Ugh, I know you all will understand this one, lol

[Sydnee]

Seriously, by the way some of my friends react to me, you would think I'm some sort of a super freak that does horrible things to my children. : My best friend and I have been friends since 7th grade. Lover her to death, but our views are sooooooooooooooo opposite. This morning she stopped over, (she is due in march) and we were talking about having a boy, we both think we are. So I asked if she was going to circ, and of course she was like, "YES! Who WOULDN'T circ?????" Um, me. She looked at me like I was psychotic. I asked what the purpouse of circ'ing was, and she said, "yuck, I wouldn't want to clean it like that!!!" And then also told me how men who are circ'ed have less sexual stimulation. Sigh, I politely told her how wrong she was, went into the whole speech thing. It's frustrating. Hubby's family is very different from what I believe. Noone breastfed any of their kids, so that was real interesting when I breastfed. I don't know, I just feel that noone understands me, kwim?? I am fortunate that my brother's wife feels the same way about alot of things as I do, however, they live 3 hours away.

Anyway, sorry about the vent..

[Brinda]

She's probably never even thought about that before, being of the mainstream, now that you've opened the door, maybe she can research some more.

[skylahaley]

none of my friends understand why i didn't circumcise my ds either. but, the real biggie they have the most problem with is why the heck would i still be bf'ing a 2 year old! just wait and see her reaction if you decide to extended nurse! LOL!

i think you are making a great choice and hopefully you opened up her eyes a little!

[maybebaby]

Omgosh, YES! I know how you feel...

Everything from homebirthing, not circing, extended bf'ing, co sleeping, homeschooling, not spanking...we're viewed at utter freaks by friends and family I think they're starting to "get it" but they still don't agree with our methods.

And I'd be fine if it was just "we don't agree with you, but whatever works for your family" but it's not. They seem to want to convert us to their way of thinking. And we've felt a bit left out of the family loop, as if they see us as outcasts or something.

So I'm sorry you got that reaction...but you might get more of the same over the years

Really cool that you continued that discussion about circ'ing with her, it would be great if she'd start thinking about the pros and cons.

[brackin]

Funny...I had the SAME discussion re: circ with one of my oldest friends, just last week. She also thinks DD nursing at age 3 is ridiculous...and spent a lot of time trying to convince me to give it up!

DH's family also thinks we're a little nuts, and I'm sure they'll freak out if this baby is a boy, when they find out we won't circ.

Here is my problem with friends who are so different: it seems like when they tell me how crazy I am, all I can do is listen. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I feel like that if I come back with statistics and facts about EBF, circ, etc, it would have to make them feel awful about the way they've done it...kwim? So, I just listen, smile, and continue what I'm doing. However, that is NOT what I do with DH's family. They deserve the full story, even if they disagree.

[BabyHoosier]

Well, with Emily we had decided not to circ if she was a boy...but I'll tell you what, if this one ends up being a boy, my friends and I will probably end up having the same discussion!

[NYCVeg]

Originally Posted by BabyHoosier

Well, with Emily we had decided not to circ if she was a boy...but I'll tell you what, if this one ends up being a boy, my friends and I will probably end up having the same discussion!

Just say, "Well, we didn't circ our daughter, and we want them to match."*

(*Since people seem to get so hung up on their ds "looking like" his dad.)

I can't wait until my parent's best friend--a loud, opinionated, aggressive OB--hears that dh and I are having an out-of-hospital birth with a midwife. I seriously think his head is going to spin off.