Boys are 18 days old and doing well. Mason and Maddox have both "graduated" to the intermediate section. Still breathing on their own, no iv's and both have started drinking from a bottle. Mason is 3 pounds 10 oz and Maddox is 3 pounds 14 oz. Mason has taken as much as 32cc's in a bottle and is being bottle fed every other feeding. Maddox is a little behind in the bottle department. He has taken up to 10cc's but, is only getting a bottle 1x every 12 hour shift. Today I bottle fed Mason and he took about 14cc's before he got frustrated and went on bottle strike..lol. I get so nervous bottle feeding and then having to burp them. They are still so tiny to me and they tend to gag a little bit with the bottle becuase it is still so new and they are only 34 weeks old gestationally. Mike fed Maddox and from what he says he wanted nothing to do with the bottle and if he did drank a little he spit it back up. i am not too concerned at this point, bc at 34 weeks they are still so little and some babies don't even take a bottle til a few weeks later. So, if anything we are still a little ahead of the game.
One thing that we can't get enough of is they are starting to smile and do little coo's. When we talk to them they look around for us and follow our voice and smile. It is the best feeling in the world. They are starting to fill out quite a bit and when they have their little hats on they actually look a lot alike. However, you take off their hats Maddox has an abundant amount of dark hair and poor Mason has prince williams hair line, but it is light brown with blonde!!! I am so excited for them and what is to come. The only thing I am starting to get nervous about is when they do get to go home we will be getting them circumsized. I know tons of babies get this done and they never remember it and it heals quickly, but I just feel bad putting them through something else painful :(. This is the time to do it since they are so little, but I just feel bad. If you have any been there done that's please let me know to ease my mind. Our OB said he will do it before they leave the hospital so at least it's a doctor I know and trust.
You can alway have a mohel come and do it. We did it at home for sean, well we are jewish of course. But when they are infants their nerve endings are not fully developed so their pain is not so bad. Good luck with those gorgous little babies
ReplyDelete"Not fully developed?" Scientific citation for this please? Science tells us that babies feel pain more acutely. A mohel? After a recent case where a mohel severed a boys penis in Israel? And some have died of herpes after Metzitzah b'peh? Are you out of your mind?
DeleteBabies feel more pain than adults. Babies who stop crying during a circumcision are actually in a state of neurogenic shock (coma).
DeleteCircumcision Study Halted Due to Trauma
Researchers found circumcision so traumatic that they ended the study early rather than subject any more infants to the operation without anesthesia. Those infants circumcised without anesthesia experienced not only severe pain, but also an increased risk of choking and difficulty breathing. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Up to 96% of infants in some areas of the United States receive no anesthesia during circumcision. No anesthetic currently in use for circumcisions is effective during the most painful parts of the procedure.
Lander, J. et al., "Comparison of Ring Block, Dorsal Penile Nerve Block, and Topical Anesthesia for Neonatal Circumcision," JAMA 278 (1997): 2157–2162.
That's a myth, Noelle. It was so pervasive in the medical community that some surgeons did open heart surgery on neonates under that false assumption. Just like adults, they go into neurogenic shock when subjected to severe pain, which many people misconstrue as them "not feeling pain".
Delete20,000 nerve endings in the foreskin. do you know how insanely painful circumcision is? is that what the mohels tell you, that a baby's nerve endings aren't developed?
Delete"One thing that we can't get enough of is they are starting to smile and do little coo's. When we talk to them they look around for us and follow our voice and smile. It is the best feeling in the world...." Mama, say goodbye to that feeling after you let a doctor inflict Genital Surgery on them. You'll never have that feeling again.
ReplyDeletePlease visit Drmomma.org! It has so much information in regards to leaving your precious babies whole, not harmed, and left intact. By circumcising you are taking too many risks that are not necessary :( Please please please research. There are so many benefits to leaving them normal.
ReplyDeleteShannon, I am begging you. Please do not circumcise those beautiful boys. God made them perfect. They've survived this long with their foreskins. Just remember, when intact, don't retract only clean what is seen! Please do not let anyone retract them. They have been through enough. Did you know that 117 baby boys a year die from complications of circumcision? Also did you know that 75% of all circumcisions are botched? Please I am going to put some links with this. Spend a little time looking at them. It's the best you can do for your perfect boys. Also feel free to check out my facebook. I have a ton of information there.
ReplyDeletewww.facebook.com/intactivistcrunchymom
Watch this: http://www.thewholenetwork.org/14/post/2011/08/ryan-mcallister-on-child-circumcision-the-elephant-in-the-hospital.html
Read this: http://www.thewholenetwork.org/3/post/2010/11/50-reasons-to-leave-it-alone.html
Read this: http://joseph4gi.blogspot.com/2013/03/circumcision-death-yet-another-one-i.html
Read this: http://www.examiner.com/article/new-study-estimates-neonatal-circumcision-death-rate-higher-than-suffocation-and-auto-accidents
Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bZKTLN-xINA
Print this off and give to anyone who will come near your sons: http://www.drmomma.org/2009/06/how-to-care-for-intact-penis-protect.html
And regarding the babies don't feel pain comment!: http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/chamberlain.html
Lastly if you are religious: http://www.stopcirc.com/christian.html
Please please mama, think about it. If these were beautiful girls, you'd be taking them home whole. Why do boys have to have cosmetic surgery before they can go home? Circumcision affects the man they will become. It can never ever be undone. <3
Watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXVFFI76ff0
ReplyDeleteThis child is as anesthetized as it is possible to be while conscious (and the vast majority of doctors use NO anesthesia whatsoever) and is still screaming in misery to the point of collapse.
There is no need to do that to them. They're perfect the way they are. You've waited so long for them and been through so much already, THEY'VE been through so much already, don't do that to them, too. And plenty of boys and men don't turn out "fine," it's just rarely talked about. Many have horrible complications, and over a hundred babies a year in the US die from it.
You love them. Protect them. They don't NEED the ends of their penises removed. There is no advantage to having that done. There are no benefits. It's routinely done nowhere in the world but in the US. The entire world and the whole course of human history has a lot more going for it than a doctor who solely sees a $500 bill on the end of each penis and only has to cut them off for his own benefit.
Mommy. You survived infertility. Will your babies? You ARE aware you DON'T have to go through with this right? That this is not customary in Europe, Australia, Japan and pretty much the rest of the world? (30% of the world's men are not circumcised and they do fine?)
ReplyDeleteMommy.
Know that death is a risk of infant circumcision. This increases with NICU babies. Google Joshua Haskins. Google NICU circumcision death.
Mommy. You don't have to do this.
Death is a risk.
Will it be worth it to you?
Esp. after trying so hard?
Mommy, please educate yourself.
You don't have to go through this.
Please.
Your babies will thank you.
nocirc.org
Joseph, I think you meant 70% of the men in the world are not circumcised...
Deletex
Your son's body is perfect. Please don't let a circumciser cut your son's healthy genitals. Numerous studied describe the pain as severe and persistent. The complication rate is 100%: lose of a useful organ. 10% of babies develop meatal stenosis. I did. I endured traumatic corrective surgery at age 5. And other complications. I am a circumcised father of an intact son. His body, his choice. If you wouldn't circumcise your daughter, don't circumcise your son. Boys are the more vulnerable of the two genders and deserve more protection from pain and violence. Your OB is unethical breaking the law if he/she operates on healthy, non-consenting children. With respect to ethics, doctors who circumcise violate all seven Principles of the AMA Code of Ethics; violate a primary tenet of health care, First, Do No Harm; and violate the Golden Rule. With respect to human rights, doctors who circumcise violate a child's basic human right, the right to an intact body; and violate the Nuremberg Code of Ethics, which regulates experimentation on humans. They also violate numerous provisions of the law.
ReplyDeleteMama, people are begging you to educate yourself. We're talking about it on my Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/richard.carver.779/posts/261684443988717
ReplyDeleteThe reasons that circumcision should be postponed are simply common sense, and include the following:
ReplyDeleteWhen a boy is born, his foreskin and glans are held tightly together by connecting tissue (occasionally a newborn has a retractable foreskin, but this is quite rare). In order to circumcise an infant, the foreskin must be torn from the glans. This is extremely painful. Numerous medical studies describe this pain as "severe and persistent." If circumcision is postponed until the foreskin has become retractable, the procedure will be much less traumatic. As a boy grows, his foreskin will naturally separate from the glans and become retractable. This process is not usually completed for several years, and may take until puberty.
Anesthesia is difficult to use on infants, since they are so small. If the surgery is postponed until the patient is larger, it can be used with much greater effectiveness.
The penis of an infant is tiny. If postponed, the surgical result will be more precise, as less guesswork is required about how the penis will grow and develop. In fact, there is evidence that the outcomes of circumcisions on older boys are less prone to surgical mishaps and complications.
So, when is the best time to have a boy circumcised? Each of these points demonstrates that no decision should be made when the boy is still a baby. This gives parents plenty of time to educate themselves and learn what is best for their son. Expectant parents face challenging decisions. Many soon realize that this particular decision is best left to their son to make for himself, and that is the best reason of all to wait. http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/info/freeman.html
Don't have to do it, love. Theres no reason to. They have been through so much already. Why put them through more? Youre the mama, you've done a beautiful job so far protecting their tiby bodies and being the best advocate for them. Keep going. They will thank you later in life for keeping them perfect and protecting them. Just be sure to research intact care. There's a website called Saving Our Sons that have wonderful up to date info on the issue of caring for whole sons.
ReplyDeleteI honestly wish someone had given me info on this. No one did. Now my greatest regret in life is letting doctors do this to my sons. Its something we all need to protect our babes from. We owe that much to them.
I read of several cases where the NICU babies got worse after circumcision and had to stay another week. Is cosmetic surgery worth the risk to their well-being?
ReplyDeleteCongrats on twins! Do you know circumcision is a cosmetic surgery? Your sweet little guys are more little to die from circumcision complications (bleeding out) than ever need a circumcision. I'd seriously research it! mostly I'd search how it hurts their future sex life. Yicks! you can always do it later, you can't reverse death, or the surgeries that are usually needed to fix the circumcision. Complication rates are insane high. best of luck!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your beautiful baby boys. They are perfect...why change that? Nature gave them a foreskin for a reason. It doesn't need to be removed. You and they have been through enough already, don't risk further complications and issues and worst of all....regret. I already see lots of links above for you to do your own research. I urge you, please read it and make an informed decision. Ask yourself why you are doing this. Don't do it just to make them look like daddy - you wouldn't change another body part if it didn't look like their father's. Don't do it because of the risk of cancer (fears blown up out of proportion in the US)...if you had girls, you wouldn't remove their healthy breast tissue because of a risk of breast cancer. If they choose to remove it at a later date, as a consensual adult, that will be their choice. If you make it for them now, it cannot be reversed later. Good luck. I hope you make the right decision for your babies.
ReplyDeleteHey there, I just wanted to let you know that circumcision is not necessary. It is risky even for a full term and healthy baby, but even riskier for premature and small babies. I beg you to please research it farther. There is no reason for it, it isn't healthier and an intact boy is incredibly easy to care for since the only thing you need to do is wipe what can be seen, no extra care required. Please read these articles I am going to give you and reconsider. Death from circumcision or circumcision related complications are not as rare as people might think, and after everything you have been through to have these precious babies, is it really worth gambling with their lives just to have them circumcised? They can always get circumcised as adults should they choose to, but you can never take it back should you go through with it, and what if something does go wrong? Or what if they grow up and wish they had not been circumcised, as many other men wish they had not been?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.drmomma.org/2010/05/death-from-circumcision.html
http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/cut-vs-intact-outcome-statistics.html
http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/are-you-fully-informed.html
http://www.drmomma.org/2009/09/only-clean-what-is-seen-reversing.html
http://www.drmomma.org/2009/06/take-your-whole-baby-home.html
http://www.drmomma.org/2011/01/neonatal-circumcision-video-for.html
I beg you to please read through all of the above articles, and maybe browse the website more. There is a lot of useful and informative articles there, and they are all backed by studies and doctors. Your baby boys are perfect just as they were born, their foreskin is not a birth defect. Please do not subject them to more trauma, I am sure they have already been through a lot. They are gifts, and injury or death from circumcision is a very real thing. I suggest getting into contact with Saving Our sons on facebook, they can help you out more if you are interested.
You say you are nervous about getting them circumcised because you don't want to put them through any more trauma, this is your instincts screaming at you that this is not right and not to do this to your precious sons, listen to your instincts, protect your sons!
117 neonatal boys die a year as a result of circumcision, is that really a risk worth taking for cosmetic surgery? Please leave them perfect and whole, just as nature (or God) intended.
DeleteYou know what would ease your mind the most? Not getting it done. :) Just imagine, not putting them through the pain AT ALL. Doesn't that feel wonderful? No burden on the baby or you. Just peaceful love between mommy, daddy, and babies! <3 My son is 2 and 1/2, he is whole and perfect, zero problems (because this is how nature intended it) and he is VERY HAPPY. Like whoa happy. It's awesome. I have a whole speech I constructed with reasons why it is natural, normal, and best to leave them the way they were created. If you would be interested in reading it, let me know and I will send it to you, happily. Much love mama! Congrats on your babies!
ReplyDeleteSomeone suggested using a mohel? Like the one who recently amputated the infant's entire penis? This is what you'll have your babies endure after going through infertility? Watch a circumcision video and see the agony that your babies will experience for NO reason. The foreskin is NOT a birth defect, we ALL have foreskins, male and female. How would YOU feel if you were strapped down and people took a knife to YOUR genitals?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.butterflybirth.com/10-reasons-not-to-circumcise/
ReplyDeleteDon't do it! It's unnecessary and comes with risks.
You're worried about it because there's lots to worry about. Babies have died or suffered horribly from complications due to circumcision. There's no risk in leaving them perfect as they were born. No wound in a dirty diaper to worry about and no chance of complications.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.drmomma.org/2009/06/how-to-care-for-intact-penis-protect.html
The link above has all the info you'll need to make sure they don't have any of the common 'complications' people talk about intact boys having (usually due to forced retraction).
I know you asked for information to calm you on the subject, but to be honest, the only thing I can tell you to do is follow your instincts and don't let this happen to your sons. You're right. They've been through so much already, and circumcision is completely unnecessary and dangerous and a violation of their right to choose what happens to their body for elective procedures.
Please, please leave your boys whole. Please inform yourself about the many important functions of foreskin.
ReplyDeleteOh mama, I wish I could hug you. TRUST your nervous feelings, that's your intuition speaking. There is lots of great info in those links above-- please look through them. Your precious, perfect, long-desired babies don't have to be circumcised. It is rapidly falling out of favor here in the US, and for so many extremely good and valid reasons.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your sweet babies! Circumcision is so unnecessary, most parents are leaving their boys whole. Your babies were born perfect, please consider leaving them that way. If they want it done when they're adults they can actually have proper pain medication and not be awake. Most men who are intact don't choose circumcision though because they understand the foreskin's functions.Circumcision is very traumatic for babies.
ReplyDeleteThat early cooing is THE BEST! Your heart is telling you something. Listen. <3
ReplyDeleteIt´s writen as if there would be no choice.
ReplyDeleteWell, right thing is that there is no choice, but that is no choice the other way around if you accept human right for all human beings.
They are about to commit a crime, nothing less, and it makes no difference that the legal system up to today doen´t realize that.
Look back in history, there were many crimes not considered a crime when they were commited.
Please, please look into this further. No medical organization in the world recommends routine infant circumcision. It's risky (even more so for preemies and sick babies) painful and unnecessary. More than half of American parents bring their whole prefect babies home. The foreskin is more than just "extra" skin. It serves a purpose, it's there for a reason. Your babies are already perfect, no alterations needed! Listen to your mama instincts, they won't steer you wrong.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on those sweet babies!!!...
ReplyDeletePlease, please be aware that circumcision rates are falling in the USA; and there is a good reason. Many parents like you have the best of intentions for their sons, but perhaps they have not been adequately informed about circumcision. Most of the world does NOT do it, and men are very happy about it. After all, male circumcision has been found to potentially lead to a worse sex life - but let's not go that far into the future!! Your babies are fragile and in the NICU. Why put them through further risk because of unnecessary surgery??... And even if they don't remember it, many people nowadays feel that it's simply not ethical to cut off parts of our children's genitals. They could maybe grow to resent that decision - like many men nowadays do. Please visit some of the sites people have suggested!!
Circumcision is unnecessary and painful, and potentially harmful too. The whole of Europe has never circumcised (with the exception of Jews and Muslims, both small minorities there), and they enjoy much better sexual health than the USA.
http://www.nocirc.org/
I would recommend sitting down with your husband and going over your reasons for planning to circumcise your babies, then google those reasons. Many times, the reasons people circumcise their children are based on misconceptions or false information. Both my husband and son are whole, happy, and healthy and have never had a single complication related to their genitals. My husband never received "locker room teasing", never had an issues with keeping clean, and trust me, it is not a deterrent to finding a mate. More and more parents are waking up to the truth when it comes to circumcision, that it is a cosmetic surgery that is not worth the risks. If the boys grow up and want it done, that can be their call as adults, but if you have it done for them now, it cannot be undone. One day they might even thank you for not having it done to them. Listen to your heart, mama, and good luck raising those boys. =)
ReplyDeleteMy oldest two brothers were tiny, premature twins like yours back in 1932 when medical resources were limited, but both survived and lived full and productive lives. Both received PhD's in their respective fields and both are still thriving today in their 80's. I wish you the best with your new sons.
ReplyDeleteI see that you've already been sent a generous supply of information on circumcision. This has been my deepest regret as a mother as my own 3 sons were circumcised back in the '70's when information on this was scarce. (I later left my 4th son intact with absolutely no problems - he's now 28.) I add my voice to the chorus here - PLEASE don't harm or damage these tiny, precious beings. They are such a wonderful gift that you strived for. Please check out my website: http://peacefulbeginningsrosemary.wordpress.com .
Rosemary Romberg is the author of "Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma"
ReplyDeletehttp://circumcisionthepainfuldilemma.wordpress.com/
Please don't circumcise them! Don't risk losing what you've worked so hard to protect! Babies die every day from circumcision, don't include one our both of your beauties! Let them come home whole! Please, please, please protect them from that horrific procedure. You will regret it! You already have doubts! I'm being you for the sake of your sons. Mine are both intact and have never had a problem! My oldest is four and autistic, and not even a slight infection. Leave then the way God made them. You know they are perfect already, so let them stay that way. Don't take the risk.
ReplyDeleteThe foreskin serves many functions. It provides a barrier against bacteria and other contaminants as well as thousands of nerve endings, natural lubrication, and a gliding action. Without these, he and his future sexual partners will be unable to have normal sex. (Circumcised sex is not physiologically normal sex.) Why not give him the chance to decide how he wants his sex organ to function?
ReplyDeleteI also encourage you to watch a video of a newborn circumcision with sound. You will see it is neither a surgery nor a procedure but rather a form of torture.
Circumcision is America's dirty little secret, and the more you know the more you're against it.
I wish you all the best!
-Ashley
My son is intact just as my three nephews. My husband wished he had been given a choice so he could say no. He's not trying to restore since his being cut actually effects our sex life badly.
ReplyDeleteYour boys will be just fine remaining intact. Do your research just as I'm sure you have done on everything else. And love those boys with your whole being.
and shame on your doctor, who as a medical "professional", should know that these babies are already in a state of compromised health and yet he's willing to subject them to further, unncessary trauma.
ReplyDelete