[samstress]

new mom to intact son here.

when ds was born, there was no real discussion between dh and i about whether or not to circumcise him. seemed like a no brainer to keep him intact.

now, here we are (ds is 19 days old) and i thought, "is there something i should know about an uncircumcised penis"? so, is there something we should be doing (or not doing) to care for it? this is our first son, i don't have a penis (obviously) and dh is circumcised, so this is all new to us.

also, how important is it to find a intact-friendly pediatrician? a quick scan of the threads here made it appear that many of you have issues with pediatricians who are unfamiliar with intact penises. ds has already had three ped visits and i honestly didn't notice what she did (or did not do) to/with this penis.

TIA

 

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

The number one rule is to never retract (push the skin back) and never allow anyone else to do so. Wash from base to tip and if you use soap rinse really well since soap can be irritating. Be sure to raise the whole penis up off the scrotum and wipe under there since that area can be prone to diaper rash because it is always laying there.

A thread you might want to check out http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=764732 it talks about things you might see and if it is something to worry about or not.

If you can find an intact friendly ped that is great I personally dont have one and it caused issues in the past with them trying to retract ds but I fixed that by not allowing them touch touch his penis any more. It was better than being on guard all the time worried he would be hurt by them.

 

[Dan Bollinger]

Check out the foreskin pages at Circumcision Decision-Maker. It has a lot of information on penis anatomy, how the foreskin develops, and care of the intact penis including washing instructions.