One day...

[DanelleB]

That's how long I have to convince my baby sister not to circumcise her son. Yesterday they found out that the baby that's being born tomorrow isn't the girl they thought they were having, but a boy. I was so relieved that they were having a girl because I thought I'd have more time to ease her into the idea. But now instead of years, I have less than a day. How I give her enough info without overwhelming her, I don't know. Plus, I made the mistake of starting to watch a video (couldn't watch more than a couple seconds of it) and now I'm an emotional mess.

[listipton]

Well, if you're close with your baby sister, I would just flat out tell her how you feel about circ, how you came to that perspective, and that you hope that she will take the time to FULLY research it before she decides. Let her know that it can always be done later, and that you have 4 beautifully intact babes, and that you would have discussed it earlier, but thought you had more time since it was supposed to be a girl. Maybe by postponing it, she'll become comfortable with the idea and never get it done once she sees that having a foreskin is not a defect. Hugs mama.

[DanelleB]

Unfortunately, she and I aren't close. She's actually my half sister (same dad, different moms) and we grew up a good 5 hours away from each other.

That is what I was considering doing--asking her to delay making the decision so she can research it fully (and so I have time to give her plenty of info without overwhelming her). It's just so hard to know how far I can go without offending her (we're just now getting to know each other, so I don't want to hurt our relationship), ya know?

[BlessedMommy2006]

What I would do is simply say, "Oh okay, it's a boy. How exciting! Boys are so much fun! Now just to ask, because I would've hated it if nobody told me while I was pregnant, you know that you don't have to circumcise him, right?"

That way, instead of coming out firmly against circumcision, you are just telling her that she has the choice to do it or not and it is not something that is standard for all boys. She will then make whatever reaction and if she comes out with concerns, she can voice them and you can answer the concerns.

Good luck!

[eepster]

Talk about your own research that you did. This way your not telling her what to do, your just telling a story. Something like:

"Wow, only having one day to prepare for having a boy. When I had my son I spent hours researching circumcision. It was so difficult, I saw a video that had me crying for hours. There were so many myths about it to sort through. If you want I could give you a quick summary of what I found out....

Oh, do you have a cute coming home outfit, or did you just get girl clothes?"

[Night_Nurse]

http://www.circumstitions.com/Itsaboy.html

http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/408/9985.html

http://www.homiegfunk.com/RIC2.htm

http://nocircpa.org/4642.html

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7516627632617# - video of infant circ

Also, if you have sons who are intact, share with her how easy the care is. If you have sons who are circed but feel regret over it, share that too. If nothing else, remind her that there is no rush to circ and it can be done in the doctors office in infancy. She could take the baby home and spend some time fully researching before she decides. If you need an easy opening for the conversation, just say you are a member of an online parenting board and see many moms discuss circumcision regret (there is a multi-page thread here on that) and you know it's a big decision, but not one to be rushed or taken lightly.

Congratulations on your new nephew!