I figured it would come, i knew to expect it, the post partum shedding. I did shed more than normal after i had my girls but nothing like most other women said they experienced & it never really bothered me. I had seen a few ladies decide to delay dreading until after the shedding would happen, i figured i'd be knotted up enough by then & lose so little that it wouldn't matter. Well i'm losing a lot of hair, all the time. I wake up & my bed is covered, i'm always picking my stray hairs off my babe & my clothes, when i wash my hair i'm surprised that i have much left lol. I'm not concerned about it though, it's just another part of my individual journey dreading. The hair everywhere is annoying but it will pass in time. I trust them to do what they need to without me interfering, they haven't steered me wrong yet

Some lady at the mall yesterday said she loved my hair yes she said hair, they aren't identifiable as dreads yet but my husband laughed because they are in an "in between" state & actually looking like i haven't been brushing every morning now. pretty freakin frizzy & poofy & i'm sure driving with the windows down & not looking in the mirror didn't do them much favors Squee! Love my baby dreads!

seriously so giddy i really was considering climbing the roof to be able to shout from it.

I HAVE A LOOP! I HAVE A KNOT! I HAVE A REAL BABY DREAD!

It was born 3 days ago when the tips of that section were stuck together but the body seemed like two distinctly different pieces. I had counted my locks in the dark by feel & this was my freak show section. All my other sections are variations of round, diamonds, squares, maybe not exact but they do resemble basic shapes. This one tho, it was long & thin, an odd section & it kinda pulled the hair weird. I could feel it was knotted at the tip & I didn't have the heart to destroy it to let it be two or join into others more acceptable. So I left it. That night it thanked me for letting it stay & became a loop. My first loop (at 6 months 20 days for those counting)

It has now survived a washing & stuck. It's official, I have a real knot, a real loop. It has begun for real & it's so thrilling!

Last night i went through my head in the dark by touch & separated for my first time (6.5 months & my first time separating!!!) I counted about 207 baby dreadies (give or take, it was dark & hard to keep count & sort through so much hair! I have A LOT). I was worried about variation in sizes on them, I didn't mind them not being the same but i feared huge differences & wanted to keep them in a close range without caring about being exact. Well forget that.

As I felt through them all it was wonderful. Each one a different size, it's own shape, a special feel to it. Every next one so unique from the last. I could feel knots, though I can't see them yet, they are taking hold in there. How so very different they feel compared to how they look was just astonishing. I loved the experience & can't wait for the chance to have to separate & count them again I'm sure some will congo, most are pretty thin, some ridiculously thin. Going through them it was all "ooo this one is nice & thicker (more a normal size not actually a fatty)" & "omgosh this one is actually knotty feeling & tight" & "ahh i think this is the start of a flat loop!" So very exciting.

I love each & every one of my 207(ish) locks. They are all amazing in their own way. I love that i have knots that I can feel even if I can't see them yet. I can't wait for them to become visible to me.

This journey is amazing, baby steps & small victories for me <3

Not really anything new to report. My sections are pretty defined, they are getting kinda wavy & i know they are knotting slightly but I don't have any loops or knots that a camera captures so nothing to show off & brag about yet. Soon. I love my hair. It's gotten frizzy & poofy & I really feel like it's a lions mane some days. The wavy underbits are lovely.

I'm having fun wrapping different sections adding some color & charms here & there. At the top of the wraps the roots get the start of a loop but all the ones that have had the wraps come off that baby loop disappears again. It'll come back. In time. I had a little girl ask me about my green wrap in the park (a 6 year old saying "why do you have that green thing in your hair?"). I figured it was easier to take the shortest simplest answer rather than explain the whole dreadlock thing (especially since they aren't looking near that at all) so I just told her I liked it, I think it's pretty. She thought that was an acceptable answer. I love how kids can just accept that, you like it, so you do it. Makes sense.

I've had a rough time lately & in one of my bad moments I lay on the bathroom floor & thought about brushing my hair out...I haven't a clue why the idea would pop into my head. My rough time has nothing to do with what my hair is doing, I'm absolutely loving my hair. Almost immediately after thinking it I thought "why bother", I never brushed my hair or "did" anything with it before anyway so what's the difference? At least I'm loving it now rather than bitching & hating it & throwing in a ponytail every single day that hurts my head. I'm in this for the long run. This is the only time in my life I've liked my hair, & I don't just like it I love it. Why would I abandon that? I wouldn't.

I feel looping & some good knotting is right around the corner. My sections are soooo good & the waves are going to pull up to loop shortly, my wraps are also helping I think. I get excited when I wake up and a section is sticking up. I want some good bed head This may be a long journey but the wait is well worth it, & I'm enjoying the trip because the pathway is pretty. Sure I can't wait until there are loops or knots, or real dreads, but I love my hair being free & I love my red wavy dreadie babies <3

So some things just line up crazy sometimes...& I just had to share a few from my life that are pretty amazing to me.

37+ years ago my grandmother gave birth to a baby boy. The hospital decided her & her husband were too poor & had too many children to take care of already & would not allow the baby boy to leave the hospital with them, they threatened to take away the children that were at home already. My grandparents left the hospital empty handed & packed up their children & things at home, fled the state to drop the children off with someone & came back to fight for their baby boy. They weren't able to get him back. Their older children never knew what happened, just that they went to have a baby & no baby came home so they assumed a stillbirth & that it was a very sensitive topic so they never asked about it. After my grandfather died my grandmother wrote letters to the adoption agencies where her baby boy was placed, inviting him to our yearly family reunions, saying she wanted to see all of her children together before she passed. She died within a year of my grandfather passing. The lost baby boy (now a grown man with his own family) finally received the letters but was unable to contact anyone because of her passing away. His step-sister used facebook to find people with the same last name as the women who wrote the letter & found one of my cousins, messaged her, & was reunited with our family & has made it to the last 2 years of reunions. It's really crazy how it all has finally come together & we have found our long lost uncle that no one really had known anything about!!!

Our family reunion is every year, it's 16 hours away from where we are currently living. It used to be my grandparents & on down, my grandparents passed away & we continued the events, because they would have wanted it & it's a great time for everyone. Due to finances & time away from work we weren't going to be able to make it this year. I had accepted that fact & just hoped we might make it the next year, maybe I could save up. Then my husband got a promotion & needed to be sent to training for work, in the same area as my reunion, the week before the weekend of the reunion! It all just lined up so perfectly. We were able to make the trip after all, & his work paid for a rental/gas instead of his plane ticket, we only had to pay the different if we went over. Worked out all well

When I was 15 I picked the name Ixchel for my acolyte/monk character in IRO with my boyfriend (now husband). I chose her because she was the Mayan goddess of healing & water & I was a healer. At this age I was determined I would never have children, EVER. Over time my boyfriend changed my mind (I realized he would make a wonderful father, & that he really wanted children, & I loved him enough that I couldn't deny him that even if he said I was enough for him), we married, we had children & I became increasingly active in the pregnancy/childbirthing community & couldn't imagine my life without our little ones. The name Ixchel stuck with me as my gamer tag/online name for the years. I even debated when I married & changed my last name changing my first name as well. I search for fertility statuary & find Ixchel listed as Mayan goddess of pregnancy, protector of childbirthing women, & the water/healing. I had never noticed the pregnancy/childbirth aspects of Ixchel before, but now I feel like I'm living it. I will be getting her statue for my home

a girl i went to high school with posted this on my fb today & it really brightened me up when I needed it most. she put it wonderfully.

"you remind me of a butterfly. You have gone through so many beautiful stages of metamorphosis! "

just made my day

Despite some coaxing along we are still going snails pace in progress. But it's fine. While I'd love a loop or knot there is a peace in just letting go & not caring about it. I'm happy just letting my hair fall free & whatever. I've had a couple issues when my 8 month old got her grabby fingers caught in my layers, she pulled out some hair but it seems my sections are all still intact, heck maybe she messed it up more & helped me along (i can hope!) After taking the pictures for 4 months of the back of my head I actually laughed out loud looking at them, & smiled. When starting this journey I thought heck knots form overnight this will be cake, I'll have progress in no time. I worried about the rats nest I'd have overnight & how hard it would be to separate & bead/wrap it. How silly I was At this pace I haven't had to worry about such things, & it's probably just the right pace for me. They know how to form, they know when to form, they will find their own way, in time.

I wash with the http://shop.dreadlockshampoo.com/ lockin liquid nag champa. I love it so much. I also have used the gel on my sections when they are noticeable. I do baking soda washes every once in a while. I have even done a few pastes to try to roughen my hair up & encourage knots. I use sea salt sprays sometimes, or use it in my bs wash. I've used lemon juice to try & lighten my dye job but haven't noticed any difference. I have a tam i've worn a few times, and I wore it to bed for a while, now I just have a wool pillowcase but I'm taking some time off from that to see if it's hindering instead of helping progress.

The beads I have all slip out of my sections so I went to the garage looking for smaller ones, I uncovered a load of hemp thread (YAY WRAPS!) & a couple small beads. I used the beads & lost a bunch of them already, i wrapped a couple sections & plan on wrapping up a few more today. I have enough of the thread to last me a while. I think the beads or wraps kinda helped my sections tighten & stick, no big changes. Maybe if i keep adding them over time it will show.

If you get frustrated with progress, aren't seeing anything one day take some motion photos. It's a new awesome view, even with little progress they seem to turn out pretty great! You'll get some kewl photos & a messy head

Even without the loops & knots I crave I'm enjoying my locks for what they are each day. Despite changing slow they do change daily, my sections tighten a little, or split in half or congo. I haven't separated at all yet, they have been left to work themselves out for now. Most of the sections are very tiny. I'm excited by my little slow changes, & can't wait to see the big milestones when they finally arrive. It's worth the wait. My locks are amazing now, & will be great in time. I love them for all they are & all they aren't yet. They are mine, they are unique, they are lovely