Gray Hair

In our family, I am not the only one with gray hair. Even though I cover mine up every eight weeks or so, I am not alone. And it's not Mike either. He still has a head full of black hair. 

Instead, it is none other than my four year old! 

Say what?

Back in March of this year, when he was still 3, we were at an outdoor birthday party for a friend of ours. I looked down and thought the sunlight was just reflecting off his head. Or that he had white icing stuck in his hair. But upon further examination, I noticed a small area of scattered gray hairs. 

I pointed this out to Mike and a few other people at the party and no one had a clue what to make of it. Over the next several months, the gray hairs increased in number. I performed numerous scalp checks to see if there was anything on his head that could possibly be causing it-- a mole? birthmark? scar? 

Nope. There was nothing that I could see that could possibly be causing it.
So in July, after he turned 4, I asked our pediatrician about it at his well check appointment. 

She too did a thorough scalp exam. She even got out her lap top and googled "large smattering of gray hair" on some fancy private doctor google site. She said she has seen patches of gray hair before, but they have always been linked to something else like a skin disease or even deafness. Lucas' gray hairs are more scattered, not so much a "patch". However, they are contained to only the front part of his head at this time. In the end, our doctor suggested that if we wanted to have him examined by a pediatric dermatologist, he or she might provide some further information. In the mean time, she would continue to research it and as long as he is healthy (he passed his hearing test, fyi) to just keep an eye on it and go from there.  I know it's not life threatening or anything, but is just more of a bizarre occurrence. I hope in the future no one makes fun of him for it- -especially if the gray hairs continue to increase in number. I suppose when he's older, he could always dye his hair if it bothered him that much. Really, I just think it makes him even more unique, and I hope he learns to embrace that about himself.

Because I like him just the way he is. :)

 Can you see the gray? 

You wouldn't believe how many people ask me if he has something in his hair. 

He's learned to say, "It's just my gray hair!"

Yep. He's a keeper. Gray hair and all,

PS-- In my own googling of the issue, I've come across two articles that suggest a vitamin B12 deficiency has been linked to early graying in children. I've started giving him a daily vitamin with 100% B12, so we'll see if this reverses the graying process. It can't hurt I don't think. I'll keep you updated!