so If its a boy,

[amyjeans]

I am due in 1 month- or so and we have no idea what it is. I am asking this question because I have 4 girls. I can handle girls! But.. if its a boy, do I need to "do" anything?
We are not circing for certain and I gather no retraction by anyone- dr or whomever might examine him during any visit, but is there anything I need to do, as far as cleaning, what have you?
this has been on my mind this week and my dh laughs- saying, "I bet you do nothing!"
any advice is welcome. Thanks!

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Your dh is right you really dont do anything. When you change a diaper you just take a wipe and go from base to tip when needed. I had to do it almost every diaper change with ds because where his penis was touching his scrotum would get red and irritated if I didnt.

In the bath same thing wet rage base to tip and rinse with clear water if he has been sitting in soapy.

Couldnt be easier. The scrotum it the PITA to clean with all those tiny wrinkles that grab poo and hang on tight

[Super~Single~Mama]

I'll just add that its even easier if you don't use soap in the bath!

[Drummer's Wife]

Diaper changing/cleaning a baby boy is easier than a baby girl. Since you have plenty of experience with girls, I'd say you'll be just fine.

[MyBoysBlue]

Took a quick look at my links and I found these

Care info for intact boy or girl. (Mothering Thread)
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1071893

Penile hygiene for intact (non-circumcised) males
http://www.cirp.org/library/hygiene/

Protect Your Uncircumcised Son: Expert Medical Advice for Parents
http://mothering.com/health/protect-...advice-parents

Answers to Your Questions about Your Young Son’s Intact Penis
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/4pam.pdf

Only Clean What Is Seen - Reversing the epidemic of forcible foreskin retractions
http://www.kindredcommunity.com/arti...actions/p/1253

The Development of Retractile Foreskin in the Child and Adolescent
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...etraction.html

[TyrantOfTheWeek]

When intact, don't retract. Only clean what is seen.
So, in essence, your hubby is right. And, I would rather change intact boys poop diapers over a little girl's stinky blow out any day.

An infants foreskin won't retract anyway.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

Couldnt be easier. The scrotum it the PITA to clean with all those tiny wrinkles that grab poo and hang on tight

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

Diaper changing/cleaning a baby boy is easier than a baby girl. Since you have plenty of experience with girls, I'd say you'll be just fine.

Sooooo true. The scrotum is the only hard part on a boy, and it's still easier than properly cleaning a little girl.

[Attached2Elijah]

When my son was born... someone on here told me to clean it like you would clean your finger and think nothing more of it. It really IS that easy. I don't clean it anymore (obviously) and he's retractable now... the same rules apply though!

[texmati]

nope. clean like a finger. It's real obvious when you see it, that that you don't have to do anything special. We didn't know to clean underneath his scrotum for the first day-- just new parent sillies. I am worried about having a girl though!

[ElliesMomma]

just watch out for the sneaky OBs if you're having a hospital birth. i requested that my file be marked "no circumcision" -- didn't stop the OB from coming to my bedside at 7 am, following a 1 am delivery, to ask if he could circumcise him.

[opera mom]

I will add that for meconium on the scrotum, a little olive oil helps. That stuff is like tar!

[WaitingForKiddos]

And adding to everything already posted... We LOVE our wipe warmer. Makes getting all those wrinkles so easy!

[~Adorkable~]

And make sure after reading all about intact care yourself that you do whatever needs to be done to make sure other nurses and doctors don't retract your son! There are resources around here to help you edgucate them to, but mostly it's you that needs to guard him, it can happen so fast and even after you have told them no. I'm shocked at how many stories I have read here where this happened.

[Somemyrrh]

I agree with the above. An ER nurse went against my explicit instructions once and retracted my son when we took him in for dehydration due to stomach bug, and tore his skin. Thank God he healed just fine, intact and all. Our pediatrician was po'ed at the nurse (not affiliated with the ped), but told us just to treat him with Vaseline each diaper change, and our son healed well. Given that, you may need to be prepared to get rude with some nurses if you have to go to a hospital, as some still do not understand intact penises.

Only other thing I would add is that whereas you always wipe a girl front to back, you can wipe a boy either direction. Sometimes the scrotum cleans easier back to front.

[erin23kate]

Super-duper easy-peasy. You don't do anything special at all, during diaper changes or in the bathtub. Wipe the poop off, and soak in the tub. =D

On the other side, people who circ have to put ointment on the wound and watch for bleeding/infection, and be worried about re-adhesions, and worry about an open wound in a diaper.

[123]

Everyone here has given good advice. Just wipe it like a finger and don't let anyone but the child himself retract it. And remember to wipe under the scrotum, since poop can hide there.

Actually this was exactly how I felt about a week before my dd was born. I'd had two boys and knew what to do with them, but I felt completely unprepared for diapering a girl. I was afraid I'd miss some poop and she'd end up with infections or something. I bawled my eyes and my dh said he was sure it wouldn't be a problem. (He laughed too, after I was done crying.)

It turns out he was right. No problem. I'm sure that will be the case with you, too.