razors at your local E.R. 

Resident Munchkin, ER Staff

No joke, this does actually happen (Brad dealt with these cases when he did a rotation at a pediatric emergency department).  Be sure to flip the footies inside out when washing, and remove any lint/hairs/threads before placing them on baby's toes.  Fingers can have a similar risk so watch out!

3. Growing out bangs is boooooooooooring.

Bang grow-out drama, ugh.

Nobody likes to grow out bangs.  You are forever trapped in a haze of awkwardness, punctuated with hair clips, bobby pins, headbands and hair in your eyes.  Why not create a compromise between your whiny bangs and your overly mature long hair by cutting your hair a bit closer to your bang length?  That way, everyone wins.

And now for the Big Reveal!

We first need the Before Photos:

Front, Side, Pony, yeah.

Special thanks to my AWESOME sister-in-law/stylist, Stacey, who worked her magic with a pair of scissors, hair dryer, and flat iron.

Front View...

Side View...

... and it even lulls babies to sleep!

 I opted for chopping.  Got any epic battles of the mind?  How did yours turn out?

Wishing you all a Happy Hair Day,

~M