an afterthought on foreskin

tuesday afternoon was a momentous occasion for william - he was circumcised. this was a very big deal, not only for the little guy but for mom and dad as well. although i grew up in a jewish household, and circumcision for males was the dogmatic norm, our decision to circumcise was based largely on societal norms. we also felt it was somewhat important for william to be able to relate to me on that level. that said, the benefits laid out by research are still outweighed by the risks of the procedure, albeit they are very, very small. it was this knowledge that weighed heavily on my mind before the procedure.

you might be wondering why we didn't have this done while we were in the hospital following his birth. since we managed to spend a mere 13 hours in-house before discharge, william was not eligible for the procedure since it needs to be performed after 24 hours of life. that seemed reasonable. so, last week we had an appointment with a pediatric urologist to "examine" william to make sure he was eligible for the procedure (essentially, all the correct anatomy in all the correct places). dr. bruce (he uses his first name in place of his fairly long and consonant-laden last name) is very friendly and professional, and put us both immediately at ease; however, i'm convinced william was keeping a raised eyebrow the entire visit. during the physical exam, he stated, "if you don't mind me saying, your son is very well-endowed." well, if a pediatric urologist says it, then it MUST be true... :)

the day of the procedure went very smooth. william was given topical anesthetic, premedicated with acetaminophen, and given a sweet solution to suck on during the procedure (creates a pleaure sensation in the brain for infants helping to ease pain), which he tolerated fairly well. dad, although having seen several of these procedures during his rotations, still had to avoid watching certain parts of the circumcision. all in all, the surgical site is healing nicely, and all should be back to normal in the next few days. that said, i still feel a slight pang of guilt every time i change his diaper, and apply the next layer of antibiotic ointment. it is comforting to know that as i have no recollection of my briss, william will not retain a memory of his circumcision. i wonder if my memory of his circumcision will be so forgiving...