Chubby Baby Syndrome

Thank God, most brisses I do look pretty nice after the bandage comes off. Even when there is some swelling and things don't look "amazing" immediately, time usually corrects things and within a week or two swelling goes down and the look "fills in" and "evens out."

In some cases, a few months down the road I'll get either a phone call, email, or chance encounter when the question of "why is his penis disappearing into the shaft?" comes up.

I've blogged about this before. Suffice it to say, my initial reaction is always, "Does your baby have a lot of baby fat?" 100% of the time the answer is, "Yes! His legs are nice big pulkies" (or some similar euphemism for 'quite large').

THIS is the reason behind the "look" which was not apparent when I finished with my care of the baby post bris. With the exception of some newborns who are born larger, most newborns are born between 6-8 pounds, perfectly apportioned with no significant baby fat.

But once they've been around for 2-6 months, and their bodies have discovered food, it deposits most of the baby fat quite significantly into the legs and groin area. Compound that with the constriction of the diaper, plus a lot of time on the back, and a chubby baby may very well have a tip of the penis (the glans) finding itself squashed with nowhere to go but to sink into the shaft, or, worse, to have the skin of the shaft climb up and adhere itself to the rim of the glans giving the penis a partially circumcised look. Parents will understandably be concerned.

This is why I try to remind everyone of what "may" happen in the event your baby becomes chubby.[Of course, some people never experience this at all.] Therefore - nip it in the bud! Be vigilant! Make sure the glans is always separate and distinct every time you open your baby's diaper. Sometimes the diaper is as much at fault as the baby fat. Neither of these are a "fault," per se, as both are really par for the course. But if parents are aware and know to keep the glans separate from the shaft, most of these "problems" will never come up.

Call if you have a question. I am always happy to come and take a look to tell you what you are seeing. And remember it is better to call earlier, when baby is 2-3 months old, than later, such as from 6-12 months old. In either case you can be shown what to do to train the skin the right direction. But the more it drags on, the more uncomfortable it can be for the baby.