Elijah's Haircut

This is Elijah BEFORE his haircut.
He HATES to have his hair cut. I'm serious! Every time so far that I've taken him, he has sat on my lap with my legs wrapped around his and my arms holding down his while the stylist fights his moving head to cut his hair. There is always hair everywhere and a lot of crying...by him AND me. There is also a lot of apologizing to the stylist for his behavior.

So, last time I decided to cut his hair myself. I do the other 2 boys. So I just got out my clippers, sat him in Steven's lap and cut his hair. His was definitely less traumatic for him. He didn't cry nearly as much...but he did have trouble keeping his head still. Needless to say, I didn't do a very good job. But it was cut and I was happy that he looked better than he did before...until it grew out!

The back of his hair was extremely uneven. He wouldn't let me get around his ears so all of that hair was very long. I hated looking at his hair! But I didn't dare take him to get it cut. He protested every time I even mentioned the idea and I didn't want to fight him or put another stylist through that mess.

However, the day came when I decided it just HAD to be done! I couldn't stand it anymore! I bribed him! I told him we would go to Office Depot and play Wheel of Fortune on their computers if he would get his hair cut. He said ok. So I took him to a local kids' haircut place. (Very pricey. But I thought it would help him.) He resisted sitting in the chair at first, but didn't want me to sit with him. So I put him in the chair and he wanted to hug me. Fine, I can do that. And that is how the stylist cut his hair. His head was buried in my chest looking to one side. I hugged him and moved his head to the other side when she was ready. But he didn't cry...not even one little bit! I was so proud of him! He could tell too. Right in the middle he said, "Mommy! I not crying!" And for that, he got 2 lollipops AND a prize from the stylist. This is what he looks like now!

I think we have finally turned a corner as far as haircuts go. Now, if we could just turn a corner with potty training!