How to avoid having a ginger baby

I know this probably sounds HORRIBLE, but I have to think I'm not the only one who's had this thought. I fear having a ginger baby. It's just something about red heads that turn me off. My best friend married a ginger and their young daughter is a ginger, and though I love the little girl to death, I can't get over the "ugh" feeling of the light skin and freckles. Once I got pregnant, now I worry my child will come out the same way! I'm a natural blonde and my husband's a brunette. His sister is a strawberry blonde, but there is no other red in either one of our families. Do I really run the risk?

Table of Contents Show

People will comment on their red hair constantly
Sun protection is no joke with redheads
That stereotype about red heads having fiery tempers is a stereotype for a reason
If you don’t have red hair yourself, everyone wants to know where your red head baby came from
Dressing a red head baby is a little harder
You will NEVER get tired of having a red-haired child
If you liked this post about having a red head baby, you might also like these posts:
What causes a ginger baby?
What are the odds of having a ginger baby?
What hair Colours make a ginger baby?
Can 2 brunettes have a red haired baby?

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?

If you liked this post about having a red head baby, you might also like these posts:

6 surprising things about being a girl mom
My favorite places to buy dresses for my girls
My favorite sources for hair bows

What causes a ginger baby?

In order to be a redhead, a baby needs two copies of the red hair gene (a mutation of the MC1R gene) because it is recessive. This means if neither parent is ginger, they both need to carry the gene and pass it on — and even then they will have just a 25% chance of the child turning out to be a redhead.

What are the odds of having a ginger baby?

Jim Wilson, chief scientist at BritainsDNA, as quoted in the Huffington Post. The gene for red hair is recessive, so a person needs two copies of that gene for it to show up or be expressed. That means even if both parents carry the gene, just one in four of their children are likely to turn out to be a redhead.

What hair Colours make a ginger baby?

Putting it all together you get:.

Brown DNA + brown DNA = brown hair..

Brown DNA + red DNA = brown hair..

Brown DNA + blonde DNA = brown hair..

Blonde DNA + blonde DNA = blonde hair..

Red DNA + red DNA = red hair..

Red DNA + blonde DNA = strawberry blonde hair..

Can 2 brunettes have a red haired baby?

If two parents have any redhead genes, they can have a redhead child even if they both have dark hair. You may have met a redheaded kid with flaming red hair and freckles on his nose whose parents have dark or brown hair, without a hint of red.