"Me" Time!

Now, I get nervous going to the hairdressers anyway, ask any of my friends and they'll tell you I always find it a nerve-wracking experience. In my quest for the perfect shade, I've been turned peach (I only went in for a touch-up to my blonde-highlights) and had grey streaks (not what I went in for you understand), so I think it's understandable. But throw in the mix having just moved house, thus, trying a new salon out of necessity and leaving the baby behind for the first time and, I can tell you, I was pretty nervous. Yet, it wasn't leaving Charlie that I was most nervous about! Is that wrong? Does that make me a bad mother?

The hair of a relaxed, if slightly guilty, mum!

I'd been settled in the comfy leather armchair at the hairdressers for some time, sipped leisurely on a couple of lattes and casually browsed a few magazines before the question came.

"So, are you missing him then?" asked my new colourist.

Him being my newborn of 8 weeks.

My natural reaction was to laugh and say "no!".

Now, perhaps I was too hasty in my reply or maybe it was that I'd quite clearly scoffed at her question, but the look on her face was one of shock.

"Oh," came her reply and it was all she could muster before putting her head down and returning to the task at hand. Granted, the task was a mammoth one - by this point I'm pretty sure my roots were almost down to my ears - but it left me with a pang of guilt and feeling the need to explain myself.

I desperately tried to back-track in a display of love for my infant with a smattering of jokes thrown in for good measure. I normally laugh at my own jokes more than anyone else at the best of times, so I wasn't expecting a standing ovation. It was too late. The damage was done and I sat there in a scene reminiscent of Bridget Jones' interview at the kids TV channel. You remember:

Interviewer: Do you have any children of your own?

Bridget Jones: Oh, Christ no! Eurgh!

Except I did. I do and, boy do I love him, but it felt so nice to be selfishly indulgent for a few hours.

Anyway, it got me wondering whether I'm the only one and, if I'm not, that by sharing this I might help reduce the guilt of another bedraggled new mum who saw her window of opportunity and seized it!**

And, if you're the mum who's not sure you can leave your infant behind, don't worry. Go out and get your hair done, or whatever else it is that makes you feel like you again. You'll be a far more relaxed mother for it, even if you do fear the hairdressers!

**Buoyed by my success, I grabbed a cancellation at the local beauticians the next day that fitted in with Charlie's feeding, popped him in his pram and took him with me to have my nails done! Not the most conventional, but he slept through it and my hands feel human again!