Boy Business

So it’s no secret my mommying experience is thus far limited to girls.  With the impending birth of baby #3 (and my feeling it’s a boy…the “he” slip ups have been happening for weeks) comes an ever growing feel of terror.  What exactly do I DO with a boy?  I mean, I know boys shouldn’t be treated differently than girls BUT there are some instances where they have to be.

For instance, with the umbilical cord I was a “if it looks ok, leave it alone” type mommy.  I didn’t excessively clean it (usually only at bath time) all I really did was keep it dry and keep things from rubbing on it.  Does that work for tiny little boy parts too?

And speaking of tiny little boy parts, hubby and I still haven’t decided which way we want to go on circumcision.  He is “leaning” towards doing it and I’m “leaning” away from doing it but neither of us has taken a solid stand yet. Even though we’ve never known the gender of our children before their birthday, we’ve still never made the decision. With Honeybun we didn’t even really discuss it, I guess we figured we’d decide when we needed to.  With Sugarplum I was told at my 38 ½ week appointment that if we wanted to have the baby circumcised we’d have to pay for it before we went to the hospital (even though we didn’t even know what we were having).  Well, my water broke 2 days later and we still hadn’t decided, nor obviously paid for it and luckily we didn’t have to worry about it.

This time if I deliver the baby at home as I’m planning we won’t be able to have it done right away and will have to visit a pediatric surgeon later on.  This is part of my “leaning away” mentality.  Can’t we just wait and see how it goes?  Plus I’m a little bit in the “why provide unnecessary physical harm and discomfort to your newborn?” boat.

I also know that circumcision is not routine in many parts of the world, including Europe.  It is not routinely done in Ireland (or really at all without a religious or medical reason) and I’ve had friends who had to go out of their way to get it done for their sons there.  If most of the other modern cultures don’t do it, why should I?

So…I guess it’s time we finally decide (even though it may possibly not matter yet again) and this is where you come in and can help.  All the research on the internet has not made my opinion any stronger (either for or against).  Will you share your opinions and experiences with us and help us to make this important decision?  You can share at Beyond Mommying’s Facebook page (Circumcision Poll).

2 Comments

  1. Jennifer Curtis May 24, 2013
    • Melissa May 26, 2013