Were You Present During Your Son's Circumcision?

@ rmt.... thank you very much as I clearly stated my son's procedure was done 11 years ago and information does change. So I googled it and the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS published two studies and both studies showed it was beneficial.

I wasn't in the room...I made hubby do it. But I could hear it from down the hall and honestly it was heartbreaking. I think the recovery was even worse. Having to change the gauze and all that was just traumatizing for me. However, my brother had his son circumsized and they used the ring method which apparently is better in terms of after care and recovery. He didn't even cry. So, I think it varies with each experience.

OMG @rmt do you ever give it up? You literally only comment on circ posts. Someone's a little cooooky ?

Rmt is on an anti circumcision mission. Just go look at her other posts lol.

My son slept through the whole procedure and didn't even flinch. Nor did he when we cleaned or bathed him. People make it out to be hell on them. 2 going on 3 boys and will be doing the same. :)

Btw the "sugar water" they give the babies actually does nothing as a pain reliever. If you do decide to have this done, make sure they use adequate pain relief. Often none is used, that's why they won't let the parents be present during the surgery.

It's completely unnecessary! Intact boys are so easy to care for, just wipe down and don't retract! Thewholenetwork.org is really helpful

My son had it done at 7 days old. I wasn't in the room but the doctor told me that he peed on her after she finished...lol.

The first day he cried when I opened the diaper. The second and third day he didn't cry but it still looked horrible. After that he was good. It took about 7 days to heal. I used the neosporin on him.

I think it has to do with how the doc is what his technique is and how his bedside manner is. My son is almost 11 and when his was done they offered to give him some sugar water, it kind of acted like a pain killer for him. So we said yes just to give the added comfort. But like I said that was 11 years ago so they may not offer that now.

My son is and it was actually don't in my recover room the day we left they numbed him with shots down there and no crying after healed up really quick and no worries or complications about it. It's a quick process but a little heartbreaking my son is now 4 years old in less than a month

I had my little man done... I was not in the room and by the time he was back in the room which was a out twenty min later he was not crying anymore.

It only took about a week to heal and healed fabulously

They took my nephew out of the room. He was about half way down the hall and we heard horrible screams like he was being murdered.... Turns out the binky fell out of his mouth and they strapped him down. He came back calm as ever.... He's just over dramatic.

Most hospitals don't allow other people in the room. Just baby and probably not even a parent.

Thank you so much ladies I really appreciate all of your advice and experiences!

My husband was in the room, and describes it just like @blaw does. Baby didn't even wake up.

Both of mine are, healing wasn't bad as long as you keep the cream on so his thing doesn't stick to the diaper. I never had any issues. If this one is another boy he will be as well

Wow 10 likes for the "do you think he will resent me comment" and my answer is I hope not because the decision I make for my son is out of love and the fact I realize now that I don't think baby boys or girls or born to be cut on for cosmetic reasons . It is becoming more and more common for boys to be uncircumcised so I think he will be normal . In the beginning of my pregnancy I had hoped for a girl so I wouldn't have to make this decision again because I didn't want him to look "different" but I def didn't want to take my sweet baby I'm planning to birth peacefully at home to have cosmetic surgery at days old . If a girl gets an infection you give them antibiotics if a boy could possibly get one we cut off genital skin ? And people will be different and judge you all your life . I'm not going to go cutting on myself or anyone else to shield them from being "different" for cosmetic reasons . If anything I worry more if my oldest ever asks why I let them do that to him and I have to say I made the choice out of ignorance . Again these are only my feelings and like I said I will have one circd and one not so I am not judging anyone else's decision for their family . It is a very personal one and I don't think bad of anyone for either decision .

Edit : also missdana we as moms are our baby's only advocates at that age they can't make decisions of defend themselves so no no it's not funny in the least bit if moms feel guilt or traumatized by what happened to their baby even if the baby while under meds or not didn't seem to have a problem with it . If it feels wrong in one moms heart it may feel wrong in another and that's someone's experience . Some moms felt no issues with it what so ever and that's their experience .

Edit : Mel If my husband and I have decided this is what were doing and it's not harmful in anyway what concern is it of yours if I'm resented or not ? You could never subject your imaginary second son you don't yet have to being different ? Fine then don't and I won't judge you for circumcising again . As parents there are far worse things to be resented for . I'm doing my very best everyday to be a great mom just the same as everyone else and I think my boys will see that .

I was in the room but they had me sit down so I couldn't see it done. I guess they have had some parents faint.

He screamed while getting numbed which made me feel horrible but fell asleep for the rest. My LO had no complications with his. He healed fast and properly. I wanna say it took a week for him to fully heal. I would use the Petroleum jelly that they gave me with every diaper change so it wouldn't get stuck to the diaper. It can cause them a lot of pain when/if it gets stuck.

I wasn't in the room, it wasn't an option for us. My son was freaking out (he didn't like being held by anyone except me and husband), so it made the whole experience so damn stressful. He healed up nicely and we also used vasoline to lubricate him during diaper changes. Just make sure that his penis does not adhere (there should be a little rim around the head) otherwise they'll have to physically separate it at the doctor's office. Happened to us, but we caught it before it got bad. I swear they don't tell you any of this, you just have to find out the hard way.

They did my son's right in the room with me. Usually they wouldn't do that but my boyfriend was at work and they wanted somebody to be there with him and I had a c section and wasn't walking yet so they did it in my room. It turned out great!

I will add that, since we were paying out of pocket anyway, I did extensive research on the doctor who performed their circumcision. I went with a doctor who specializes in circumcisions. He even does adult circumcisions. He had amazing reviews, no complaints. He was worth every penny.

I was unfortunately present in the room ..... Worst experience of my life, he WAS strapped down, we did the plastibel and there was still some cutting. He cried the whole time and I KNEW exactly when it hurt because he screamed so loud and held his breath for what it seem like an eternity .... I wanted to die and I was immediately filled with regret!!! I was coerced by DH because HE wanted it done. Healing was ok and the ring fell off after about 5 days, he was in pain for a few hours but Tylenol helped. If you are 200% sure about going through with it I would not recommend you stay in the room. The procedure was $456

But if I ever have another boy I would absolutely NOT be having him circumcised.

my son was circumsized at 1 day old i let his dad decide on that. neither of us were in the room. he came back peaceful. there is a string on the penis and you have to put Vaseline on the inside of the diaper until the string falls off. it fell off around the same time as his belly button.

Yes I was. He cried but the doctor was experienced, fast and it was well executed. He was 3 days old.

I should clarify that I'm not against circumcision at all. I think it's a personal choice. I had a bad experience and feel seriously guilty for my son now. I won't do it again but it's cool that others do.

@Mel and Genty, my best guy friend (other than DH of course) is circumcised, his mom was 16 or 17 when she had him and she had a HORRIBLE time with it, they had to do it when he was about two months old because he was a preemie and had to have a surgery at birth so they waited until he was sent home to do it. When she got home from the hospital she said it had bled so much that it went through his diaper, clothes and was on the car seat, they had to turn around and take him to the ER. The healing process was horrible as well, I believe she told me it took over two months for it to heal properly and she had to go back to the hospital another time and two doctors visits for it. So a year later when she had their second son, she didn't want to go through everything she went through the first time again so she didn't get his done. She also went on to have another son 7ish years later and he's circumcised, the middle son has never had any problems with it and has no resentment because he's different than the rest of the family.

I should also add that I'm sure my friends reasons for the circumcision complications had to do with the fact that he was born premature and not only was he premature but he wasn't born a healthy preemie. Also, no I don't have a boy and haven't experienced a circumcision but I wanted to throw my friends' experience out there for the PPs.

I wasn't in the room with either of my boys but they were both cooing when they were brought back to me.

Mel coming from someone in rachie's position, no it doesn't make him feel weird. We tell him we left him the way he was born so he could make that decision. I have had nothing but problems with my oldest who was circumcised and I honestly didn't do any research when it came to him, I just thought that's what you did. My husband wishes he was intact and did not want to do that for our son. Resent her later? I highly doubt he will resent her and find that a little rude. Who is walking around comparing penises? While we don't make nudity a bad thing in our house, none of the three people with penises are comparing. My oldest asked why his little brother's looked different from his and I was honest with him and apologized for the decision I made that had negative effects on his body. If I have to worry about anyone resenting me it's him and I don't blame him.

I think it's amusing that the majority of the moms that circumcised their sons are saying that it didn't seem to be bad at all for the babies but the moms that are against it/haven't done it are talking about how horrible and traumatic it is. Funny how that works.

Pp that sucks. I wouldn't have done it with an unknown doctor.

It was awful:( if I have another son we won't do it again. My husband went with him and said that it was bad. Lots of.blood and screaming. They came back to the room and screamed...and screamed...and screamed. I sobbed right a long with him. He was 10 days old and they supposedly numbed him first. Then for the rest of the first day and second he'd scream every time he moved or wet his diaper. He's 4 months now and still dealing with some issues from it. Never again. It disturbed both of us enough to not want to circ again ever. I do believe though that if our regular pediatrician had not taken a leave of absence a few days before which caused us to use a pediatrician we'd never seen it would have been a lot better. I think the pedi we saw didn't do it correctly. Our normal pediatrician was displeased with the results as well.

My son was circumcised. 0 infection or crying. Didn't seem to bother him at all during the healing process either, which lasted about a week. We weren't in the room for it. Insurance covered it also

@mel, I was thinking the same thing!

My little toots was circumcised. I was def not in there and I won't be this time around. If you guys really want it done, u don't have to be in the room.

I wasn't in the room but df was. He cried for a few seconds then stopped. He cried more right after he was born lol The healing process was quick and never seemed to bother him. We got a tube of Vaseline and put some on at every change. Less than a week he was fine. We're having a boy this time too and he will have it done as well ?

Both my hubby and I were in the room when my sons was done. He was strapped down, but its not as bad as it seems, its just so they can't squirm and hurt themselves. It literally took 15 from the time we walled in the room to the time we walked out of the room. We put a numbing cream on him before we went. They gave home a needle to freeze him (which he barely noticed) plus they gave him glucose syrup on his soother to suck on and distract him. The healing process was good. It was just the initial taking off the bandage that was bad. I would say it was all healed in like 4 days.

I wasn't in the room and I believe that was best. I probably would have freaked out lol. The healing was fine. My son only really cried when he peed for the first time afterwards. Other than that, he was perfectly fine

There's no need to pump a bottle. Breastfeeding is fine after a circumcision.

The pediatrician did it right in the same room. Literally it took 5 minutes and my son didn't cry or even wake up from sleeping. We used petroleum jelly for every diaper change for 2 weeks and it healed amazing!

I wasn't in the room with my son because I was still laid up from my c section. He came back from the procedure asleep and was able to nurse just fine when he woke up. It healed fine in maybe a weeks time. Just use lots of vAseline each time you change his diaper so the incision never gets stuck to the gauze.

Ds was circumcised. I was in the room. He never even fussed. I had just nursed him to sleep, so he was out. I just kept neosporin on it and he was fine. I honestly don't think it bothered him at all.

It was $100 for us. It was performed when he was 24 hrs old. I was not in the room. He was asleep when he left, and still sleeping when he got back. Like all the pp's healing was a cinch.

I had a cousin that had to undergo a circumcision at 5! It was very painful and horrible for him! It was not a cosmetic surgery.

I never found out what we were having and stupid me didn't make an apt incase baby was a boy and bam! Boy! So he was circumsized at 6 weeks old I wish we would of went right when we left the hospital. I wasn't allowed in the room and had to leave the waiting room because I could hear him crying and it made me freak out. My Dh pressured me into doing it I was neutral to the matter but we had to wait like 1 1/2 hours after it was done and he screamed the whole time ? I don't want to scare you but in my case I had my mom come for support and she helped a lot while waiting. They also said pump a bottle so you aren't pushing against diaper (if you're going to bf) But like pps said LOTS of Vaseline!

They would only allow one parent in the room so my husband went into room for both our boys circumcisions. Both of them did cry during the procedure, but it wasn't a bloody murder cry and as soon as their daddy picked them up they were over it. The healing process is easy. Vaseline on the diaper so it doesn't tug at the penis when removing it and in a week it was healed.

It was going to be 300 for my son Tobbi. I was in the room when they did it so I held his hand and talked to him. He was a happy little boy and had no care in the world. They didn't complete it because they found out he had hypospadias.

So months later he had to have surgery done by a urologist to fix this. Insurance covered everything and again my little guy was happy as can be. He was outside playing a few hour after it happened. He was asleep for the whole thing and was still asleep when I was able to see him. Brought him home he took a nap, then played Like nothing happened.

My son also came back sleeping... and he was healed in about a weeks time.... They asked if I wanted to go in the room but also advised me that it wasn't the best cause he mite cry.... and all I had to do after was keep Vaseline and gauze which they provide on it for 5 days or so.... I'm glad we did it...

Are they doing the snip or is he going under general anesthesia?

@yaya my son is 2 months old do you know how much worse the healing process is?

It's actually not that sensitive at birth. There is minimal blood flow to the area and the nerves have not made all their connections yet. If it's going to be done, birth is the time when it will be the simplest kind of procedure and healing will be the fastest.

Of course he will be uncomfortable and in pain. There will be an open wound on one of the most sensitive parts of his body. It will be constantly rubbed by his diaper, and it will burn when urine or feces gets on it.

The first sentence is a bit ambiguous. I think she was asking if for the moms who did it, were they in the room.

@udaho THANK YOUUUU!

I did it with my son and it was harder for me than it was for my baby. It was fast but he did cry a lot. Healing was fast. The first 3 days he looked sore but he was still really happy. After 3 days it was significantly better. He loved naked time which is part of the healing so that was good!

If we have another son he will also be done but I don't want to watch again.

It cost about $320ish our insurance paid 100% I didn't go in w my son my husband did. I let my husband choose I mean he has a penis so he would know better. He said the dr explained every thing he was doing. Our son only cried when he was put down, he loved to be held. He healed perfectly fine, no problems.

I don't get some of the freaking women on here.

If I don't agree with something I usually just ignore the damn post. I'm sure all of us have done our research. Don't try shoving your beliefs down my throat, sanctimommy.

Nicole, OP asked for any advice.

My advice would be to not do it.

The fact that it is legal to alter an infants genitals for cosmetic reasons is baffling to me.

@me

Her post starts off with

"For the moms who chose to do it.."

You're obviously not one of those moms.

My son is cut. My husband felt very strongly about it. Hubby went in. He slept through it and we had no issues with healing properly.

If you're referring me me @nicole, no opinion was given.

I stated what a MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL told me. Seeing as she asked for any advice or experiences, my comment applied. ✋

Can anyway tell me around how much circumcision costs. I know it depends on doctors but can anyone tell me what ballpark its in.

I really wanted my DS circumcised when he was born but my doctor didn't mention it or ask me before hand and I forgot to ask. It was a busy day lol.

Just had my little guy done on Monday. We weren't allowed in the room ( which is probably for the best) and it was over in minutes. He tolerated it well and it's healing great!

All 3 of my boys were done. My oldest was done at 4 months old for medical reasons. It was a horrible ordeal start to finish. The other two were done at birth. My middle DS didn't cry at all. My last ds did. He didn't like being out of my arms. Both boys healed completely within a week.

Both of my boys are. We went to a great urologist and it was so quick and painless. I was in the room both times. They were numbed and he did the procedure. Took maybe 10 min. We gave them Tylenol before as instructed and they were perfectly fine afterwords. The first few days is kinda gross when changing their diapers but by day 3 it looks significantly better. No issues what so ever.

Thank you ladies I appreciate your experiences and advice. I watched a YouTube video to see how its done and the poor baby was crying so hard I almost started crying. Thank you again!

I'm just going to tell you what our doctor told us.

He said "circumcision is merely cosmetic. There really are no proven benefits to circumcision(most have been debunked). It does hurt your baby and will continue to hurt for two weeks or so. But with that being said, you're the parents and you get to choose"

We didn't circumcise, thanks to that amazing doctor.

I got my first circumcised and the 2nd one will be too.. I wasn't in the room..they took him he was awake and laughing came back exactly the same as pp said just make sure your put Vaseline on the diaper and his little part.. I did it because my cousin got an infection at the age of 8 and they had to circumcise him.

We chose the plastibell (sp?) method so no cutting , it's just a band that goes around the foreskin until it falls off. He didn't have any complications, it was minimal maintenance and it has healed perfectly. They gave us the option of the traditional cut or using a band. I'm happy with our decision.

I have one circumcised and this baby coming will be left uncircumcised . I don't have any horror story to share and healing went fine but he came back so red and passed out tired I felt guilty and horrible . My personal view now is my little boy is born perfect and I'm going to leave him be unless there's a medical reason to do it . On the view d preventative surgery because it "could" get infected etcetera then why not take the appendix and tonsils then too ?

Edit : with my first son I didnt research I just thought It was normal for everyone and his father was and every man I had known except one and the pediatrician just said it prevents infection so I said ok . This time I did my own research and made the best decision for my son . Now this is only my view I don't think there's a wrong or right answer or anyone is horrible for one choice or the other .

B.law made me feel 1000x better about getting my son circumsized.

Following

Yes I was in the room the only part my son had problems with was being laid flat. At that time he had horrible stomach issues as his milk protein allergy was undiagnosed. Healing was a breeze

Eta my son had tylenol before the circumcision and once after. He didn't cry anymore when he peed so that was great. Since he cried before the circumcision. It was nothing like the videos on YouTube he was numbed before anything took place

As for the healing process, I would lather the diaper in Vaseline it seemed to make it easier than bothering him

They took him out of the room and brought him back sleeping like nothing ever happened

All 3 of my boys are circumcised. I was not in the room for any of them. I didn't want to do it but was bullied by family to do it and I didn't stand my ground. I felt like I was sending my child off to be slaughtered each and every time. It looked painful when they came back. Healing process wasn't too terrible, we just kept it gooped up with Vaseline at each diaper change.

Not saying it's like this for everyone, just my personal feelings of guilt.