6 Things About Having a Red Head Baby or Child
Nearly six years ago, Bart and I unexpectedly hit the parenting jackpot when Ani was born a red head baby.
Being a mom of all girls has had some unexpected surprises. Pop in your email address and I’ll send you the six things that have surprised me the most.
Within moments of her birth, the nurse was looking at our baby daughter carefully and saying, “Does she have some red in her hair or is it the light?”
Every nurse and doctor who stopped in to check on her over our hospital stay asked about our redhead newborn.
And as she’s grown up, her hair has become more and more noticeably red.
Since both Bart and I are not redheads, we weren’t ready for what life would be like with a red head baby.
Here’s a few insider tips, in case you also have a red headed baby girl or boy too:
People will comment on their red hair constantly
Frankly, it’s a little like going out in public with a celebrity sometimes. I can’t remember a time we’ve been in public in the last six years that SOMEONE hasn’t mentioned it, whether it’s the cashier at the grocery store or an old man in the parking lot. And guaranteed, they will tell you about their red haired grandson or their sister with red hair(I’m 100% guilty of this same phenomenon with twins – anyone with twins, I am basically forced to tel them that I have twin nephews).
Sun protection is no joke with redheads
With that gorgeous red hair often comes some pretty fair skin, which means that although I try to be careful about sunscreen or hats for ALL my children, Ani is the one I worry about the most. I definitely don’t want her skin to be the same color as her hair!
That stereotype about red heads having fiery tempers is a stereotype for a reason
At least in Ani’s case, there’s an element of truth to that redhead stereotype. Generally, she’s very pleasant, but if she’s mad? She’s MAD. And she’s been that way since she was an infant.
If you don’t have red hair yourself, everyone wants to know where your red head baby came from
This doesn’t happen to me as much if I’m out with the girls on my own, because probably people assume my husband is a redhead, but if we’re both out in public with Ani, everyone is so curious about where that red haired baby came from.
Dressing a red head baby is a little harder
With my other blonde babies, most colors look reasonably good on them, but red hair and very fair skin makes it a little more challenging to pick shades that are flattering.
You will NEVER get tired of having a red-haired child
Six years in, and I still am floored by how beautiful Ani’s red hair is. She also lucked out with really great, thick straight hair (it was curly for the first three years or so but now is completely straight) in addition to a great color. She’s probably sick of people commenting on it right now, but someday, I think she’ll love her gorgeous red hair. And if I’m very lucky, I’ll end up with some grandchildren with red hair too.
Any red-haired babies in your family tree?
As the odd red-head in my family (my brother’s hair is dark brown! My mom’s was black) we get asked ALL THE TIME where my red hair comes from. We think from my dad, who had some highlights. But still. That one gets tiring 🙂 I also got “Oh! You’re so lucky! You’ll never go gray” I would like the gray hairs peeking through to pay attention to that. Maybe Ani will have better luck that I in that department.
We have a long story, but to make it short. We adopted. We knew we would have a stranger’s baby to raise as our own love. It just so happens that she was born with red hair and my God, is she gorgeous! Like you, the pediatricians and nurses had so many compliments, they would beg us to hold and cuddle her. We happily obliged. Our darling, Ava Danielle, could not be more perfect. She looks exactly like me, but better! Same fair skin and all. Her eyes are a striking light grey and her attitude is fast forward at all times. My, my, I do love this little girl!
How does she look exactly like you though?
Red hair is a recessive gene, so it must come from both sides. It can reappear after several absent generations.
My son has red hair, but on my side my last ancestor with red hair was my maternal great grandfather. I also know it comes through my mothers side because my hair is the same colour as my fair-haired father, so the recessive gene had to come from my mother. My husband has some red uncles too on his mothers side. We.re Irish though so it’s never far
Redheads do get gray hair. Trust me. Ugh!
I am 64 and have very few grays. My grandmother, who passed at 80yo, did not have completely gray hair. My mother,however, who was also red headed, was fully gray in her early 20s!
Redheads DO get grey hair! I am the perfect example of Redhead getting grey😢
I think it’s more important that the kid be healthy then you to constantly focus on the hair color. And then to top it off to say she was lucky because it was thick and straight well how do you think that makes redheads with curly/kinky on straight hair feel? Maybe you should think about those things instead of constantly thinking about your kids hair color.
i am red haid but i got addoied so no one knows whare i got my red hair from
Just be careful what story you tell about where that red hair came from. I heard my dad tell a few people that mine came from the milkman (they did, in fact, have a milk man). So one day someone asked my tiny little self where I got my red hair from and guess what I told them. Then I couldn’t figure out what was so funny about my answer or why my mom’s face turned so red.
I did the exact same thing in a jewelry store when I was 6. The store erupted in laughter and I was lost! Lol
My mom always said “redheads are extra credit” (she had 2 of them!). When I was born the nurse said, “a lot of babies are born with red hair but they lose it.” My mom looked down and saw my red eyelashes and eyebrows and knew I’d be a real redhead.
I’m a redhead with bright red hair like hers. It’s a gift! One recommendation I have is to expose her to older female role models and media with red headed protagonists and Scandinavian women with fair features like hers. When I was little there weren’t very many and so I always felt “less than” other girls, and high school was particularly difficult. It’s subconscious but seeing red headed beauty and strength reiterated outside of verbal family affirmations could help a lot.
My Sara is tall red headed and fair and she definitely is a minority and sometimes wishes she wasn’t. So we constantly are telling her how perfect she is. Everyone comments and I think it drives her and her 5 siblings a little crazy
I’m about to be 32 and people still comment on my hair. Now that I have a little girl, the comment I hear most often is, “It’s a shame she didn’t get your shade of red.” Her hair definitely has red in it but it’s more to the strawberry blonde/brown shade.
Her hair is gorgeous! I know that at least in the past kids were teased for having red hair, but I’d love for my hair to be the color of Ani’s!
I am like Ani–a redhead daughter of two brunettes–but none of my three children got red hair. (Holding out hope for my grandkids!) I’m almost 37 years old, and I don’t think a day goes by that someone doesn’t compliment me on my hair. And yet somehow, it always feels like a fresh compliment–I’m still surprised people would go out of their way tell me that and it always means a lot. I didn’t really care one way or another about my hair as a child, but now I love it. She will too. 🙂
Oh my gosh – I love this post! I have two red-headed boys (7 and 3 years old), and older people touch their hair all the time (especially the one with curly red hair!). People always tell me how they wanted red heads (because they had it in their family) or they give them a family history of how the red passed down. I hear it’s a “dying breed” to have red hair, but now that I have two kiddos, I see red heads (or hear about them!) all the time. You’re not kidding on dressing them. We are Clemson fans, but let me tell you how bad a red head looks in orange – ha! Such a fun post!
Oh I just love her SO much! And yes, her hair is to die for!
Yes! Our second born came out with lots of vivid red hair and he still has bright red hair 7 years later. C lives up to all of your comments and we love it. We are both brunettes, as are our other two kids. The only thing that gets me how a few people will make snarky comments insinuating that he isn’t our child or my husband isn’t his father. I resist the temptation to tell them to study genetics and manners. 😛
All true. Our very first has red hair and was such a surprise! So many comments!
I’m the only redhead in my family of 6 girls and this is all 100% correct. I have the fairest skin of my sisters and feel rather limited on colors (I have yet to find a red or pink that work well with my hair, which is fine because I wear mostly blue). I have one cousin that’s strawberry blond but other than that, it’s just me in my whole living blood relatives. But I like it! Also, I can blame my temper on my hair which I 100% have. Hahahaha.
Ah!! I could have written this post. My hubby and I are both non-redheads, but we have 3 red headed daughters. (And a blonde son.) I always adored red hair, and couldn’t believe it when the doctor said our first born was a red head!
My husband and I are both redheads and both of our daughters are redheads (although one is very strawberry blonde, the other more like your daughters). Did you know that redheads are also more prone to asthma, eczema and allergies (which my kids can attest to)? They need more anesthesia and pain medicine (several anesthesiologists have confirmed this) – good to know when she is having a dental procedure or someday having her own little one! Also, redheads don’t go grey – they go straight to white hair. Still, hopefully she will always be proud of her red hair. I think it’s beautiful.
I find that interesting about anesthesia. My husband is a redhead and super sensitive to it, he needs a lot less. I guess to every rule there’s an exception.
I am also sensitive to anesthesia as well as Tylenol, and other prescription pain medications!
Yes to all of these! All of our children have red hair (my husband is a red head), and it’s true that people comment on it all the time.
Yes I have FOUR redheads (all of our kids) and neither my husband and I are. (He’s blind I’m super dark) We can’t go anywhere without it being the main topic of conversation. I don’t mind 🙂
Red hair is a rare and beautiful thing. And, according to Google, red hair + blue eyes is rarest of all. Jackpot, indeed. 🙂
I have red hair blue eyes, as did my mother and grandmother!
I love this! I am the one and only redhead of 5 kids in my family, and neither of my parents have red hair either. I relate to this SO much, especially the questions about where it came from. I still remember the constant questions directed at my parents when I was young! Your daughter is lovely. 🙂
Both my parents are redheads and all the kids (5) are redheads. I thought for sure I would have redheads of my own, but none of my 5 children are redheaded. Maybe I’ll have redheaded grandchildren.
Your husband would have to have the red head gene as well, and after 5 with no red head I would guess that he doesn’t have it. You could have red head grandchildren because your kids would have the gene from you. So if they marry someone with the red head gene then it’s quite possible that you would have red headed grandchildren.
Yes! Red heads unite. I used to tell people my red hair come from Jesus and my grandma when I was little. I have naturally curly hair too so I get a lot of comments. It is a fun conversation starter…although in my tween/teenage years I hated being different…I enjoy it now.