In 4 weeks or less I will be blessed with a baby boy. I will not deny the fact that when I heard the news this baby was going to have different genitalia then my first…that I would be blessed with a girl AND a boy… my heart danced. A kick ass dance too…like “the sprinkler.”
So for the last 8 months I’ve been dreaming about having a boy and all of the nuances that go along with it…except for one thing…the wiener…or to be more specific, the casing that surrounds it.
About 3 days ago our Montessori teacher handed us some pamphlets on circumcision. The pamphlets were propaganda that backed the idea of keeping the penis intact, or not circumcising. As any propaganda goes, it was very one sided, and extreme in nature. (I’m sorry, but I’m just not going to be convinced that my kid is going to hate me when I’m older because of the fact that I allowed the Dr.’s to snip snip on day 1.)
However, it got me thinking about it. Why would I allow anyone to perform minor surgery on my son’s penis without me even debating the pros and cons? So I did some research.
Here’s what I found:
People circumcise because they think…
~ It’s cleaner
~ Their son will be ridiculed for looking different
~ Dad was snipped, and they want to have a matching set as to not confuse
~ Slightly higher risk of STD’s
People who have chosen to keep the penis intact argue…
~ It’s just as clean (albeit it takes a bit more work)
~ Even if it is a different looking penis then their dad’s, it’s a simple “everyone’s penises look different” conversation.
~ The real risk of STD’s is less about lack of foreskin and more about lack of planning
~ Kids can get this procedure done later in life if they choose.
~ It’s purely cosmetic, and the pain that goes along with it is way too intense to justify it.
I’m not going to lie, I’m a little torn on this right now (horrible word choice). Although I’m certainly leaning strongly in one direction, this is a major decision that requires a lot of thinking.
Dads (and moms)…help me out. What are your thoughts? What did you do? WHY??
