Email me
The reasons, so far
Why 1000?
RSS Feed
Categories: Reasons
Tags: circumcision, google medical advice, uncircumcised child, white lump on baby's penis
When I was pregnant I wished and hoped and prayed I’d have a boy, partly because my family has way too many women and partly because I sincerely thought it would be easier to care after a male: simpler genitals, no periods, no risk of unplanned pregnancies… it seemed so simple!
Boy, was I wrong.
From day one, my son’s penis has been an endless source of stress, fear, contradicting medical advice and even more contradicting (and loud) comments from laypeople.
I decided not to circumcise.
And after a big scare in which I thought I broke my son’s penis, I decided to ignore the doctor’s advice to retract the foreskin and I just left the kid’s pecker in peace.
That should have been the end of it, right? No more issues with the boy’s penis until he starts using it as a weapon of mass destruction after he hits puberty and starts looking like this?
*sigh* I should start looking into a monastery to lock him up when he turns 13.
I left the boy for a week to go to Pasadena and start furnishing our future home, and I came back to find him hale and hearty and happy and… “by the way, it looks like C got an adhesion now, but we didn’t really want to touch him there until you arrived.”
So I checked and voila, there is a whitish lump right at the edge where the foreskin is separating from the penis. I immediately did what any responsible parent would do: I Googled “white lump on baby’s uncircumcised penis what the HELL should I do” and braced for the results.
Thanks once more, Internet, for driving me totally up the wall with contradicting information:
So, if you see a white lump under your son’s foreskin, you know that the separation of his foreskin and glans is occurring naturally.
Yeast bump. Just give him more diaper-free time and it’ll clear up.
So we immediately took him to the Dr. It turned out to be what everyone here is talking about, Sebum. Basically the skin can reattach to the head of the penis creating a type of pocket for Sebum. Although I thought it was under the skin…it was just trapped between the skin that reattached to the penis.
I took him to the DR monday. She showed me how I can pull it back without causing any harm to him. She said the bump is smegma. EWW! To just give him warm baths and lightly squeeze it to see if it will come out, but not to force it. It can last up to 6 months.
And of course, there were the usual panic-mongering ostriches who made me fear my son’s pecker will fall off due to my neglect:
Make sure you keep it clean though because they can get infected really bad. My cousins son had one on his testicle and it got super infected because he was sitll in nappies, it ended up swelling up so much it looked like he had 3 testicles!
Please, please, please if your baby has any spots in the diaper area that have whiteheads–go to the doctor immediately! It could be a staff infection, and if not caught early enough, can turn into an abcess which then has to be opened and drained–it is horrible.
In the end I dealt with it in the way common sense told me to, and it looks OK now. Still, he’s got a checkup due on Monday anyway, so I’ll get the doctor to look at it.
There. Done. Is this it? Can I stop fussing over my baby’ penis now?
Here’s hoping the next one is a girl. At least I KNOW all there is to know about periods and unplanned pregnancies.
Sheesh.
34 Responses
Del.icio.us
Digg
Technorati
Magnolia
Newsvine
Reddit
New Bad Mom Post:Reason #138 – I mess with my son’s penis again. Read it now! http://1000reasonsimabadmom.com/reason-1...
[Reply to this]
My uncirc’d boys are 14 and 15 now, but back when they were born it wasn’t nearly as commonplace. What I discovered was that a lot of doctors are VERY quick to recommend circumcision with every little problem because it’s what they know. It’s so much easier for THEM to deal with it by just chopping the thing off. Anyway, that was when I began to learn how to nod pleasantly at the doctor and then go home and do what I thought was right, which was leave their wieners the fuck alone. Seriously. I just stopped worrying about it. My oldest had very easily retractable foreskin from the very beginning, but my youngest’s was always very tight, which worried me. I had docs telling me left and right to get him circ’d, or telling me to try to retract it myself, and even to try to stretch it! Of course, I ignored them and let my kid grow up. I taught him how to wash himself, made sure he didn’t have infections or phimosis, and just left him alone. Here’s what I can tell you- There will come a time when the status of their foreskin becomes a TOTAL non-issue. To the point where you will laugh at your past self for ever having given it a 2nd thought. As far as the boys are concerned, it’s THEIR normal. Yeah, their going to hit puberty and make jokes about their junk, but the fact that they have foreskin never enters their consciousness. It’s not an uncirc’d wiener, it’s just their wiener. And they think it’s magic.
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
January 29th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Thank you SO MUCH for the perspective!
Right now all I can think about is a pimple on my son’s pecker and whether or not it will leave him sterile, impotent and dead.
Damn ostriches messing with my mind!
[Reply to this]
Hmm the things we do Huh?? Haven’t come across that with my boy.. who btw is outta nappies day and night now.. *happy dance*
He’s uncirc too and just discovering that there’s something hiding INSIDE the foreskin! HAHAHAHA So I’m bracing myself for a pop and a shriek at anytime!!
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
January 29th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
So jealous – no more nappies, you say? *green tinge*
[Reply to this]
my boy got infections under the foreskin a few times, and I had the dreadful task of pulling the skin back and swabbing ointment on it (last time he was about 8 years old, sorry to give the bad news that it’s not necessarily over really soon). Eventually he seemed to develop modesty and decided to keep the thing clean so I wouldn’t have to do that anymore, because believe me, it was no fun for either of us.
elizabeth recently posted you should still bring your own bag to the store
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
January 29th, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Oh Jesus, you mean that I’ll have to do this *again* for up to 8 years?
I demand a raise!
[Reply to this]
elizabeth Reply:
January 30th, 2011 at 8:39 am
We found after several episodes that if we put baking soda in the bath water and made sure he you know, swished it around in there, it would keep things pretty well under control. But yes, he was 8 before he got really good at taking care of it himself. But he’s 13 now and can barely wash his own hair so maybe he’s just hygienically challenged.
elizabeth recently posted you should still bring your own bag to the store
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
January 30th, 2011 at 8:56 am
Baking soda? Great tip! How much? And will it be safe for a 15-month-old who likes to DRINK his bathwater?
Fyi girls can get adhesions also, it causes the labia to grow together covering the vagina and possibly the urethra too. Ask me how I know. Pretty scary when you have never heard of such a thing, and one day, surprise!
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
January 29th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Girls can WHAT!?!? OK, you’re putting me off having *any* more kids!
[Reply to this]
shannon Reply:
January 31st, 2011 at 1:55 am
Yep. The doctor reassured me that it is no big deal, nothing a little estrogen cream applied twice a day won’t fix. However Dr. Google tells me that it can reoccur over and over again, sometimes requiring surgery. Not to mention my mom who is horrified at the idea of synthetic/animal hormones applied to my baby and wants me to use plant based ones she got for menopause from her homeopathic doctor which I can’t find any information on safety/efficacy in infants so I am reluctant to use. Ostriches abound! The only thing I hate about being a mom is making the tough decisions about things you couldn’t imagine ever happening, and worrying all the time you chose wrong.
Why doesn’t anyone warn you about this shit before you have kids? :)
Hope little blessed one’s boy parts heal quick. (and it never happens again!)
[Reply to this]
Oh, the penis drama. It never gets old, does it? I recently had to confront “my penis feels funny” and go through a panicked list of “does it hurt? itch? is it red?” Ultimately pieced together that “feels funny” is 3yo-speak for “I’m getting all warm and tingly!!”
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
January 29th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Oh dear… is he there already? Hide your Cosmo and Vogues!
[Reply to this]
MM Reply:
August 18th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
I am surrounded by the male gender: a husband, 13 yr old stepson, 5 yr old son, & 2.5 yr old son. It’s still strange to me that there all pointing somewhere in the mornings, but aren’t using their index fingers…hint, hint! lol No one warns you that morning erections can start at such a young age. Our 3 boys are intact, but my husband is not; however, I found myself still asking him several questions after my 5 yr old was born because he is the only adult in the house with a penis. Many of his answers were, “That’s normal,” including my question, “Is it normal for him to have erections at such a young age?” Upon actual research on the subject, I found that these erections are a normal part of naturally separating the foreskin from the head of the penis. http://www.drgreene.com/qa/cleaning-penis-intact-foreskin
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
August 18th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
It took me a while to figure this out – at first I thought he was about to pee, and then I realised he was actually just… pointing.
But even with all this penis trouble I’d like my second kid to be a boy too. I already went through all of this, might as well benefit from my experience!
Neither are easy, my nephew is impossible to keep clean in the boy parts, my daughter? my husband doesnt know WHAT to do with it half the time! if i put diaper cream on the poor girl, i hear him yelling from upstairs “UM hun.. shes got some white stuff coming out of her flower” (flower is what we call her girly bits lolol) then every time i have to remind him its diaper cream.. and every time he asks “so i um… have to touch it?” i at least know he isnt a pedophile
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
January 30th, 2011 at 7:23 am
This pedophile thing is going too far! Soon all men will ask to be excused from any/all diaper duties to avoid going to jail!
And I could be just badmouthing your husband, but from here that looks like a textbook “if I pretend to be useless maybe she’ll stop asking me to do it” male strategy! Don’t let him off the hook!
[Reply to this]
carlyn Reply:
January 30th, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Lol. oh he still does it, he’s just uncomfortable in the area, He now understands why fathers are super protective of their daughters lol. he’s the first to get up to change her, but when he has to get all up in her business, he sweats a little.
[Reply to this]
We would actually pour maybe a cup or so into the water and let him splash it around himself. It’s not enough to do anything harmful if he swallows some in the bathwater.
elizabeth recently posted you should still bring your own bag to the store
[Reply to this]
Oh geez. Yet another reason to be afraid to spawn.
Anne-Marie recently posted Help us- Desperately!!
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
January 31st, 2011 at 7:58 pm
By the time I’m done writing you will have 1000 reasons! And yet, against reason and common sense, we all end up having kids. Don’t feel too safe! ;)
[Reply to this]
Oy. I’ll take mean girls and make-up for pre-tweens and princess crap and SO MUCH PINK over unfamiliar genitalia any day. Hope yourself and C make it through:)
Mommy Shorts recently posted Early Onset Midlife Crisis
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
February 24th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Who are you trying to kid, lady? You LOVE pink!
[Reply to this]
should I tell you that it wouldn’t necessarily have helped any by having him circumcised? Because both of my sons were circ’d and they both had problems with smegma (when my doc first said that I thought he was using a slang term, nearly fell over laughing in the exam room when I found out that was the medical term!). And they continued to have problems with the yucky stuff until well… until their little heads got a bit bigger! LOL! Of course, a mother to two teen boys, that wasn’t the last time I’ve had to “examine” their penis’ either. It’s soooo much fun being a mom to boys! LOL!
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
February 24th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
Can you please talk to my mom? She won’t stop talking about how circ is the only way to go. Augh.
[Reply to this]
Do you know if this is something that can also happen with boys who ARE circumcised? From the sounds of it, my youngest son has had a similar experience. His skin has appeared to attach itself to the head, thus creating a little open “pocket”. I don’t really know how to handle it, or how to “fix” it. I didn’t even know there was anything wrong until Daddio pointed out to me that it wasn’t supposed to do that. Unfamiliar places indeed!
Krista recently posted My Book Babes-A Blog Hop
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
So nobody is safe! Damned if we circumcise, damned if we don’t!
[Reply to this]
MM Reply:
August 18th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
This happens in “pockets” of skin, such as those that are formed by foreskin of the penis, folds of a female’s labia minora, and some scars. I can imagine a small pocket being formed by a circumcision scar. If you’ve ever had your ears pierced, haven’t worn the earrings for awhile, then pushed a soft substance out of the piercings….well, I sum it up to an accumulation of shed skin cells that is in an enclosed (moist, warm) area. The body constantly sheds skin. In a “pocketed” area, it is accumulated, not shed. Of course, smegma has a little more than shed skin cells (google it). I’ve researched plenty about non-circumcision. My sons are not circumcised. Many doctors (and internet gurus) don’t even know proper care information to give to parents about an intact penis, such as… DON’T clean the penis under the foreskin with soap… you wouldn’t do that in a vagina… ouch, oh the burn! These are the BEST care instructions (which I found on other sites as well): http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/easy.htm
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
August 18th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Why did I ever think it would be easier to look after a kid with a penis…?
Whew!! I ran to the MD today b/c I found a white lump on my sons penis. Our usual MD was out and I saw the back up. I was soo anxious when I left b/c I was told, “I have never seen this. I think you should see a specialist. I would just get him circumcised.” I couldn’t believe that a MD who had never even seen my child before could jump from I have no idea to get him circumcised in less than 5 min of seeing him! I didn’t take ANY of her advice and made another apt with my real MD. But, this message will help me sleep better till then.
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
July 13th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
Oh noes! What an idiot doctor!
Hope it’s just like what C had, i.e. “cheese” buildup. Yucky, but not serious. Good luck!
[Reply to this]
The fact that some of you mothers out there refer to your sons’ penises as “weiners” “peckers” and other slang terms makes me wonder what kind of mothers you are. What if a group of fathers were in a group and called their daughters vaginas all kinds of nicknames? And by the way, circumcised penises do not develop acumulated smegma, unless they weren’t circumcised correctly. Peace out.
[Reply to this]
ofthesea Reply:
December 7th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
I can only speak for myself: there would be no comedy or rhythm to my writing if I just kept writing penis penis penis penis.
Penis.
Penis penis.
But thanks for chiming in, and peace to you too!
[Reply to this]