Hair

Laurel was born with dark brown hair, as attested by this photo of her at two days of age. Even though I had previously theorized about her possible hair colors, I was genuinely surprised that she was not blond like her brother.

Isaac is so blond, I guess, that I began to have a genetic expectation that all my children would be towheaded. Instead Laurel seemed to be a true brunette with chestnut brown hair.

Actually, at first I didn't know Laurel's hair color. She was born in early January in my bedroom, which, although it had been heated to a comfortable 70 degrees, wasn't warm enough for a brand-new baby. So as soon as she was born she nestled skin-to-skin against my body for warmth, and we were immediately covered in blankets from head to toe. A hat was added soon afterward.

About an hour after her birth, I removed the hat so she could be weighed. It was a dramatic unveiling. I exclaimed in genuine surprise, "She's got brown hair!"

But things change. Isaac was born with reddish-blond hair, which fell out when he was four months old and grew back as white-blond. Laurel's hair also fell out at that age, and, as you may have seen, is growing back as light brown. In the sun it has a golden tint, so it is possible that she will be sandy blond as a child, but it is clear that she no longer has chestnut brown hair.

Her dad and I both have plain old brown hair, so I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise.

- - - - -

That's not the only hair-related difference between my children. Isaac was born with no visible body hair, while Laurel was born with quite a bit of long dark hair on her body. It covered her upper shoulders, connected her eyebrows to her hairline, and was thickest on her lower back. (This lanugo is supposed to be an indication of premature birth, but she was born only nine days before her due date; Isaac was born five days before his due date.) Most of Laurel's noticeable body hair fell out gradually, but even at six months old she still has a downy tailbone.

Isaac, on the other hand, continued to have very little body hair for his first few years. But about nine months ago he looked down at his wrist and said, "There's hair on my wrist! I must be getting to be a man." I took a closer look, and sure enough, there were white-blond hairs covering his arms and wrists. By now he has also begun to grow visible hair on his legs.

None on his face yet, luckily.