Little boy parts

[Adaline'sMama]

Ok, its been awhile since I've posted in this forum and I just miss it so much and I finally have a question!


Im expecting a little boy (!!!) in Feb and I have 4 sisters and a 18 month old girl. I've never dealt with a penis. We arent circing, and I know a lot about that, and caring for (or not caring for) uncircumcised boys, but what I dont know is:

Can I cloth diaper a boy the same way as a girl? We fold the prefold into thirds and flip up the front so its doubled.

If I leave him naked with just a cloth diaper under him, will his pee go straight up and all over me?

So I need one of those plastic tents that goes on the penis for diaper changes or are those just gag gifts?

What about diaper rash cream? If I put rash cream on will it go up into the area of the penis that im not supposed to retract?

What about baths? Does soapy water burn or hurt like it does little girls?

I asked DH these questions, and he basically told me that he has no recollection of being a newborn, so Id need to ask someone else. TIA!!

[insidevoice]

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama 

Ok, its been awhile since I've posted in this forum and I just miss it so much and I finally have a question!


Im expecting a little boy (!!!) in Feb and I have 4 sisters and a 18 month old girl. I've never dealt with a penis. We arent circing, and I know a lot about that, and caring for (or not caring for) uncircumcised boys, but what I dont know is:

Aww- I had the same worries when I found out my three year old was going to be a boy.  Turns out that it's actually easier in some ways. :)

Can I cloth diaper a boy the same way as a girl? We fold the prefold into thirds and flip up the front so its doubled.

Yep- the additional padding in the front works wonders. 

If I leave him naked with just a cloth diaper under him, will his pee go straight up and all over me?
Depends on the kid.  I've never really had this happen with my little guys- but  if I worried, tossing a prefold over them would be fine. 

So I need one of those plastic tents that goes on the penis for diaper changes or are those just gag gifts?

I hear some people like them.. personally, I just put another diaper on.  It really was a non-issue.  

What about diaper rash cream? If I put rash cream on will it go up into the area of the penis that im not supposed to retract?

Nah- and even if it did creep in, it would come out with normal cleaning- no retraction worries.  Just wash as usual. 

What about baths? Does soapy water burn or hurt like it does little girls?

Sensitive skin is sensitive skin- just use fairly mild cleansers on the whole baby.  No more or less concern really. 

 

[lifeguard]

I've asked my dh SOOOOO many questions over the past (almost) 3 years about penises!!!

I folded diapers exactly as you are describing.

With my ds when I gave him naked time the pee would just run down his leg - not once did it spray up. I'm not sure if it is because he is intact (dh described it as putting a blanket over the end of a hose) or just individual anatomy. I definitely find the teepees to be a funny thing!

We rarely used diaper cream but it never seemed to enter the end of his foreskin.

I agree that sensitive skin is probably more to do with this. We don't use a lot of soaps overall so it's never been an issue for us.

[WaitingForKiddos]

Congratulations and woot woot for keeping your little guy intact!!! 



Cloth diapering will be just like it was with your girls. The only fold I found didn't work was the angle wing fold. DS's penis would just hang right out the side opening.  DS did pee as I changed him sometimes and it went up and over and all over him. It wasn't really a big deal. He was spitting up around then and was tiny so he'd generally be ready for a non-pukey shirt by then anyway. He stopped peeing between changes at around 6 months old. I really slathered the diaper cream sometimes and it never got into his foreskin. Even if it did though, he'd pee and rinse it out. No biggie.

It's been my experience that because DS has a foreskin his penis isn't as irritated by soaps as little girls/circumcised boys are. Then again, we typically use really gentle soaps.

[ZakareyasMama]

I think the teepee things would come off with the force of the spray. We just put a cloth wipe over him as soon as the diaper comes off. He has peed on his face several times when I wasn't fast enough. I can handle it on me or the wall, but I don't want it on him! 

Congrats!

 

[samstress]

i grew up in a house full of women and my first child was a girl.  however, i'm now the proud mama of an intact 4-month-old boy.  so far, i've done nothing different with him than i did with dd.  as for the pee-pee tee-pees, it's funny, i've given them as gifts, but don't have any myself.  i just toss a prefold over him.  he's at the point where he now kicks it off.  when i change him immediately, it isn't a problem, but on a few occasions when i've left him uncovered, he has peed on the carpet.  no big deal, i just blot it up with a prefold. 

[~Adorkable~]

i have a boy /girl twin set and i can say for me the boy is definitely easier to take care of in this respect

If I leave him naked with just a cloth diaper under him, will his pee go straight up and all over me?

my little boy can pee pretty far! Im not sure if i would have naked time with him unless i was willing to deal with that. now face down is fine if that is what you are talking about

So I need one of those plastic tents that goes on the penis for diaper changes or are those just gag gifts?

i did need something, but a stack of small this washcloths stacked in the changing area have always works perfectly, one always went over him in the early days, could use the same one for a good while till it got "hit" im faster now and can tell his signals better, haven't used a cloth at home in a good while , but still will use it if he happens to have on a great outfit and we are about to head out, anytime a spray down would be a huge bummer.

What about diaper rash cream? If I put rash cream on will it go up into the area of the penis that im not supposed to retract?

never been too careful about it, never had a problem, the end of his foreskin is closed very tight when he is not peeing, you can actually watch it open right before he goes, pretty neat design

What about baths? Does soapy water burn or hurt like it does little girls?

i would not want to get soap right in the opening, but i also avoided soap in general in the beginning, about the same as girls but you are protecting a tiny spot rather than a larger area

[Friday13th]

I think everyone else covered your questions but I just wanted to add, make sure his penis is pointed down and centered when you put the diaper on. The down I got but DS2's penis tended to point out and for the first week of his life he peed right out the side of every diaper and cover I put on him and I couldn't figure it out. And it was my second boy.

Also, neither one of mine really sprayed pee and I never bothered covering them with anything while changing dipes.

[Adaline'sMama]

Thanks everyone! This really helps me out. I was nervous about the diaper thing. We never really use soap as babies anyway, but I know my vulva burned in soapy water until I was 10 or so, and I wonder if its the same for boys. Also, DH still has a question. Dh says yes, I say it doesnt seem like it would be the case but, do baby boys get erections? If so, and you are changing a diaper, do you still make sure its down and centered or would that hurt them?

[samstress]

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama 

 Also, DH still has a question. Dh says yes, I say it doesnt seem like it would be the case but, do baby boys get erections? If so, and you are changing a diaper, do you still make sure its down and centered or would that hurt them?

they sure do (apparently they start getting them while still in the womb).  ds gets them pretty frequently during diaper changes.  usually i leave him bare for a few minutes during changes just to air out a bit (i guess), so they're gone by the time i put a clean diaper on him.  it's funny because every time i see it, my mind just automatically thinks he's ready to urinate (which is ridiculous because men don't get erections when they pee). 

[lifeguard]

They definitely do get erections. I didn't find ds often had them during diaper changes though so it was rarely an issue. When he did I just waited until it relaxed & then rediapered - it just seemed like it would be uncomfortable for him if I pushed it down into a diaper.

[2xy]

I have two boys. Yes, they can pee on you, fountain-style, if you leave them uncovered and on their backs. DS1 got a stream of pee in his eye when he was 4yo and watching me diaper his brother. My boys weren't particularly sensitive to being undressed; I know some babies seem to pee nearly every time their diapers come off. Mine only did it once in a while.

Yep, always point the penis down when putting on a diaper, or the urine will just come out the top or the sides. Baby erections tend to go away pretty quickly.

My DS1 got a UTI when he was 4 or 5 that was probably caused by bubble baths. So, although he never complained that soapy water hurt him, it was apparently irritating his urethra. Both of my sons are intact and that's the only genital problem either has ever had, and they are 19 and 16yo.

[Peony]

DS1 frequently still gets erections during diaper changes, DS2 hasn't yet. A little unsettling at first! I just wait for it to go down and then finish what I was doing. I also came a family of girls/women, my maternal side had no boy children in 4+ generations, and I had 2 girls followed by 2 boys so for 6 years of parenting for me, boys were a foreign concept! 

[Baby_Cakes]

Def point the penis down!  I learned that the hard way. 

I asked DH if baby's get erections and he said no!  Ha!  I'm going to tell him that's not true.  I knew what I was seeing!  LOL!