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I just wanted to say that we did decide to circumcise and because of the amount of foreskin they left, and the way his body is, WJ will still have to regularly keep it clean and we have to push it back once a day. Basically he was circumcised but we might as well have not done it at all!

If you want him to look like others in the locker room, just leave him be... right now the trend is to NOT circumcise so boys his age will most likely not have it done.

From everything I've heard, it's not a big deal for them to keep it clean (since they'll be used to doing it since they were born).

I'm team circumcision. Everyone I know is, and their children are. I ill without hesitation.

@mrs. wagon: I feel like my son's circ is similar.

I didn't care either way, but my husband did. But now we second guess having it done. I guess the grass is always greener.

But my little brothers were preemie twins and didn't have enough foreskin when they were born so they couldn't circumcise until they were like 3 months old. My parents debated, decided to do it, and to this day say it was one of the worst decisions they made. It was just so more painful and just not worth it in the end.

I agree that the trend is to not circumcise.

What is stressing you out about teaching him to clean it? My DH is not circumcised and the cleaning thing really is a non-issue. You just make sure to pull back the foreskin (I guess...I mean DH does it, not me :)...) I don't think you need to put him through getting it done now. It seems easier to me to read up on how to clean it and make sure you teach him.

We decided not to. Only one friend out of at least a dozen that had their son circumcised.
I don't really think there's much of a difference and the washing I don't really think is a big deal.

If you are still struggling with the decision, it may not hurt to re-address the situation. Each of us have our own ideas about whether or not to circumcise, but you have to figure out what the right decision is for your family and your son specifically. Maybe you and DH can have another in-depth discussion about it and you can consult your pediatrician for his medical opinion. Then you can decide from there.

The only opinion that I'm going to offer is that I think you guys should come to a decision sometime in the near future as opposed to when he is much older, in case you decide to move forward with the surgery. Having to undergo surgery of this nature when you are much older is a lot more traumatizing to the individual I feel. Plus, there are all of the emotional aspects of not being circumcised, wanting to be, and then having to go through surgery to change it. Doing it now kind of circumvents a bit of that and your baby only has to deal with the physical aspects as opposed to physical and emotional. (But, again, this decision is so personal and I know you guys will come to find the right one for your family) Best of luck!

The majority of Euorpe and I think Canada isn't circumcised and I haven't heard of any penis falling off epidemic .

We opted not to circumcise since my DH felt strongly not to. Sometimes I do worry when people talk about locker room stigmas and all, but I hope that because many more kids are not having it done these days, that he won't be in a total minority. My pediatrician did mention pushing it back to clean but she didn't make a big deal out of it and I do'nt anticipate it really being a problem. I figure, this is how their bodes are au naturel.. surely God must have designed it so you're not going to have adverse affects for leaving it that way???

We will definitely circumcise if we have boy.

We decided to have DS circ but DH started having second thoughts after he was born. He talked with my OB about having it done now vs when DS was older and my OB advised to get it done now because it is much more complicated when they get older (like 5y) and it would require DS to be put under anesthesia at that age. My OB also said DS won't remember it because he is so young. I'd suggest doing it sooner than later if you are wanting to have it done.

His penis isn't going to fall off! We had our son circumcised since my husband is. But my nephew is not. He is special needs and while he did have some issues when he was around 6-7 years old it wasn't anything big. He was just learning to bathe on his own and wasn't cleaning properly. He needed some cream to clear things up. It took a little bit but he finally learned how to clean that area on his own.

As others have said, it seems like caring for an uncirc'd part isn't that different from caring for a circ'd one. either way, good hygiene is important! I wouldn't have it done just because you're now worried about infection, etc--as long as he's bathing regularly, I can't imagine it being an issue.

Also, regarding the AAP, their stance didn't really change...they still do not recommend routine circumcision, as there's not medical evidence that having it done is better than not having it done. Their new statement was most likely formulated so it is easier to have circumcision covered by insurance, rather than people having to pay out of pocket.

Hubs and I are currently trying to make a decision about circumcision for our January baby. We are leaning towards not circumcising. I mentioned the whole locker room thing to Hubs and he was not really concerned about it, since "It's not like we actually stand around the locker room and check each other's junk out! We pretty much avoid looking at each other!" I do have the same concerns about cleaning it, but I think we can handle it and I'm sure that it'll just come second nature to baby since we'll be doing it since birth.

I don't think it will be too hard to teach him to keep his penis clean. DH isn't circumcised & I've seen him soap up in the shower; it's no big deal. He said his parents taught him how to wash. He said he was lazy once or twice as a kid & it felt uncomfortable (no infection or anything) so he made sure to do it right.

We didn't circ DS, but I think if you are changing your minds you should talk to your pediatrician & decide quickly. It seems like it'd be more traumatizing as he gets older than to do it when he won't remember.

We had DS circumcised and don't regret it at all. He didn't cry and it healed quickly. It's the norm to circumcise where we're from so it wasn't really a question for us. I do agree with everyone who said to do it sooner rather than later!

We got our LO circumcised and if was no issue, it took a week of so to heal but he was in no pain. We got it done when he was 10 days old because they wouldn't do the surgery until he was released from the NICU

@littlebug: My husband is 35 and still remembers the one dude on their football team that wasn't circumcised so I'd disagree with that :). I think men check out other dudes more than they would like to admit to. It's juvenile but human nature. I do think it's going to be much more common to see uncut men when our kids are teenagers though.

@FutureMrsMcK: If what you're looking for is reassurance that future sexual partners won't be horrified, I can provide that. I've experienced both sorts, and I've never minded either. I'm personally very opposed to non-religious circumcision, and I got lucky finding a husband who feels the same.

And as a note, there are men who wish that they had not been circumcised. I always see talk of men who grew up wishing they had been as a reason to do it, but there are men who've had it and wish they hadn't. I read up on some of their perspectives when I was thinking about it. While in college, I read a paper in a parasitology course about the protective nature of circumcision against HIV transmission, which is very real. It was enough to make me reconsider my stance, but I ultimately decided that it wasn't my choice to make, and that any sons I had could make the choice to do it as adults, if they wished.

@Arden: Well, there you go. That was my single reason to support not religious circumcision. Gone!

I was against having LO circumcised before we had him, but DH was very for it. I asked him to give me some reasons that he felt it needed to be done, other than "so he'll look like me," or "because that's just how my family has always done it." After doing his research and finding no medically necessary reason to have it done - we were able to come to a decision not to circumcise him, but to allow him to revisit the issue in the future if he feels the need.
I have a cousin who actually got circumcised in his 20's because he was having issues, so I'm aware that this can happen - but it wasn't enough of a reason for me to remove a part of my son's body.
Although I don't know yet how I'll teach him to clean it (mostly because I don't have a penis) - I'm sure it will be similar to a great number of other things I don't yet know how to teach him....I'll learn and so will he