Forum home Babies Baby

Circumcision

Hi Ladies,I haven't been on here for ages! My twins are 8 months now and I'm thinking about getting one of them circumcised. His foreskin is very tight and small,and I think it's restricting the growth of his willy too,you can feel it in his groin. Both the Dr and HV have said to leave it until he's a lot older as he *may* grow out of it and currently has no urine problems. However I've spoken to several people now who all were told the same thing and ended up having it done at around age 6,which is obviously more traumatic.

Has anyone had any experience of having a baby circumcised? And any rough ideas as to price as we'll have to go private obviously.

Thank you!!
«1

Replies

  • My hubby had this done when he was 5 and still remembers it and said he wishes it had been done at an age where he wouldn't have remembered it as it was traumatic for him.

    His was for medical reasons too x
  • My hubby had his done when he was young too - 6yrs I think. He still remembers it to this day!!!

    We are keeping an eye on Toby's - it seems tight and very red in places - but often with a bit of sudocrem he's better. I'd def. get it done young rather than wait personally.

    *Mr 'n' Mrs Pumps*
    - do you mind me asking if your son's was done for medical reasons?

    Julie xxx
  • my OH had his done at age 3 and cant remember it. apparently he did ask for 'his skin back' as he was leaving hospital tho! hehe!

    his was for medical reasons too, poss the same thing. if i were you, id just get it done. if we every had a son, i think wed probs get him circumsised anyway as we think there are a few benefits. but thats just us. x
  • My brother had his done at 6 too (medical reasons) and he says he can still remember parts vividly (i think he's pretty traumatised at some memories actually)! so i agree that it's better to get it done while they're younger if possible xx
  • Thanks girls,I'm def swaying towards getting it done. Now to find a hospital etc! x
  • Just on the other note - my little brother is 15 years younger than me so still a pup now. But he had this and they said he would grow out of it.....and he did. So it is possible.

    However I think go with mothers instinct, you will know in your heart what you think is best. As the others have said the younger the better. I think anything under 3 they wont remember?

    Good luck....xxx
  • Personally (and I use this word importantly) I would definitely seek another medical opinion first.
    If you think there's a problem I would ask another GP if you have several at your practice or if you only have the 1 GP I'd ask to be referred.

    I've got a 22 month old son and his is sometimes a tad red but it doesn't cause him any pain when he wees or you rub cream on it.

    Circumcision leaves the glans open to infections....It's very difficult as obviously you dont want your son to be in pain but personally if there was a hope he'd grow out of it, I'd leave it

    But def seek another opinion!!

    ***removed some didnt wana upset any1


    [Modified by: young_mum_gone_mad. on March 25, 2010 10:02 PM]

  • But it is unnatural as you aren't born with it...that doesnt mean it is BAD but you can't argue with that, its a fact

    I honestly did not mean to offend you!

    What anyone else does with their sons is none of my business honestly as long as it was an informed choice! But what I did say was *Personally** If this was my son having problems, but was not in pain, I would seek another expert opinion as I would not want MY (emphasis on MY ) son to be circumsised.

    I'm sorry!!

    I think it depends on your opinion what you would do in spittingfairy's situation!

  • and i wouldn't say I was over opionated at all...lol im on the fence for most things and can see the sides of most debates!!!
  • havent got any experience of it per se, but i will say if you think he might need it done at some point in the future get the ball rolling now (sorry for the pun!)

    Ollie has a medical condition - cant remember the name - where his hole isnt at the end but is on the underside of his penis, its not much but its enough. He can actually now pee into the toilet without many misses - he has to hold his willy high up to aim it properly, but it does mean that the whole of his foreskin is bunched up on the top of his willy, so it serves no protection or other use at all, and tbh looks very very very ugly and unsightly! I cannot see anyone wanting to sleep with him the way it looks now, and i can imagine him being bullied about it.

    Having said that, I asked for them to circumcise him before he was old enough to understand/remember the pain of it, and I am still battling for them to do it now. (almost 3 yrs later!) He is classed as medically in need of it, so I am unsure what the problem is and why they are making us wait this long to have it done, I will be pestering them more frequently from now on because i dont want him to be traumatised by the pain of it.

    Hope you can make the right choice for you - its not an easy one to make I know!

    xx
  • Hi, my hubbie is Jewish so he is done - I much prefer it to normal willy! Anyway even if he wasn't Jewish his mum told me he would have to be done because his foreskin was too tight .. I would say to have it done when they r younger they won't remember it, and it's probably easier for you to deal with as in a nappy they can't be touching it and playig with it etc. It will heal after a few days,.. When I got pregnant I was very nervous about having a boy cause I knew hubbie wanted to have him done and as I'm not Jewish it is a bit weird to me... Anyway what I would say I'd if I was to have it done I would have it done by a rabbi - there are a few that are rabbis and doctors, they perform circumcisions much more than your average doctor so have more experience in it and I wanted someone who knew what they were doing!!

    Xxx
  • icecreamlover - bless, your poor boy! I can't believe they're stalling if he needs it done, poor love. Definitely not something he should have to remember when he's older. I hope it's sorted soon!
  • I had my older son done when he was 5 and 1/2,not for medical reasons but for religious reasons and he can't remember it at all .He had no problems and 2 days later was playing in the water in brighton.I now have another boy and will def be having him done but will probably get it done a bit younger this time.
  • Thanks again everyone. YMGM,I appreciate it's not what you would choose,and I'm not 100% it's what I want but.....it's not un-natural! I have 3 boys,the twins and a 3 yo and the older one and one twin are both perfect,I would never volunteer them for a painful (I would think) process like this if I didn't feel it necessary,

    You're right,there's no pain at the moment,but it is extremely tight and could well be painful in the future. The dilemma is,do I opt for an operation now while he's little and won't remember or *hope* that the small chance it will sort itself out will be realised? I don't want to hurt him without reason,but neither do I want him suffering future pain due to my indecision.

    Icecreamlover,I feel so sorry for your lo,hope they get a wriggle on!
  • Hi - i am being naive here but i have a 1 year old son - how would you know if his foreskin was too tight? His willy does get red sometimes but i just assumed it was nappy rash related? Is he too young to tell yet? When you say 'too tight' do you mean it wont pull back? Sorry - i have no idea what im on about lol! xxx
  • Hi,basically on my other 2 their foreskin is loose,with plenty of room to pull it back if needs be,but on Ethan it is very tight,with only a very very tiny hole in the end so that there is no possible way to pull it back. He doesn't tend to get particularly sore or red,it's just obvious that it wouldn't go back! xx
  • this is something i have been wondering about so it is interesting to read the replies. i have been wondering because my hubby had problems in his teens and he ended up having to have it done in his teens, so he was in pain etc then. a lot of his family have had it done too apparently so i keep saying to hubby do we need to get T done so he doesn't have to go through with that later in life. but i guess we'll see how it goes. xxx
  • Thanks spittingfairy, I think my little mans looks ok then! I hope your doc is more sympathetic soon because you shouldnt have to pay for it! I am getting fed up with docs trying to get of medical assisstance with saying 'they will grow out of it!. Keep us posted on it x
  • Spitting fairy I agree with you that its better to have it done younger if it's essential but my only advice is don't go into it alone with a private clinic - I'd get another NHS opinion first ... as I said i do think younger is better and I def dont think you would do it if not necessary. I really hope I didn't offend, it's a sensitive subj with me, something I feel strongly about like many of you have strong opinions whether it be about breast feeding , controlled crying or what have you - I know im definitely not alone in causing a stir on here sometimes. It's difficult as do you wait so you can keep your son's foreskin or do you do it earluy enough (even tho it might potentially not be necessary) so he doesn't remember it!! Tough decision. All i was saying is it would be especially tough for me as I have opinions on it - more because I've heard american women on other forums talk about how most doctors are so used to circumcision that they still think foreskin is 'unclean' and think you have to pull it back to clean it... Anyhow i know none of the mums on here did it without thinking it through and I would never judge anyone and think they are a bad mum even if they chose themself. I think as long as it's done before age 3 or 4 he'll be unlikely to remember it. You might want to get it done before potty training if it's still a problem as a tight foreskin can cause something called balanitis i think, an infection. My main point was it is worth seeking another doctor's opinion before going private...Best of luck. Oh and I didn't say 'unnatural' as a bad thing, a lot of things aren't natural - freezer meals, formula milk, jar food it doesn't mean it is terrible but it's something i can get heated about Sorry x
  • Hi spittingfairy

    funny you should post about this as I just asked my GP about the same thing in relation to my son. She said that the foreskin isn't supposed to be retractable until about 2 years old (although it is sooner for lots of boys eg your other two) so not to worry about it.

    I wonder if that's what your GP meant by "growing out of it" ie that it's too early to know whether it's an issue? Just thought I would mention it - perhaps it would be an idea to get a second professional opinion if you can?

    C xo
Sign In or Register to comment.

Featured Discussions