Last weekend a friend shared that she is expecting a baby boy. I am so excited for her.
She has an 8-year-old daughter and she asked my girlfriends and me if we had any advice for her regarding having a baby boy versus baby girl. Before we knew it we had a list of several things that we told her were different for boys when they are newborn babies.
5 things to know about newborn boys
- The pee! It goes everywhere! Cover up your little one when changing their diaper. I always kept an extra cloth diaper on the changing table. Use it to throw on top of the little boy parts as soon as you open up the diaper.
- The circumcision. The bright crimson red bundle of pain. I barely even looked at it the first couple days. I told my husband he was in charge of his sons boy parts. Yes, I am a baby. In my defense I easily faint if anyone even talks about blood so this was in both of our best interests. Follow your doctor’s advice on baths and cleaning. Also, never skimp on the vaseline and gauze. Just squirt lots of vaseline on the gauze like a soft serve ice cream cone and lay it on top, then diaper.
- Stock up on the squeezable vaseline. I didn’t understand how much I was going to go through the tubes of vaseline. Don’t buy the big tub of Vaseline! I made that mistake. You need the squeeze tubes so you can easily squeeze it onto the little cotton squares and lay on top of your little boy’s parts. I like these here. There isn’t time to wipe off your fingers while in the middle of a diaper change. I bought some at the store and then in a couple of days ordered 5 more.
4. Point the boy parts down when diapering. At about 6 months old try to make sure the boy parts are pointed down in the diaper. If it isn’t the pee comes right up their stomach and out the front of their shirt.
5. Use the next size up in diaper at night. When they start to roll over on their stomachs to sleep they really fill their diaper at night and it leaks often. Save your sleep! Use the next size up diaper (only at night) so it will hold more liquid and they won’t be woken up with diaper leaks
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Little boys are so awesome but there is a little more work and mess when it comes to diaper changing. I remember a few weeks after I had my twin boys I dropped something behind the changing table and had to get down to reach it and noticed that my baseboards were covered in dried pee. Disgusting!
How to feel confident about having a baby boy
If you are wanting to feel even more confident heading into birth, check out my friend Hilary’s Online Childbirth Class. With her 15 years experience as an L&D nurse, she walks you through 3rd trimester testing, what to call your doctor for, how to know when you are in labor and what things will be like when you head home. Perfect for if you have a lot of anxiety about the hospital processes or can’t fit-in a traditional class.
Having 2 newborn boys that would pee straight up every time you opened their diaper was a huge mess. I won’t even get into how gross the toilets get when they start to stand to go potty. My friends with all girls are in disbelief when my fellow boy moms and I talk about having to replace the seats on the toilets often because of how gross they get and it even rusts the screws.
Well now that I have shared all of this I am thinking I need to go give my bathrooms a good scrub! 🙂
I love my little girl too and you can check out 5 Things You Need to Know About Having a Girl for those fun tips.
Do you have boys? I would love to hear any tips you have for my friend.
Some of my other favorite tips include:
3 Great Tips To Keep Your Baby’s Head From Getting Flat
Brilliant Diapering Tricks that You Need To Know
Nicknames:
Best Nicknames for Grandma and Grandpa That You Will Love
Cool Nicknames for Aunts and Uncles
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The sizing up on the diaper at night has saved me!
It’s a great tip that works!
Please research circumcision. My oldest son is circumcised and my youngest is not because I learned the truth in between their births. A baby only has to lose 2.3 ounces of blood to bleed out and die. By the time a man is full grown that’s 15 square inches of skin! It’s a risky and unnecessary cosmetic surgery. The only people in the world who circumcise are Muslims and Jews for religious reasons and American’s because . . . “it’s just what you do”. Big bucks are made off of baby foreskin (it’s even in expensive skin cream like Oprah Winfrey’s). The AAP has never recommended routine infant circumcision. Please refer to their website to read this.
It’s actually a huge safety and sanitary thing to do. I’ve seen men in their 80s & 90s that weren’t circumsized and the skin had grown over their penis. It’s extremely painful and dangerous, they end up needing emergency surgery and then have to be circumsized.
That sounds painful.
The “old men with gross penises” excuse is so old. Do you advocate cutting off baby girls’ labias? Old women have lots more folds and crevices to clean, and women make smegma too. Do your job, and if you can’t handle genital care, get a new one. As for the penis growing closed, that’s ridiculous. I’m not saying elderly men can’t have issues with their genitals (as can elderly women), but lots of things start to go wrong with the human body after 80-90 years. Should we remove a baby’s eyes because they may get cataracts one day? Should we remove all baby girls’ breast buds since 1 in 8 women will have breast cancer by age 80? No? Well why not? Oh, because that would require a painful and risky surgery to remove healthy, functional body parts, all in the hope of preventing disease decades in the future that we have no way of knowing will even occur?
Circumcision is exactly the same. The foreskin is healthy, functional tissue with many purposes. Circumcision is extremely painful even if anesthestic is used (and it isn’t always used), and it’s never fully effective, since using appropriate amounts to eliminate pain would put the newborn at too much risk of complications. Not to mention all the pain during healing! Afterward the circumcised penis will never again function as nature intended. 5-10% of boys will develop mental stenosis which is when the “pee hole” becomes so irritated that it grows closed. That and other complications of circumcision (like re-attachment of the remaining foreskin) may require additional surgery(ies) which all carry more risk and pain. IF an adult male ever needs a medically indicated penile surgery, he will have access to full pain relief during and after the surgery. Stop subjecting innocent babies to this unnecessary, painful, and risky cosmetic surgery.
Stop forcing your opinion/belief on other parents who decide to do circumcision. The AAP states… “found the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks, but the benefits are not great enough to recommend universal newborn circumcision.” Also “the final decision should still be left to parents to make in the context of their religious, ethical and cultural beliefs.” Hmmm, interestingly enough I didn’t read anywhere about the statements you made claiming how awful circumcision is. Imagine that!
Circumcision is Child mutilation. My husband is uncut and is very clean and does not suffer any issues except for better sex 😉
@RM You are SO right! I don’t understand how it’s legal. Boys should be allowed to decide for themselves when they reach a mature age. To me it seems deeply wrong that it is called female genital mutilation but for boys it’s “just” circumcision. Makes me sick!
Thank you. This needs to be said, no, SHOUTED from the rooftops. What a barbaric practice and horrible way to enter the world.
Hahaha all of the penis tips! Boys definitely will pee on you during diaper changes so these are great for people who’ve never had a boy.
I wish I would have read this before I had my baby boy….. we ended getting a peepee teepee to keep him from peeing everywhere when I changed his diaper haha
Yes, I received a few of those as gifts too!
Oh man, these tips are perfect! I wish I had read them before my son was born, haha. Going up a size in diapers at night was what saved us once he started rolling over. Seriously, I was waking up about 3 times a night to change his diaper and sheets. Changed the size and we had no more issues after that!
Glad it worked for you too. 🙂
I wish I would have had known all of these tips BEFORE having my little man. Especially the pointing the pee pee down. ?
Ha! After having two boys and one on the way, I agree with these tips! Now, I will need some tips for when these boys are in high school!
Ha! Me too!!
I have my first boy after two daughters and I’m learning all these things now. He’s almost 6 months old and peed on me once. I never knew about pointing the boy part down. wow, such great tips! And sizing up in diaper at nighttime. Brilliant. Thanks!
Hope it helps. Congrats on your little boy!
Oh my goodness! I would have never thought about any of this. It makes me pretty grateful that our first was a girl. Keeping all of this in mind for the future if we have a boy though!
OH yes! I had nothing to compare it two only having had boys but they sure are messy.
another big tip is always be careful when changing them and not have a hair in their diaper. it cant get stuck on their little penis .
Yes! I forgot about that one.
When it comes to teaching little boys to pee on the toilet, I used a method that was told to me by my sister-in-law. (She has raised 2 boys) I had my son sit backwards, on the toilet! Let me tell you, it sure saved a lot of “rogue” peeing! Once he finally grew tall enough to reach the rim, he decided sitting was just easier, lol. His choice! He has since grown in to a 6’4″ adult! Now I look for suggestions for my daughter who in July, is expecting a baby boy!
I should have made them sit!! I am trying my best to get them to at least lift the seat but it is hard.
I am about to have my first boy and have read a handful of articles on this subject. I have heard that opening the diaper and letting the air in makes them need to pee (girls and boys). I was told that once you open the diaper, cover you baby up again with the diaper and wait a few seconds because they will probably pee and that way it goes in the dirty diaper and not on you or the baby.
Yes, that is a great tip! I agree with the person who told you that.
Awesome advice for mommy’s with boys. We had to learn the hard way with pointing the “peepee” down and it’s still a habit even with getting him dressed in big boy undies. But as far as getting them circumcised, each parent has the right to accept or refuse. But for me being a nurse, I saw so many adult men come into the hospital with infections from not being circumcised. It can get very filthy in there and if they do not take the proper steps to clean the risks of infections are much higher than a male that is circumcised. Just a little more FYI!! ~Beautiful family!!
Circumcision can be such a personal decision. Being raised with all sisters I had no clue there were so many issues with boy parts. Love hearing from a nurses perspective.
The only infection that I have seen is the staph infection at the site of my oldest son’s circumcision. My husband and second son are intact (very healthy, never any problems).
One thing a parent needs to know is WHY circumcise? What facts support this cosmetic procedure? What risks are there immediately and complications later on in life due to this surgery? What are the functions of the foreskin? Here are a couple places to begin your research. I hope you take the opportunity to educate yourself, unlike I did, before I had my son. https://www.yourwholebaby.org/what-is-circumcision, http://www.intactamerica.org/resources/decision & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceht-3xu84I&feature=youtu.be
I agree that it is is a cosmetic procedure and unnecessary but it is still hugely popular. My husband and I definitely discussed both options. Thanks for sharing these great resources for people still deciding.
Great resources! I would also suggest this site, written by a collective of international doctors. Circumcision is inctedibly rare in every other developed nation. This site explains what ignorant Americans don’t know about the normal, healghy genitalia of boys.
Doctorsopposingcircumcision.org
Circumcision is not necessary 💙
Yourwholebaby.org
We are expecting our first child in September, we just found out that we are having a son. I grew up around all girls so I have no clue what to do with a little boy. thanks for the tips!
Congratulations. Same as me..all sisters. It is a whole new ballgame but fun to get an eye into the boy world.
So, since 2 and 3 won’t be issues as the country where we live doesn’t practice circumcision (but they DO pierce the ears of newborn girls!) what are two other tips you can share?
(They also don’t typically tell you the gender of your baby before it is born either, though. You have to get a private ultrasound done for that.)
So helpful tips! Can’t wait to meet my boy in the next couple of days! Growing up in a family with only girls changing diapers and then toilet training seems like thriller to me!
Teach them to pee sitting down until they understand they can’t POOP standing up! LOL
Hahahahaha!
Raising little boys is certainly …different. But the beauty is that they expose you to a whole new world of games and toys, and who can deny their protectiveness of and love
❤️ ? ? for mommy..
Yes, I agree.
This post reminded me of when my boy/girl twins were first born. Oh my god – the pee everywhere! Great tips for helping new moms. Good job!
I too faint when I see blood easily at all, anything medical and I’m out cold. How did you handle birth, any tips?
I faint so easily. With the circumcision stuff I just would focus on getting everything ready so when I had to change the dressing I did it super quick. I also had my husband do a lot of it…luckily he stepped up to the task. Men seem to really want to make sure their baby boy’s “parts” are all comfy and healed correctly. I guess it is a man thing. 😉 He let me do more of the diaper changes when we had our daughter.
To prevent being peed on when diapering, wipe just above the the diaper with a cool wipe. The cold will make them pee. Works for boys and girls.
Love this tip!
I was so scared about having a boy because of the potential spraying during diaper changes. LOL But honestly, I can only think of one instance when my son sprayed during a change. My daughter was actually worse about peeing during changes than he did was. Who knew a girl could produce a fountain! LOL
Too funny! Yes, girls have their own issues too. 🙂
All of these “tips” and somehow still managing to forget the most important one of all – the babies. Stop mutilating your sons.