To Cut or Not to Cut?

Daniel was pretty bald up until his first birthday. When I look at pictures of him from back then, I'm amazed by the cute little "buzz cut" he had. I remember the awful cradle cap -- how I would massage his scalp in the bathtub with Head & Shoulders, and then gently pick at the loose flakes while he drank his bottle and drifted into la-la land. Sometime between about 8 and 12 months, however, the cradle cap went away. In its place grew silky blond ringlets. As he approaches his 18-month birthday, Daniel now has a headful of beautiful hair. And I'm contemplating whether or not it's time to cut it. I must be crazy, right?

It's not that his hair is getting in the way. On the contrary, it stays out of his eyes and just barely caresses the top of his ears. The back of his head is covered by luscious ringlets that criss-cross one another like something Rapunzel spun up in that tower of hers. It gets thicker and thicker by the day. For some reason, I feel like it is a good time for his first haircut. Turning 18 months old is an exciting milestone, one that would be made all the more special by incorporating another important rite-of-passage: the first haircut. So why do I keep changing my mind and delaying my phone call to Sharkey's Cuts for Kids?

Celebrities like Kate Hudson and Celine Dion seem to be suffering from "first haircut-phobia" to an extreme. These little boys could easily be mistaken for little girls, due in no small part to their mothers' refusal to cut that silky baby hair that we all wish we could hold onto forever. I personally think these ladies need to get a grip and give in to the shears. I know that I will, soon enough. Will I regret doing it now, before Daniel's hair really necessitates a cut? Is the first haircut a symbolic "letting go" that means your child is no longer a baby? Whatever the case, I'll reveal my decision as Daniel's 18-month birthday comes and goes this weekend.