Is this due to him not being circ'ed??

[ainh]

The last two nights I've noticed something new when my five month old son pees. His penis baloons up (nearly to the size of a golf ball) and then the pee comes out normally. He doesn't seem upset by it (no indication of pain), but it looks kind of disturbing.

Anyone else heard of this before? Should I call the pediatrician? Thanks!

[Lula's Mom]

Well, it's sort of caused by him being intact. As in, if you'd had him circumcised, there wouldn't be a foreskin to collect the urine for a few seconds before it comes out. It's called ballooning, just like you described it. It's perfectly normal, not a problem at all! It just means there is space between the penis and the foreskin, but it hasn't separated from the glans yet. That will not happpen for years, most likely. There's no need to call the ped about it.


http://www.cirp.org/library/hygiene/

The separation of the prepuce from the glans penis may occur at any age.7 Separation often starts around age 3-4 but it may not be complete until much later.1 Ballooning of the prepuce while urinating cannot occur until separation is underway. The occurence of ballooning indicates that separation has started.15 Babu et al. have proven that ballooning does not interfere with urination.21 Ballooning is a normal developmental stage and is not a cause for concern and does not require treatment.16 20 A child temporarily may report some discomfort or pain while urinating during this period. This occurs because the ballooning may tear at any residual connection to the glans. The discomfort will stop when separation is complete. The foreskin may still not be retractable at this point because the opening is still narrow. With increased growth and maturity, the ballooning will end when opening of the foreskin widens.

[Lula's Mom]

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

To this should be added that "ballooning" is entirely normal too, though it can be alarming to mothers and others seeing it for the first time. (In fact it is a healthy way for the foreskin to separate from the glans and for the space inside the foreskin to be cleansed.) If the baby is not in pain and the flow of urine is free, there is still nothing to worry about.

At our house we think ballooning is funny.

[Lula's Mom]

Shoot, you know, I missed the part about "the size of a golf ball" in your OP. That's what I get for trying to pop in and out of here.

That's really big. It's bigger than I've ever seen happen to my son. So yeah, there may be something going on that's not normal. Is it at the base of his penis? Is it pyramid shaped? I remember another thread on here where a baby had a rare condition with that symptom. I'll try to search it out.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...hlight=pyramid

[ainh]

Thank you guys! No one we know is uncirc'd, so we don't know what is normal. And of course, when I googled with the word "penis" contained in the search I got to all sorts of crazy fetish sites!!

I'm so glad I thought to ask here...you guys are so quick to respond! Thanks again. And I'm glad to hear it's no cause for concern. It sure did look weird to me, but I was comforted by the fact that my son didn't seem to mind.

[ainh]

Maybe "golf ball" was a little bit of an exaggeration now that I think back to it. But the penis definitely more than doubled in size for a second or two before the pee came out (in a regular stream).

[kldliam]

"Ballooning" can kind of take you off-guard if you don't know about the process of foreskin separation. It is Good News that you're son's foreskin is starting to separate from the glans! A milestone of sorts.

This is the telltale sign that the process has begun and all is normal and well down there. It was a bit of a surprise to me too...but the balloon 'party' ended after the full separation occured- he then became fully retractable at age 2.5.

[Lula's Mom]

Whew! Twice the size is fine, so as long as he's still peeing normally and it's not bothering him, as you said, then you just have normal ballooning.

It's wonderful that you're paving the way for others in your family and circle of friends to leave their sons intact, btw! You've done such a good thing. If you hang around here a while, you'll have all the info you need to reinforce your decision.