There's a special treat reserved for parents of preemie boys -- the outpatient circumcision. I hear that full term boys are whisked away for twenty minutes at the hospital and returned a tad fussy and minus their foreskin. The parents are in blissful ignorance as to what happened to their tiny baby. Only one neonatologist performed circumcisions in the NICU and he was unavailable. Our new pediatrician doesn't do any outpatient circs but he referred me to a Dr. Milazzo who does.
The appointment was yesterday.
When Andy had his circumcision, we all went to the pediatrician's office and Jeff got the pleasure of assisting the doctor while I sat in the waiting room with Nicky. With all the sickness going around, it didn't seem like a good idea for the whole family to sit in a doctor's waiting room this time. So I was baby Christian's lucky companion. Since Jeff watched the last one, I figured it wouldn't be bad.
WRONG!
The procedure with its associated baby Velcro straight jacket, clamps, scissors, and brown disinfectant left me dizzy and nauseous. Seriously, doesn't the circumcision device name, "gamco clamp" bring to mind some hideous medieval torture method? Worst of all was Dr. Milazzo herself. She came in dressed like a witch doctor complete with bone earrings and a bone necklace. A tiny skull dangled from the necklace and sat against her ample cleavage. She explained that she didn't normally dress that way but it was the Mexican Halloween. Most of her patients appeared to be Hispanic. I'm not sure why she performs circumcisions as she was unable to hide her contempt for me and other parents who ask her to do them. So there she was looking like a witch doctor and talking to me for 15 minutes about how unnecessary this "cosmetic" procedure was and how she chose to leave her second son "intact." She compared male circumcision to African female circumcision and said the Europeans look at us as barbarians for doing this to our baby boys. She gave me a brochure about circumcision care that was thinly veiled anti-circumcision literature from a NOCIRC group. It says things like, "many men feel resentful that they lost part of their penis."
Suffice it to say, I was ready to leave before the procedure began. I knew however, that I'd be headed right back as soon as I got home. Jeff made it clear that he's never seen an uncircumcised penis in the gym or elsewhere and it's what's to be done for his sons. He also had other reasons which are too graphic to write on my family friendly blog. Given how hard it is to leave the house these days, I wasn't going to risk leaving and having to come back.
So it was done and watching it was as awful as you can imagine. Most of the problem is that it was my baby. I think mother's have the ability to literally feel their children's pain. At least I do. I left feeling like I'd had a circumcision and I don't even have a penis.
Christian was horribly fussy afterwards and the Dr. was cold when I asked her if that was normal. She said matter-of-factly, "you can expect that kind of behavior for at least five days." It's was like she was saying with her cold gray eyes, "I told you this was the wrong thing to do, so reap your reward."
Man, I think the rest of of our ten children are going to have to be girls. Your damned if you do and damned if you don't when it comes to this issue. I'm feeling like an evil mother every time I open the little diaper and see the raw unit peeking sadly out. I can only hope my sons can forgive me for depriving them their foreskins.
5 comments:
They will find it much easier to clean themselves without their foreskins.
In college I had to do a research project on male and female circumcisions so I've seen my share of uncirumcized male parts and they are ugly.
Don't worry--little Christian won't remember this horrible experience!!
LOL!! Glad I am having a girl this time around :)
Oh my, I know how you feel. I was in the office for Jeffy's procedure, and then there were all sorts of bleeding problems after because the pediatrician did a sloppy job. Ugh. But Ethan's they did without even telling me and just brought him red-faced and sucking on a binky to me to be fed. It's true it's such a controversy now! But it's all over now, so don't worry. :)
I have to say that is one reason I have been glad to thus far only have daughters. It is the one thing I dread about having a boy. I already freak out over the umbilical cord coming off, imagine how I would react to caring for a circumcision, but Jeff's right, it's got to be done, even if it isn't medically necessary!
Our twins were born in England. In order to have them circumcised, we would have had to go to a jewish rabbi. By the time they both got out of the hospital no American Doctor would touch them without putting them under and no one will put them under until they are over 18 months. By then no insurance company will pay for it and so it costs over a couple thousand dollars per twin. so needless to say much to their father's dismay neither of my twins are circumcized. It's been a rather controversial thing just in our home.
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