Not THAT circumcision thread

LastMango · November 2016

As the end draws closer, I've been thinking about this more and more. Being team green, I need to be prepared for the possibility of circumcision if this baby is a boy. We have already decided that we will in fact circumcise.

My question is to moms who have or will be circumcizing their boys. What method did you go with (or have you decided) and were you pleased with the outcome? Will you use this method again or a different one?

I've done some research and talked to my OB about the 3 options/methods: Gomco, Mogen and Plastibell. I'd love to hear from moms who have BTDT and are willing to share their thoughts.

If you are anti-circumcision, I totally respect that and don't think that there is a "wrong" choice here.

Just looking for real life experiences to help us decide what method may be right for us.

shlecks · November 2016

We will be circumcising as well, but I need to google everything you just mentioned because I have no idea what they mean!!

Renee1105 · November 2016

Haha @shlecka I thought the same thing. I feel so underprepared after reading this post. we will be having our son circumcised but I didn't even know there were different methods . BTW who does the circumcision ?

raquel87 · November 2016

This is my 4th boy and he will be circumcised, the one method I did not like is the plastibell. My first son had this done, it was a pain to clean around and the foreskin grew back around it. the
The Pediatrician had to pull it back down when he was a month old and it didn't go over well. The other 2 went off without a hitch and was very easy to manage, just be sure to put a lot of Vaseline on with every diaper change. all my boys healed very well and didn't need Tylenol or anything afterwards.

mommy2ane · November 2016

I have no idea what any of these mean... we were in the NICU and were told our doctor was one of the best so we said okay and he did it with my husband watching. It went great and we never had any issues.

LastMango · November 2016

@raquel87 That's funny because that was the one method my OB said was her favorite and the one she used for her boy. It's the newest method of the 3 so maybe it's gotten better? She liked it because there was no maintenance while it healed. What method did your other two boys use?

@Renee1105 There are different people who can perform the circ and it's ultimately up to you. OB, pediatric urologist, regular pediatrician, mohel.....I'll be going with the pediatric urologist because, well, that's their specialty and what they deal with on a daily basis. Supposedly all of these options will be explained to you in the hospital but I want to be prepared considering our minds will be all over the place after delivery!

raquel87 · November 2016

@LastMango to be honest I'm not sure what the dr did for the other boys, I just trusted what they were doing. with the plastibell I had to sign off on additional paperwork (maybe bc it's newer?) They told me the same thing in the hospital, no maintenance ect. However when my son would have blow outs it would be everywhere and I would have to clean around the plastic, which made it more difficult. They told me basically don't touch it (pull down ect) which I didn't. As I mentioned the extra skin grew back around the plastic ring and the dr and to pull it back down. Also appearance wise I can tell the difference as my first has extra skin around the head compared to the other 2 which don't. I am sure that there was been countless others who love this method, unfortunately we just had a bad experience

LastMango · November 2016

@raquel87 Thank you for sharing!

ceclarlinetlo · November 2016

I'm still on the fence about what we will do but my husband is a family physician who performs circumcisions - from what I hear plastibell is the least desirable, they don't even offer that here at the hospital he works in. The Gomco and Mogen are very different instruments so I would ask the physician who is doing the procedure which they prefer and trust that they will choose the method they work best with.

christac1010 · November 2016

We both agreed on circumcision years ago. At our hospital, my OB performs the circumcision on the second day. DH asked my OB tons of questions at our last appointment. I honestly feel bad admitting it, but I barely listened to the conversation. I did hear the OB say he'll be using a scalpel rather than scissors and he tries to avoid the plastibell. DH seemed really happy with the conversation so I assume it went well overall (I should also mention my OB is a man which I think DH really appreciated in that moment).

newyearsbaby5 · November 2016

Wow, I've given this pretty much no thought--so happy someone brought this up.

I haven't made H come to an appointment with me in months (I say haven't made--he's wanted to go, I just wait soo much longer than the appointments actually are, I encourage him not to go with me), but @christac1010 I like your approach and I think I'll let H have the conversation with the doc when he goes with me to my 36 week appt (when they'll do an ultrasound & H will be joining me).

azwildcat62 · November 2016

Huh... my OB basically told me talk to your pediatrician about this. & we haven't finalized that yet, so I too am feeling unprepared on this topic. will definitely add this to our list! thanks!

shlecks · November 2016

Yeah both OB and pediatrician said the other would probably do it, lol. My OB did say that regardless of WHO it is, it will get done if that's what we want.

sarah1198 · November 2016

In our childbirth class I was told you could have either the pediatrician or the OB perform the circumcision, however she emphasised that the OB is a trained surgeon. I plan to ask my OB how/when this happens and ensure that he performs the procedure. She also mentioned that only one method is used at our hospital and it is the Mogen (i think!).

AlabamaRedhead · November 2016

I have no idea on the method used with DS and I'm about positive our OB did it...or an urologist. All I know, I want a do over because we had little to no problems. Just had to put some Vaseline on it and called it a day.

nolemomma14 · November 2016

My son was circumcised with the plastibell method. Typically the OB does it on the hospital, not sure on which method, but our OB recommended we go to a pediatric urologist. I really don't remember the reason, but figured if she was suggesting it I would rather do that and make sure it was done right. The plastibell was really easy, and fell off on its own and we haven't had a problem. The only thing that I wish was different is that the urologist couldn't get us in until my son was 5 weeks so I felt bad that he was a bit older, but overall it was fine.

We plan to circumsize this baby as well and will have it don't by the OB in the hospital, unless they recommend the urologist again.

sagoon · November 2016

We used the plastibell with my son. The pediatrician did it in the hospital and it went off without a hitch. We just needed to make sure we put vaseline on it so it didn't stick to his diapers.

cjs260 · November 2016

I have no dog in this race, but just a friendly reminder that if you are cloth diapering, Vaseline can cause them to not work properly, so you may want to use disposables until the circumcision is healed.

Also, kudos to all the boy moms. I know that this is a tough subject, and I don't envy you guys right now. What an awesome civil conversation. I love our board!

colleenkevin · November 2016

We won't be circumcising our boy and I'm not here to argue. I just want to add that in addition to circumcision techniques I would recommend that you talk to the medical professional performing the circumcision about what pain relief method they intend to use. There is no safe way to prevent all pain, but the method they choose to use can affect the amount of pain the baby is in during and after, as a dorsal penile nerve block has been shown to be much more effective than EMLA cream and Tylenol and sugar pacifiers have been shown to be basically useless. I don't know what statistic on this is true, but I have read that some healthcare professionals are still performing the surgery with no pain medication, so it might be a really important convo to have in advance.

This article talks about options and effectiveness but there's a lot of info out there if you are interested: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0012623/

Kurtni · November 2016

@colleenkevin My SIL said they didn't give my nephew any pain relief! I don't know if that was a hospital wide practice or just their pediatrician but I thought it was insane.

colleenkevin · November 2016

@Kurtni I'm really afraid that happens more than people realize. When you consider what's being done during the procedure, the idea that a baby would have no pain relief is gut wrenching.

Smiley-1980 · November 2016

We will be circumcising, I asked my doctor as soon as we found out he was a boy if he does it and he does in the hospital. I didn't ask the technique because I trust my doctor 100% as he's been my doctor my entire life and is actually a teaching doctor now. I honestly didn't know there were different ones but I know my doctor would do the best for our son.

15caitlin · November 2016

My OB did the procedure for my first son. I honestly had no idea until now there were different methods. Right before he did the procedure he explained it to us and we were comfortable going through with it.

kaytastic25 · November 2016

They don't do it at the hospital in my area. With DS we did it about 2 weeks old at a pediatricians office (not ours, because ours didn't offer that). They used the Plastibell method and I wasn't super happy and still am not super happy with the results. I'm looking into a different pediatrician for DS2 using a different method but not sure which. If I only find doctors who do the Plastibell then I'll do it again (because I'd rather have it done then not done). It just seemed super uncomfortable for DS1.
ETA: just read they don't use a dressing for Plastibell method (no gauze, Vaseline to deal with) which I remember. But, they do with the other methods. Might be something I consider and could potentially go with this method again because of that.

moosette113 · November 2016

This was incredibly helpful to read. I'm not sure I will have a choice on method since infant circumcision is illegal here except for religious reasons (so I'm limited to a single hospital or a mohel), but it's really useful to know the different devices/techniques ahead of time so I know which questions to ask when the time comes. Thanks for starting this!

hjmorgan-2 · November 2016

We haven't completely decided yet, DH isn't circumcised, but all the men in my family are... so we'll see, lol. But my question is when is the recommended time to get it done if we decide to? Since we're at a birthing center we would have to make an appointment somewhere else.

LastMango · November 2016

HJMorgan said:

We haven't completely decided yet, DH isn't circumcised, but all the men in my family are... so we'll see, lol. But my question is when is the recommended time to get it done if we decide to? Since we're at a birthing center we would have to make an appointment somewhere else.

The earlier the better. Most have it done on the second day while in the hospital (at least here they do).

LastMango · November 2016

@colleenkevin Pain relief was one of the first things I brought up with my OB and she assured me that they do in fact use them at my hospital. I'll have to dig deeper but I'm pretty sure it was the nerve block. I couldn't stand them not using anything.

One of the methods mentioned, I think Gomco, is basically extinct so if not using plastibell, pretty sure Mogen will be used (but I could have that backwards).

Thank you for all of your responses! It's given me a list of questions to ask myself and the hospital staff if this kiddo is a boy. And glad it's been a useful thread to most of you as well.

nolemomma14 · November 2016

@HJMorgan I would try and do it as soon as possible. We were sent to a pediatric urologist and couldn't get in until my son was 5 weeks olds, and we called to make he appointment when he was 2 days old. It wasn't too terrible, but I feel it would've been easier if he had it done when he was days old.

azwildcat62 · November 2016

Friendly reminder for if you decide to circumcise: make sure whoever does it and wherever it is done is in network with your insurance!

Teach123 · November 2016

My first son had issues when he was born, and we decided to not have it done in the hospital and give him a few weeks to get growing good before doing the procedure. Our pediatrician did it in his office at 4 weeks old. That was the latest he could do it in office. We would have been required to go to a specialist if we decided to wait any longer.

He used the plastibell method. We had no problem with it, although it does kind of freak you out when it starts trying to fall off. I was like is it supposed to look like that. It seemed like it took our sons skin awhile to heal up, and growing back wrong can be a problem. Our pedi looked him over really good every time we went in to make sure there weren't any problems.

I'm not sure what we'll have done this time. We're at a new hospital, and I need to ask about its procedure on this. We'll be using our same pediatrician, and he doesn't work through this hospital. We may just schedule in office with him again.

ThePax89 · November 2016

Am I the only one super pissed that this didn't turn into a heated circumcision debate sparked by internet trolls?! Memes should be a flyin. Shaking my damn head. (I'm team vagine, so this is my only contribution). I need some motn entertainment.

KarliQ88 · November 2016

We will be having our little dude circumcised. I feelmy Husband should have a big say on this topic coming from a guy. I trust his judgement. They do it on day 2 at the hospital.
I'm a nurse...ive seen many penis's that haven't been circumcised and it's nothing but problems. You have to retract the foreskin to clean it, which difficult to teach a child. The foreskin can actually become stuck back and compromise circulation.
It's sad and I'm probably going to cry.

colleenkevin · November 2016

@thepax89 I figured if I started with intact facts and inactivitist memes, I'd get a lot of hate and it'd be all...

nolemama24 · November 2016

I am also team vagine but I do remember clearly it was some paperwork I had to fill out at my OB's office at either my 12 or 16 week check. (I remember thinking wow have to make a choice so early!!) I am assuming my OB performs the circumcision since the paperwork giving the OK was signed there. Luckily my fiancée was with me at that appointment & we chatted it over. He stated his preference on getting the baby circumcised & I was in agreement with that. We are having a girl so for now it doesn't matter. Thank you for starting this thread as I had no idea about the different methods & pain relief methods used so I will read up on it should we have a boy in the future!

Also, I will say about age, early is best. My dad was circumcised at 12 years old and he said the pain was something he would never forget or want to endure again. Not sure why it was done so late?

BrennansMom2012 · November 2016

I had NO idea with my first who would be doing the circumcission (we were team green and he came three weeks early). My pediatrician came into see him and asked if we wanted him circumcised, which we did, unfortunately she didn't do them another pediatrician in the practice did and lucky for us he was Jewish and willing to come in Christmas morning to perform it. I think if anything this thread has reminded me of calling the office to make sure this Dr still does them.

I will say that our son's took over an hour because he was a bleeder--according to the Dr. He had some some sort of pain medication because he was out of it and exhausted the rest of the day. Like others have stated, make sure you wash with soap and water, pat dry and use plenty of Vaseline when changing diapers. I think it took about a week and a half to two weeks to heal all the way but that time was a blur. Whatever method was used--it looks like a circumcised penis. Lol

julianna88-2 · November 2016

I had no idea there's different ways. This is my fourth pregnancy. My third boy he's getting circumcision. I never had a problem with the another two. Now I'm very curious on how they did the another two. I always pat dry, put dressing and put plenty of Vaseline when I change each diaper.

katesmama0706 · November 2016

@ThePax89 girl me too. We're on the girl team too but I kept clicking over hoping for some debate. I've been sorely disappointed by the lack of trolls on the whole board, especially the drive by threads with OP never coming back to scold people for meme-ing them!

Although, I didn't know there were different methods for circumcision so that'll be handy to know if we ever have a boy.

emy730 · November 2016

We will likely be circumsizing our son, but I'm letting DH make that decision. I don't have a penis, I have no idea what would go into either having one or not having one, so since he has the same equipment, I'll let him decide.

ashanne88 · November 2016

Our pediatrician does the circumcision in the hospital before being released. DS was circumcised at 2 days old with the plastibell method. We had no problems with healing. If these two are boys we will be doing it again, but it will be a different method since the pediatrician we saw in the hospital is no longer with the practice and the other two use a different method. I'm hoping we see our regular pediatrician in the hospital this time because I just love her so much.

sldp123 · November 2016

Like some others, I never knew there were different methods. I will definitely be discussing this with my OB at my next appointment. For my older DS, the OB did the procedure but I have no idea what method was used. We didn't have any problems.

I'm also a little surprised/disappointed at the lack of drama on this thread, especially after the "uncircumcised penises are nothing but problems" comment.

Want a personalized experience?

Not THAT circumcision thread

Re: Not THAT circumcision thread

Choose Another Board

Search Boards