Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the finding a partner discussion of this, my aunt had my uncle get circumcised and he was in his 40's. That is cringeworthy to me and wish I didn't know about this. So, sometimes a partner does care.

I would suspect that is due to sheer ignorance. We have had several decades where circ was the norm, so it is to be expected that there existed a contingent of women who honestly did not know any better. Our sons today are growing up in a completely different situation. Today, we have many people from other countries (where circumcision is not practiced) living amongst us, even in middle-upper class neighborhoods. Today, we travel frequently to other parts of the country and world. Today, we have the internet to connect us instantly with people of different cultures. Our children - sons and daughters - will have much greater exposure to normal penises. All of these things are gradually helping us to understand, as a society, that circumcision is unnecessary and harmful. Over the past decade the circumcision rate has dropped dramatically in this country, and in some areas of the US it is now much more common to be uncircumcised. I expect that over the next ten years, we will see our rates fall more in line with Canada's, where now only 5-10% of boys are circumcised. Of course the Jewish will still be circumcised, and their right to do so should always be protected and honored until (if ever) they choose differently.

Even a lot of Jewish people are opting out. Unless they keep kosher and practice faithfully, I don't see why it's necessary. People cling to that tradition while rejecting so many others like women shaving their heads and taking ritual baths. I was raised Jewish but not kosher or particularly religious and I did not circumcise DS.

That is really refreshing to hear. Do you think that is starting to spread through the groups of "culturally Jewish" folks? Or are you a complete anomaly?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS#1 -- not circumcised. Huge adhesions from age 6 months to 4. Many doctors consulted with varying ideas of what to do. We finally had him circumcised at age 4 and no problems since. It was not traumatic for him.

DS#2 -- circumcised at birth due to brother's issues. Adhesions.

I don't know the right answer but I feel like a lot of my life has been spent worrying about penises.

How did you know DS#1 had adhesions?

Our ped tried to retracted it at his 6 month check up and couldn't. From what we learned adhesions are pretty normal but his were rather large. When he would get an erection (sorry, is it really an erection in a baby?!?!) it would be very painful for him. We got a lot of conflicting information, retract and lube or just leave it alone. Neither one really worked for him and as he got older is became very apparent that his penis was painful for him a lot of the time. He wouldn't want anyone to touch it, changing diapers would freak him out, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the finding a partner discussion of this, my aunt had my uncle get circumcised and he was in his 40's. That is cringeworthy to me and wish I didn't know about this. So, sometimes a partner does care.

I would suspect that is due to sheer ignorance. We have had several decades where circ was the norm, so it is to be expected that there existed a contingent of women who honestly did not know any better. Our sons today are growing up in a completely different situation. Today, we have many people from other countries (where circumcision is not practiced) living amongst us, even in middle-upper class neighborhoods. Today, we travel frequently to other parts of the country and world. Today, we have the internet to connect us instantly with people of different cultures. Our children - sons and daughters - will have much greater exposure to normal penises. All of these things are gradually helping us to understand, as a society, that circumcision is unnecessary and harmful. Over the past decade the circumcision rate has dropped dramatically in this country, and in some areas of the US it is now much more common to be uncircumcised. I expect that over the next ten years, we will see our rates fall more in line with Canada's, where now only 5-10% of boys are circumcised. Of course the Jewish will still be circumcised, and their right to do so should always be protected and honored until (if ever) they choose differently.

Even a lot of Jewish people are opting out. Unless they keep kosher and practice faithfully, I don't see why it's necessary. People cling to that tradition while rejecting so many others like women shaving their heads and taking ritual baths. I was raised Jewish but not kosher or particularly religious and I did not circumcise DS.

That is really refreshing to hear. Do you think that is starting to spread through the groups of "culturally Jewish" folks? Or are you a complete anomaly?

Anonymous wrote:we had our first circumsized after we were told that his not being circumsized lead to the UTI that kept him in the NICU another 2 weeks. He had complications and lost nearly 1/3 of his blood requiring a blood transfusion. Thankfully there are no long term issues, but I will definitely veto circumsizing if I have another boy.

Anonymous wrote:We have decided that we are not circumcising our son, but we have no experience how to wash and handle him after birth.

Have any of you gotten any advice on what to read or should the pediatrician be the best resource for this?

We are interviewing pediatricians soon and that will be one of the first questions to ask. Any feedback is welcome.

Thanks.

Anonymous wrote:Don't mean to hijack the thread...but honestly, what is the reason that people opt for circumcision if there are no religious reasons? I was born in Europe and no one circumcises their children there unless it serves religious purposes. I was shocked to learn that the majority of men in the US are circumcised regardless of religion.

cuzimawesome wrote:didn't circ my second son and it was the easiest transition ever when we got home from the hospital. my first son was circed, and on top of being a new mom, i had to worry about taking care of his poor mutilated little penis. after that i promised myself that if i had another son, i WOULD NOT circ. so yeah.... no circ this time and no problems and so so easy to take care of. i don't even think about it, actually.

Anonymous wrote:My son was circumcised, but not well (the foreskin was left too long -- my ped analogized it to a turtleneck that should stop at your chin but goes up to your eyes) and we have had a lot of issues with adhesions and yeast infections. Now that he is almost 2 it seems to be getting better, but the first 2 years have been very difficult -- painful for him and not very pleasant for us. I imagine it's similar to what we would have gone through had he not been circumcised at all. My sister had the same issues with her youngest son, although his issues persist and he is almost 5.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we had our first circumsized after we were told that his not being circumsized lead to the UTI that kept him in the NICU another 2 weeks. He had complications and lost nearly 1/3 of his blood requiring a blood transfusion. Thankfully there are no long term issues, but I will definitely veto circumsizing if I have another boy.

I'm sorry! Poor baby and such awful advice from the doctors! I'm the PP whose son had a UTI and was given the same advice. It makes me so mad- anyone can get a UTI and often they are misdiagnosed in babies because it is so difficult to get a clean urine sample from a catheter. My baby was only two months old and the docs really pushed me to circumcise him too. Luckily, my in-laws are European doctors and they told me it was unnecessary.