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The Mother of All Blunders

I SCREWED UP BIG TIME!!

Remember i told u his front was bleeding after the circumcision? Well.. As of Sunday, one week after, it was still bleeding and i thought that was it. I went to the polyclinic the next day.

After 30min of waiting (miraculous on a monday @ Poly but i suppose newborns get a bit of priority), our number was called.

Thankfully, we got a muslim doctor. He was surprised and said this is the first time he gotta know of a boy being circumcised so early and i told him some pple did it even at 7 days! He wanted to know the reason behind doing so. I was stumped. I didnt know why i did it. I had my reservations like i wrote earlier.. but i supposed i succumbed to pressures around me.

His stake is that the foreskin is there for a reason. To protect it. From his point of view, circumcision is more a religious rite than for medical reasons and that its best done at age 6 or 7 when the foreskin doesnt play much role anymore and the boy can now understand and better appreciate this ritual.

He said Tufeil has got an infection and prescribed antibiotic cream to be applied twice a day. Total amount due: $5.50 (cream was $0.75! hehe so cute)


At home, I thought thru about what have gone wrong. Pple told me to stick the diaper loosely, i did. To change diaper very often, i did. So what is it??

Then i was about to apply cream on him when a realisation slapped me right in the face. All these while i didn't actually wipe his front!! I only ever cleaned his bottom but never the thing itself. i really dont know why i didnt do it, but something along the time of the fact that boys spray only one direction and therefore not so dirty? I know its pure silliness.

I blundered greatly. I'm sorry my baby.

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4 glasses of Juice:

Anonymous said...

hi juls... sorry you went through such trauma. umar also had a slight bleeding, but we figured quickly that its because we didn't wash him as often immediately after the circumcision (like you, we were very scared to, even though the nurse said it was ok). but once we saw that his genitals look abit irritated (melecet) we quickly started washing him every diaper change, and putting antibiotic powder that we used on his cord. Come to think of it, Islam always asks that we thoroughly wash the genital area with running water, these wipes are a western improvisation which only lead to bad hygiene.

Anyway, circumcision has always been controversial, and as much as Islam recommends it, it is still our responsibility to read up more about it from the medical and religious point of view, so that we are not stumped when others (Muslim or non-Muslim) ask about our decision as parents. Its really a parent's prerogative. Wikipedia has a very detailed (tho bias) entry, while this article gives a more balanced perspective: http://islamic-practices.suite101.com/article.cfm/male_circumcision_in_islam

Anonymous said...

I don't think there is anything wrong in being circumcised early. It is sunnah to do it at the 7th day ;)

I guess the infection was because of the cleaning portion. This could have been identified by Dr tahir, but he didnt not, if not he could have told you guys to wash him more often which would have solved the problem.

My son only bled the first time he pee-ed after his circumcisation. I guess anything more i would be worried sick like you. Anyway i had his done when he was 10 days old at the same clinic.

Hes almost 7mths now and i've got no regrets.

Anonymous said...

Elu... I was told to get my boy circumcised before he was one month old.. as one month old & above - they start moving a lot.. so they start feeling the pain.. The greatest advice i was given was to always soak the baby in a basin of water and wash him.. It helps with the cleaning and the ring falling off faster.. :)

'azma said...

Yerp... i mentioned to JuS...only after reading this that I remembered - that the 'tok mudim' who did the circumcision for my son @ Ibadah Circumcision Services gave us an antiseptic solution as well as alcohol swabs to clean the area during the first few days after the circumcision, to avoid infections. I guess it's normal that all open wounds are prone to infections, thus extra care is warranted to prevent such from happening.

But anyhooo, alhamdulillah he's ok now right JuS? =)