I'm afraid DS might have a foreskin adhesion - here's the long backstory:
DS isn't circumsized. We were really torn on the issue, and finally decided in the hospital after he was born that we didn't want to do it.
Everything we read said not to retract the foreskin, so we didn't ever until we took DS to another doctor for a second opinion for an unrelated issue. She pushed it back in a way that seemed pretty rough to me and made me feel really stupid and like a bad mother for not doing it up to that point.
She said that most boys in England (where she's from) aren't circumsized and they never have problems w/ adhesions but that she sees it ALL THE TIME in the US. When I told her we were told not to retract it until after a year, she said she never knew parents were being told that and now she know why there's so many issues.
So then we didn't really know what to do. I started retracting it (gently!) every week or so just to be safe, but not every day like she insisted I should be doing. It always pulled back fine. In retrospect, I should have talked to our regular pedi about it, but there were always more pressing concerns to discuss.
Today when I retracted it, it was clearly stuck to his penis in several places. There's also a white bump (which google tells me is probably just a build up of skin cells just under the surface and is probably fine.)
Any insight? We'll call the pedi (different pedi who we like much better) on Monday.
Re: Uncircumsized Penis Question
Hmmmm.... everything I've ever read says not to retract the foreskin. It's attached, and forcing it back can cause harm to the penis. It will naturally retract on its own. When that happens, that's when you need to start retracting to wash it. But that usually doesn't happen til they're older.
I just found this from AAP:
In the first several years your son's foreskin will separate from the tip of the penis. Some foreskins separate soon after birth or even before birth, but this is rare. When it happens is different for every child. It may take a few weeks, months, or years. Once this happens, the foreskin can be pulled back away from the tip of the penis. This is called foreskin retraction.
Most boys will be able to retract their foreskins by the time they are 5 years old, yet others will not be able to until the teen years. As a boy becomes more aware of his body, he will most likely discover how to retract his own foreskin. But foreskin retraction should never be forced. Until the foreskin fully separates, do not try to pull it back. Forcing the foreskin to retract before it is ready can cause severe pain, bleeding, and tears in the skin.
Smegma
When the foreskin separates from the head of the penis, skin cells are shed. These skin cells may look like white, pearl-like lumps under the foreskin. These are called smegma. Smegma is normal and nothing to worry about.
Cleaning
If your son's foreskin separates before he reaches puberty, an occasional retraction with cleansing beneath will do. Once your son starts puberty, he should clean beneath his foreskin as part of his daily routine, just like washing his hair and brushing his teeth.
Teach your son to clean his foreskin in the following way:
Step 1: Gently pull the foreskin back away from the end of the penis.
Step 2: Rinse underneath the foreskin with soap and warm water.
Step 3: Pull the foreskin back over the penis
That's what I'd read too - and what I reread this morning. But that pedi made me feel so terrible and so stupid that I thought I'd compromise. Every day seemed extreme, but once a week seemed reasonable... Ugh. Why can't things be simple enough that all doctors agree!
What really concerns me is that it seemed to retract fine before, and now it's not. He doesn't seem bothered by it at all, and if I hadn't checked today I wouldn't have known.
~Working Mom~Breastfeeding Mom~Cloth Diapering Mom~BLW Mom~
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Shawn and Larissa
LO #1 - Took 2 years and 2 IVFs ~ DX - severe MFI mild PCOS homozygous MTHFR (a1298c)
LO #2 - TTC 7 months, surprise spontaneous BFP!