The Great Rubout

Here we go again! I bring home a baby with lush full hair and after several months I have the amazing balding baby. Around my house we call it rubout. You know what I mean? Bald from ear to ear in the back of the head, but hair on top and at the nape of the neck. So many babies have rubout these days. I guess this is a new phenomenon that has taken place over the past 15 years. It started I think when mom's were encouraged to  put babies "back to sleep" (sleeping on their back). to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The results were great for keeping babies alive, but the shapes of babies heads are flat on the back and their hair gets rubbed out. That's a more than acceptable trade off for the reduced rate of SIDS. 

When my oldest daughter, who is now 13, turned one-year old I trimmed her hair, so that the rubbed out part of her hair was even with the top of her hair. Family and other folks excused her little afro when they thought she could not grow hair, but when they found out that I had trimmed it, boy did I take a lot of flack for that. I got several neck-rolling, eye-rolling, tongue-lashings. I just replied that I thought it was cute and that it looked better than the "rubout." However, in the back of my mind I vowed not to let it happen with the next baby, and it didn't. I wasn't because of anything that I did though. Daughter number #2 has been a rule breaker since birth, so when we put her to sleep on her back and side like good law-abiding parents, she would find a way to sleep on her belly. We worried at first, and then just watched her closely and flowed with it.  As a result, she kept her lush beautiful hair.

When we left the hospital with the baby boy I was told to let him sleep on his belly from time to time, so that his head would be nice and round. They encouraged us to keep an eye on him of course. I let him sleep on his belly in front of me, but he has managed to get rubout anyway. Sleeping on his back and in his car seat has left him with balding sides and back.

I just keep it moist with creme dress, massage the balding spots to promote growth, and joke with the little guy about how I brought him home with a full head of head, and how now he has a half of head of hair. Hehehe, the joys of motherhood.