Slowly Letting Go Strand by Strand

Ever since Brady could reach out and grab, she's had a hold of my hair. It's been her obsession, her security blanket. Oh, sure I thought about cutting my locks when she was a mere babe. But decided it would be of no use since she was determined to hold on to even the tiniest little piece of hair, showcased by her love of grabbing hold of the flippy ends of her Nana's short 'do.
Initially, her first love was to put the death grip on my bangs while nursing which kept my head bent at an unfortunate angle. She moved on to grabbing, pulling, holding, and chewing any and every bit of my tresses she possibly could. This is when my perma-ponytail came into use. That didn't exactly work either because she transferred her need for hair into holding on to the entire tail. In these photos* taken when B was around 6 months old, you can see a ponytail holder and my lovely Timex watch on my wrist. Adam and I were both annoyed that I had forgotten to take them off before the photo shoot. But now, I'm glad they are there because they were an important part of my life at the time. The ponytail holder for obvious reasons and the watch to keep up with our feeding sessions.
Anyhow, this love/obsession continued on in many various forms. She loved to take the very ends of the ponytail and pounce it on her lips; she adored running her fingers through my hair tangling it and damaging it with her every move; she loved to lay her head upon my hair... I could go on and on. It did seem to get a little better as she got older, but it was always present in our lives. That is until the last few months. Recently full days have gone by without Brady giving my hair so much as a stroke. I find myself making it through the day without ever taking the ponytail holder off of my wrist. (WOW!) Every so often when she is scared or tired, she needs to get a quick hold, but in general she is over the hair!!! I have been longing for this day, but of course, part of me is a little sad to see this sign of letting go. Is it a coincidence that this milestone coincides with amplified behavioral issues? Probably not. (Something about independence vs. autonomy from my Child Development Class comes to mind.)


*Photos taken by my lovely and very talented friend Angela Alexander.