A mother-of-two who believed babies were born bald was left shocked when her daughter had a thick head of ‘jet black hair’ which was visible at the 34-week scan.
Alexandra Jechorek, 21, from Dublin, Ireland, could not believe her eyes when the midwife pointed out ‘thick jet black hair’ on the screen to the mother-to-be and her partner, Lee Bond, 23.
When baby Maya arrived six weeks later, her mop had flourished even more and was already down past her ears.
And now, a year later, it’s so long it grazes the top of her nappy, and Alexandra spends at least 20 minuts conditioning and brushing her daughters’ locks every day to keep them silky.
One-year-old Maya (pictured at three months) was born with a thick head of jet black hair
The full-time mother, who also has a son, Kadin, said: ‘We’d already found out we were expecting a girl at the previous scan, so at 34 weeks, we were just excited to see how much she’d grown.
‘When the midwife turned the screen around, I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes.
‘There was this tiny little baby on the scan with a full head of hair. I just thought, ‘No way, this cannot be possible’.
She added: ‘To be completely honest, I thought all babies were born bald. My oldest Kadin came out bald, so I just thought that was how babies were when they were born.
‘But once I’d taken in how much hair she had, it made me all the more excited to meet her, because Maya already looked like a proper little person.’
The stay-at-home mother could not believe her eyes when the midwife pointed out ‘thick jet black hair’ on the screen (pictured) to Alexandra and father Lee Bond, 23, at the 34-week scan
Six weeks later, on June 9 2019 after a swift 90 minute labour, Maya was born at The Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital, in Dublin, weighing 8lbs 9oz – and her full head of dark hair caused quite a storm.
Alexandra laughed: ‘As soon as Maya arrived, I couldn’t take my eyes off her hair.
‘I’d been expecting her to have hair because of the scan, but to see this beautiful baby with this thick jet black hair was incredible.
‘It had already grown so long it was down past her ears.
Maya’s incredible mop commands attention everywhere she goes. The youngster already has 300 followers on her Instagram account
Alexandra said everyone complimented Maya’s hair when they went out and were shocked at how young she was
Alexandra has never measured her daughter’s locks, but says that, now one years old, it is so long that it skims the top of her nappy
Maya pictured on her first birthday (left). Alexandra said she had never cut Maya’s hair (right)
‘Even the nurses and the doctors turned to me and said they’d never seen a baby with so much hair in all the time they’d worked at the hospital.’
And soon Maya’s incredible mop was commanding attention everywhere she went.
‘We couldn’t leave the house without someone complimenting Maya on her hair,’ Alexandra said.
‘Lots of people would ask, ‘”How old is she?”. They were shocked when I told them she was only three-months-old with so much hair.’
While Alexandra has never measured her daughter’s locks, she says that, now at one-year-old, it is so long that it skims the top of her nappy.
She said: ‘I’ve never had her hair cut. I think it’s absolutely beautiful and I want her to grow it as long as she wants.’
Alexandra experiments with different styles on Maya (left). Maya has a demanding beauty routine to keep the hair looking its best
With no family history of babies with hair, Alexandra (pictured) says Maya’s amazing mane is a complete fluke
Having such long hair means Maya has already been able to experiment with a host of different styles – which she shows off on her very own Instagram site, where she already has 300 followers.
‘Maya’s really good she always sits still and lets me do her hair,’ said Alexandra.
‘I do it in plaits and sometimes I tie it in a ponytail.
‘I love putting bow clips in her hair. I have different colours, like pink, blue, red and yellow, to match the different outfits that she wears.’
But Maya’s beautiful hair means that, despite her tender age, she has a demanding beauty routine.
Alexandra experiments with Maya’s hair including cute pink bows (pictured) and pigtails
Alexandra shampoos and conditions the hair daily (left). The mother then sprays stay-in conditioner through (right)
‘I shampoo and condition her hair every day,’ said Alexandra.
‘Then I brush it through and spray on some stay-in conditioner and dry it with a towel.
‘It takes about 20 minutes, which is quite a long time considering I’m doing a one- year-old’s hair.’
With her Instagram profile growing, Alexandra now hopes one day to launch Maya as a baby model.
Alexandra believes Maya got her long dark locks from her yet both sides of the family tree show no one with hair like hers
Alexandra now hopes one day to launch Maya as a baby model as her social media following grows
‘People love looking at pictures of Maya – they can’t get enough of her hair,’ she said.
‘I usually post pictures of her different hairstyles or of her playing with Kadin.
‘But the comments are always about how amazing Maya’s hair is.’
With no family history of babies with hair, Alexandra says Maya’s amazing mane is a complete fluke.
She said: ‘I’ve asked around my family and Lee’s to see if anyone else was born with hair like Maya’s, but everyone’s told me no, so it must’ve just been a fluke.
Maya as a newborn left doctors and nurses completely shocked at her luscious head of hair
‘And it’s weird that she has such dark hair, because when Kadin was a baby, he had such fine blond hair.
‘I suppose I’ve got quite dark hair, so she must’ve got that from me, but even so – I certainly didn’t have thick hair until I was much older.
‘While the reason for her luscious locks remains a mystery, I love it and think Maya is really beautiful.’