Elijah gets a haircut

Today was very eventful...but not fun. I had to take Elijah for a haircut today. Normally, that wouldn't sound like too big of a deal. It wasn't for my other two boys. However, Elijah is a COMPLETELY different story. He DOES NOT like to get his hair cut. He doesn't just not like it, HE HATES IT! I had been putting it off for about a week because I knew what would be in store for me. But today I decided to weather the storm and take him in. His hair was getting very unruly! Boy, did I get more than I bargained for!

He was fine when we got there. He walked in and started doing puzzles. (We go to one of those special kid haircut places with screens and computer games and stuff. I don't like it, but thought it would help.) He enjoyed the puzzles for several minutes and was having a great time. Then the stylist called his name. It was at this time that Elijah headed to the door saying, "Mommy, time to go!" I had to pick him up and put him in the chair. That is when he started screaming...and he never stopped.

We ended up having to strap him into the chair. Never had to do that before. The stylist tried blowing bubbles at him. (He loves bubbles.) But that just made him scream louder. She turned on the movie for him, but he would have none of it. I tried doing a puzzle with him, but that didn't cut it either. He just continued to scream, cry, and drool himself into a massive sweat. Not to mention that he wouldn't wear the apron, so he's getting hair all over himself...and me!

It ended up being the loudest 15-20 minutes of my life. At one point, one stylist was holding his head, I was holding his hands with mine and had my leg over his legs while the other stylist tried cutting his hair. Him screaming bloody murder the ENTIRE time. It was so unpleasant that I started crying. What kind of mother am I that I would expose my son to such turmoil for a silly haircut? I felt so bad for him...but I knew it needed to be done. He's going to have to get used to having his hair cut. There is no way around it...unless he decides to live as Samson.

Anyway, it was finally over. He got a sucker and a prize, even though he wasn't good, just for good measure. It took me quite some time to get all the hair off of him and me so that we could go to the grocery store. Very difficult task because he had been screaming so hard he was sweating and all the hair was sticking to him. It was all over his clothes, his hands, his face, and in his mouth! Yuck! I did my best. I snuggled him to calm him down, thanked the lady and gave her a tip and we were on our way. The noise level in the shop just went down several decibels! What a nightmare!

The worst part is...I don't really like his haircut. I just don't like the way it looks. Not that I blame the stylist AT ALL! She did what she could with what she had to work with. I commend her for even continuing. I'm sure some stylists would have just said, "Forget it! I'm not doing this!" But at least his hair is cut. He looks kind of like Zach now. Not what I had planned, but better than nothing. Here is the end result: