Terry was born in January 2025, and the first thing everyone noticed wasn’t his tiny hands or eyes, but it was his hair.
(Image: Nicola Spencer)
It was this that inspired his mum to write and publish a book of silly rhymes related to his hair.
Terry’s mum, 33-year-old Nicola Spencer, told the News Shopper: “When my son was born, he was born with a full head of hair.
“And a lot of people said that it’ll fall out or it won’t last, but it just seemed to be getting thicker and thicker.
“As he got older, my partner and I would make up silly little rhymes when we were cuddling him or having story time.
“We’d make up little rhymes about adventures with his hair, and it sort of just became a talking point with his hair.”
Nicola is currently on maternity leave and shared that this fun little hobby could be turned into a book.
She added: “It was an idea, because a couple of people told me it’s a really good way of building up confidence within children.
“So, I looked into Amazon to see if publishing a book was possible.
“I found something called Amazon KDP where you can self-publish books.
“I ended up getting the book published.
“I also used ChatGPT to help create the images because I can’t draw to save my life.
“The pictures go along with the rhymes, so I just put the rhymes into a book and got it published.”
Terry and the Hair That Grew Everywhere is 24 pages long and features a collection of playful rhymes that Nicola and her partner came up with in the early months of parenthood.
Nicola said the rhymes gradually built up over time, as she and her partner would jot down any that stood out during those first few months with Terry.
Although the ideas came naturally during cuddles and story time, it took a couple of weeks to narrow them down to their favourites, which they felt were strong enough to include in the book.
Nicola shared one of the rhymes: “It grew in tails; it grew in swirls.
“It puffed and poofed in loops and twirls.
“Mama brushed, and Papa tried, but Terry’s hair just multiplied.”
Since then, Nicola has written a second book, Terry and the Tangle with the Agawoo, and says she has more stories in the works, including Terry and His Hair Takes on the Fair, though that’s still in the early stages.
Terry has now had his first haircut, but only because his hair was growing over his ears and becoming uncomfortable.
“We took Terry to Turkey, and while we were there, my partner got him a haircut,” Nicola said.
“But Terry’s hair is part of his personality, not just a physical feature.
“Terry still sports the most wonderful little Elvis-style quiff that turns heads wherever we go.”
Reflecting on the journey, Nicola added: “The fact that he really inspired me to do it made it feel special.
“It was just a fun little way to do something extra while on maternity leave, and to create something children could enjoy.”
Terry and the Hair That Grew Everywhere is available to buy now on Amazon.
