So what do you do with babies penis?

[femalephish]

It just occured to me that I will have a baby in about 11 weeks. (YIKES!) And since I don't know the baby's gender, (s)he could very well be a boy! (I don't know why I didn't think this through before!) DH is circ'd, so are all of my brothers. (so I can't call my mom) I heard (years ago) that intact boys are fine as long as you 'take care of their penis, hygine wise'. But then I read on here (just in passing) DO NOT RETRACT! and I really don't even know what that means.

So... If my little person come out with a penis, how do I take care of it? I mean, just wash it like DH washes his? I won't accidentally 'retract' or hurt it, will I? That is something you would have to be doing deliberately, right? Or is it? I really have no idea! Where do I even start!

Thanks for any and all info. (Much of this post may be typical third-trimester-pregnant-I'm-not-ready-freak-out, so thanks for indulging me. smile.)

[bubbamummy]

Im from England where id never known anyone to be circ'ed. So to me, it was easy...do....NOTHING

literally, just wipe it over like anyother part of the body, no need to fiddle with skin or pull back the foreskin at all...just...well..nothing. SUPER SUPER easy.

My son is 14 months and has never had any trouble at all. In the bath I just run a sponge over his whole bumbum area...not really paying much attention to the penis at all. As long as I get all the poo off (sorry...it happends sometimes ) we're good to go.

Much easier than girls

[MaryLang]

You don't do anything! That's the beauty of not ciring, no injury to clean up. A baby's penis will not retract anyways. Don't do anything but normal clean up poopy messes just like you would any baby, boy or girl ( in fact its easier than girls!). And yes, you would pretty much have to be deliberately retracting for that to happen.
Retracting is pulling the foreskin away.

[Night_Nurse]

Just wipe the outside of the penis downward (toward tip of penis) just like you would wipe a finger or toe. No need to ever retract or move the foreskin at all. The foreskin is fused to the head of the penis at birth (it will retract on it's own and the age varies - up to teen years for some boys). You never need to try to retract the foreskin and make sure a doctor does not either! After the separation/retraction has occurred naturally, just have your son do the 3 "R's" during bathtime - retract, rinse, replace . It's very simple. We have good "stickies" on intact care and normal separation, etc. at the top of this forum.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

[fruitful womb]

The tip of an infant foreskin is the preputial sphincter. It opens to expell urine (which is sterile) and closes tightly after urination is complete. The bond in between the foreskin (prepuce) and glans is the synechia. Premature retraction will damage the synechia.

Its still bonded to the glans because its still developing. Just as with a kitten's eyes, we're not separating the eye lids. They'll open on their own. Premature separation will cause damage.

Thats why you should only wipe like a finger. Its very simple. Caring for an open circ wound is much more work, by far!

Congratulations on your upcomming arrivial! Hope to hear an anouncemnt in July!

Sorry, Night_Nurse and I posted at the same time. Only she is super fast at responding, lol! I just repeated what she said basically. Hope you don't mind.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Everyone else covered the washing and cleaning so I wont go over that again. But make sure that when he goes to the DR. that you tell the dr/nurse before the diaper even comes loose that they are not to touch his penis in any way. There is nothing under there they need to see not even a tiny bit.

[robertandenith]

since the others already mention doing nothing, you can probably find a foreskin friendly ped for your son!

congrats mama!!! :

[calngavinsmom]

Everyone gave great advice so far, so I just wanted to add this pamphlet as I found it to be very helpful.
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/4pam.pdf

Good luck!
Tara

[PuppyFluffer]

You've gotten all the advice you need so I am going to chime in with a silly observation.

I have two girls, then a boy. I had read here over and over again how much easier boys are to clean than girls. I have to disagree. Boys have squishy stuff! . While girls do have some creases.....at least they stay pretty stationary. All that boy stuff moves around on you!

I have always used a little olive oil on their bottom during the first few days as it keeps the meconium poop from sticking to the skin. If my babe has a particularily messy poopy diaper, I just pop him in the sink and wash him off. He likes to play in the water anyway!

Boys are totally yummy and sweet. I am quite crazy about my little one.

I wish you a wonderful birth and a happy healthy baby. You must come back and let us know what gender you have.

[calngavinsmom]

Originally Posted by PuppyFluffer

I have two girls, then a boy. I had read here over and over again how much easier boys are to clean than girls. I have to disagree. Boys have squishy stuff! . While girls do have some creases.....at least they stay pretty stationary. All that boy stuff moves around on you!

Ah yes, the scrotum. Penis' are easy IMO.....scrotums though, all those wrinkles can be tricky

Take care!
Tara

[haroldpapa]

A bit more facts for baby penis care

Originally Posted by femalephish

It just occured to me that I will have a baby in about 11 weeks. (YIKES!) And since I don't know the baby's gender, (s)he could very well be a boy! (I don't know why I didn't think this through before!) DH is circ'd, so are all of my brothers. (so I can't call my mom) I heard (years ago) that intact boys are fine as long as you 'take care of their penis, hygine wise'. But then I read on here (just in passing) DO NOT RETRACT! and I really don't even know what that means.

So... If my little person come out with a penis, how do I take care of it? I mean, just wash it like DH washes his? I won't accidentally 'retract' or hurt it, will I? That is something you would have to be doing deliberately, right? Or is it? I really have no idea! Where do I even start!

Thanks for any and all info. (Much of this post may be typical third-trimester-pregnant-I'm-not-ready-freak-out, so thanks for indulging me. smile.)

Hey, It seems that no one has filled you in on the fact that the boys may get erections quite frequently and you may notice several of them each day. It is normal for this at all ages. Don't be concerned if it happens at any time. It will happen regardless of temperature or contact. The time for concern is if the erection continues for long duration of time:30 or more minutes. Medical help is advised when the erection persists for an hour. Also do not push down or force the penis to bend during times when it is erect, this can cause pain and possible injury to him. If diaper and other clothing is fre-fitting the penis will not be trapped in any uncomfortable positions. These hints are universal for circed or intact.

[KBecks]

Congrats on the new baby coming soon!!!! Woooo!!!

Really, you can relax. Tell the doctors no circ, you can put a no circ (no reatract / meatus exam) sign on the bassinet. Then you just relax. Wipe your babe clean on the outside with diapers (wipe it like a finger).

That's all you do. Give him a bath once in a while. Tell your pediatrician not to touch his penis, period. Tell them this at the beginning of EVERY exam. This is your right to refuse to give them permission.

When he's a little older he may have separation pain. Come back here with any questions any time, but don't worry, it's not difficult at all!!!! Picking a great name is a lot harder than taking care of little boy parts.

Again, woo on the baby!!!! I hope you have a wonderful birth experience and babymoon with your new son or daughter!!!!

[Yulia_R]

Just wipe/wash from outside like a finger. Never pull the foreskin back, not even a little bit (this is what is called retraction). Make sure everybody who has accsess to your son's penis (doctors, nurses, babysitters, relatives, etc) is warned about no retraction.

Make sure you read this thread:

A Warning For Parents of Intact Sons
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1050941

[eepster]

Everybody has given you fine advice about what to do and not do, but I'd like to clear up the confusion with an explanation of the history.

During victorian times, circumcision was introduced to prevent masturbation. By the babyboom it had become very popular. Also around this time our world was becoming more sterile and nature was being concured. In the '50s people felt that anything natural was inferior to anything science created.

At this point people believed that all germs on the human body should be eliminated. Women routinely douched (washing out the vagina with nasty stuff.) The male counter part was to retract his foreskin and scrub it clean. Though baby boys foreskins were fused, it was advised that those attachment be broken and the penis be treated like an adults and scrubbed.

By the '80s very few women douched anymore since they had learned from experience that it was bad, and caused problems instead of preventing them. However, since by this time almost all US baby boys were being circ'd there was little first hand experience happening to cause people to realize the damage caused by retracting babies. So the myth that it is necessary persisted.

Today the myth is held to by some, particularly those who chose to circ based on it, and those who have no actual experience with intact penises. It is also sometimes pushed by those who will profit from the circ that become "necessary" when the child gets infections, phimosis, etc from being repeatedly prematurely retracted. So, it is likely that someone at some point is going to tell you to retract, or try to do it themselves.

[MLA]

Good info so far. Just one bit of practical advice . . . Make sure when you put his diaper on that his penis is pointing down towards his feet. If you put his diaper on w/it pointing towards his head, he'll end up peeing up towards his head, and you'll almost definitely have lots of leaking.

[Christine_T]

Here is a good page to look at:
Normal development of foreskin:
http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/

There is nothing to do. Just don't pull the foreskin back. It takes care of itself.
I guess one reason that circumcisions still go on in the USA is because many people do not know that no care is required for an intact boy.

[emamum]

Originally Posted by MLA

Good info so far. Just one bit of practical advice . . . Make sure when you put his diaper on that his penis is pointing down towards his feet. If you put his diaper on w/it pointing towards his head, he'll end up peeing up towards his head, and you'll almost definitely have lots of leaking.

thats what i was gunna say...


i have a boy and a girl... boys are much easier to clean.. everything on th outside.... girls have inside places for poo to go!

[ColoradoMama]

Originally Posted by emamum

i have a boy and a girl... boys are much easier to clean.. everything on th outside.... girls have inside places for poo to go!

Totally disagree with that - like someone said before - girls parts stay in place! Boys have lots of stuff to clean around - and when they get older, boy do they like to play with it any chance they get! That includes when it's covered in poop.

Good luck on your new little one! As a mother of two intact boys, I have to agree with everyone who has said - no extra care needed.

[PuppyFluffer]

Yes, the squooshy factor makes boy "gear" harder to clean I think! But really, how hard is it to change a diaper! I just sit them in the sink and wash off if it's really messy!

[PuppyFluffer]

OT
coloradomama, those kids in your sig are pretty darn cute!