Anthony had, um, a procedure done last Friday.*
Let’s just say that he now has a feast day in common with our Lord. : )
Frankly, I think it was harder on me than it was on him. I asked John to meet me at the clinic so he could keep an eye on the rest of the kids. They were more than happy to watch Peep in the van while their papa paced outside it, talking nonstop on his cell phone and getting lots of work done. (He’s such a lawyer man, that man.)
11-year-old Joe, though, I brought into the clinic with me. My almost-adolescent is becoming such a comfort, and this irony wasn’t lost on me that day. My oldest son…my youngest son…the bookends among my children.
After meeting with the doctor and signing some forms, we were asked to wait outside in the lobby…and wait we did, for a good twenty minutes while I sniffled and snorted and swabbed my eyes and Joe read his latest Redwall book.
It’s a symbiotic relationship we have, I tell you.
I prayed to Mary and thought of how her suffering, too, took place on a Friday. I offered her my mother’s heart and asked her to be with Anthony—my little Anthony, my lovey, my son. I took comfort in the fact that my doctor—herself the mother of two teenaged Scouts and a gem of a wonderful woman, to boot—has been performing this procedure for over 20 years now. Anthony’s was her third that day.
Still. I was greatly relieved when she had finished.
She called me back into the room and I went eagerly.
We were asked to stay there for another half hour to insure that everything was fine with Anthony. I told Joe that he could go out to the van if he wanted, but he said, “No, Mom, I’ll stay with you.” He has a good heart, this boy of mine. What’s more, he had a novel!
And so once again we waited, my bookend boys and me. This time, the waiting was peaceful and calm; I had my baby; all was well. I loved how the clinic handled this post-op phase of the procedure: the lights were off, a CD player was quietly playing lullabies, and Anthony was freshly swaddled in a lime green blanket.
He looked like a little sugar snap pea—a sugar “snipped” pea, I later joked with my husband—and I started crying all over again to see him.
This time, though, it was for love.
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
*Jenn dared me to blog about this procedure. I am doing so because I love a good dare…almost as much as I love Jenn.
OH, he does look just like a pea in a pod!
Love the Boppy!
Your older boy, what a sweet boy.
We choose not to snip, I couldn't handle it as good as you!
Thanks, Margaret, for blogging this. As we're about to have our first boy, we're in current discussions about the procedure. Nice to have some perspectives to consider.
Been through this just a few times ~ it's hard on me every time. Chose not to do it on the last two (They were preemies and they don't do the "procedure" on the wee little guys ~ then we just decided it wasn't terribly necessary. And so far it hasn't been. Hope that stays true.)
Anthony is so, so precious. Congratulations!
I have one snippy and one not snippy. 😉 Let me tell you, I stressed about the snippy too. I just could not handle the thought of my 5 lb little one getting that done though, so he was spared that event.
aww. 🙂 He does look cute.
I saw that the Boppy covers–the cute ones!–are not on sale at Target. 🙂 I thought of you.
We had to wait until my oldest (now 9) was 6 months for "the procedure" because he was a premie.He had to have general anesthesia and it was a very long day. The pther two boys were done in the hospital before they went home…glad we are avoiding it this time (having our first girl!)…
Best post title EVER!
But Margaret, how could you do something so cruel to your innocent baby child? How could you hurt him, *disfigure* him for no reason at all? Hee, hee! Kidding, of course, and saluting your courage in blogging!
Two unsnipped boys here. Couldn't bring myself to do it. 🙂
I love the picture too!
DS was "done" in the hospital, I think when he was just a day old. DH actually went WITH him because he thought he should be there for him! Now THAT's Daddy love! No general, just local and it was over quickly.
But the OB did it and didn't do the best job…or should I say not complete…
It hasn't been a problem, but we have wondered if he were ever to have surgery for any other reason if he'd want it addressed…
It would be his choice.
Like many other people, it partially came down to us of "being like Daddy" and ease of cleanliness. No other boys here, but I do think I'd choose it again.
I have two girls so I dont have any experience in 'that' field but my sisters had boys and they were 'done'.
Nowadays, in our country area, circing has basically been outlawed and you are hard pressed to find a doctor who will perform it. My nephew had to get it done on the black market (paid the doctor cash$ at his surgery rooms).
I thinks it is best done or at least do it if the Daddy has been done.
Cheers – Joolz
We did not have our boy snipped either. That was 20 years ago. Not being Jews we could find no real reason for doing it and our doctor preferred not to. All is well with him. The baby is now a handsome young man.
Well, you are a braver woman than me, blogging about the snip!And I don't see any ugly comments yet, which is such a relief.Whew!
It is good to hear someone actually talk about this.
My three boys are not snipped. We figured that they would probably be the 'odd' ones living in the midwest where the procedure is quite common. But, then we moved to Europe where the procedure pretty much doesn't exist! Were I to have a baby here we would have to find a specialist willing to do it. It's just not done.
He looks like an absolute sweetheart wrapped in that green blanket. I just want to go and hug him and squeeze him.
I have two boys that were both "snipped" in the hospital when a day old. It was a hard decision and I am glad to see people are being so respectful here. For us it was a "like daddy" decision as well. I hate that time though. That time of waiting while your baby is in there. I had a girl this last time and I of course was elated just because my baby was here -boy or girl, and joyful that a girl brings new experiences-BUT I was also relieved that I did not have to experience the "snip" moment this time around.
My first two boys were done right away in the hospital. This was doable because I figured, hey they just came down the birth canal, and they are being pricked and poked in so many other ways, I think they can handle a "little snippy". It was not available right away for boy #3, would have had to bring him back in etc….it wasn't a philosophical decision, just a practical one. I just didn't want to deal with going back and the whole deal. Plus, 7 years after having my first boy, it just was less common…. So, two snippys, one not snippy. No one seems to notice or care :-))). mcm
Mine were snipped. It was a combination of several things: it looks better, it's what dad looks like, etc. The youngest had his done in connection with a cosmetic fix when he was three. In fact, the extra skin was used to fix the fix – so he's not actually snipped, but he looks it. Let's just say the mushroom look is better than the clam look – just my two cents. They do handle it better when done early.
Hello! I have been lurking around your blog for a bit now and I wanted to comment on your post!
Prior to having children, I did not know what a "controversy" the "procedure" was. Yikes. I left the decision up to my dh, who said, snip away. (Well maybe not those words, but close enough.) Since my son was born at home, we had his pediatrician do it after his first check up. It was hard to watch, but the doc and the nurses were awesome.
I have had two girls since then and while I would love for my son to have a brother, I loathe the thought of dealing with the nay-sayers of the snip. Not that I wouldn't do it again, I would. So your blog today was nice to read1
Beth in Ohio
You are brave to post about this!
I have three boys, none of whom were "snipped" — our first was a really tiny preemie (2 lbs 14 oz), and after ALL he went through in the NICU, there was no way I was going to put him through anything else. The nurses thought we were crazy, and kept pushing for it anyway. (we still said no)
We chose the same for the next two, and both times had a doctor come in and basically applaud!
For us, the "look like Daddy" argument didn't really matter, since my dh has never showered or anything with them, so they don't know that they look different! *grin* Instead, we went with the "We don't see a reason for this" plus a "let's look like our big brother" train of thought…
I'm not militant about it… just explaining our personal reasons not to.
Glad your sweet little guy came through with flying colors! He's so beautiful!!!
I had my son done. He was 5 wks early and weighed about 5 lbs (maybe a little less when the procedure was done). Our neonatalogist who was also a mohel and an Orthodox Jew did it. He asked me ahead of time if I minded if he prayed. Minded?!? Please do! 🙂 Dh accompanied Will and said everything went well. It was his second time witnessing a circ as he was front row when our friend's son had his bris. The bris was incredible, I kept wondering what Jesus' bris was like.
Ouiz, that made me laugh. I left it up to my husband – going with the whole 'look like Dad' reasoning. But now that you bring it up, it's not like they'll be posing for photos and need matching outfits. When will they ever need to coordinate this particular area? Too funny.
My boy isn't snipped. We just think it's an unnecessary cosmetic procedure. Our ped. was glad; our little guy was born @ 36 wks and although a good size (6lbs 5oz), our doctor figured the more energy he had for growing (vs. healing), the better.
Anthony looks absolutely adorable in that pic. A peapod, for sure!
We chose not to snip our son, and I have to say I'm SO glad we didn't do it! I don't think I could take it! Thanks for all the comments – it makes me feel like he won't be the odd one out!