Boy Parts

I’m mature enough to say penis on the Internet, but in the .002% chance this thing takes off, gains readership for 15 years & then my son stumbles upon it, I don’t want him to be mortified that I was talking about his penis to the world. But remember that there’s nothing shameful about genitals and we should normalize the actual words instead of shaming kids about them from birth!!!

If your baby is born with male parts, I have a few specific tips in the diaper department that were passed along to me after a lot of “why is this kid soaking through these diapers and peeing up his shirt?!?!”

1. Point it south. This might seem so obvious to everyone else, but apparently I never got the memo despite babysitting boys for years and having two godsons. No one told me “hey, make sure you tuck it down or else that hose is pointing up towards the band where the diaper doesn’t have any absorption.” It’s worth the extra second before fastening the second side tab to make sure it’s pointing towards six instead of midnight.
2. Get all the pee out before a diaper change. Take a cold wipe and put it on his thigh or tickle his tummy with it, and sometimes this will stimulate your baby getting out one last go before you take off the diaper. The cold air during a diaper change can often prompt him to pee anyway, and unless you want the walls, himself, or your face sprayed, it’s wise to get that out of baby’s system while he’s still covered.
3. If you choose to get your son circumcised, diaper changes will be terrifying for at least a week. When the nurses showed us how to put Vaseline on a gauze to care for the fresh wound, I was absolutely traumatized. “It looks worse than it is.” Are you SURE?!? Because I’m regretting ever letting him leave my sight, thank you. This did not help ease my already heightened new mom anxiety, and I truly dreaded changing his diaper until it healed. Just a heads up, in case you’re expecting a boy and planning on getting it done.
4. If in doubt, size up. Especially at night. Our dude has always been a champion eater, thus his output seemed quite voluminous from the start. Newborn diapers still fit his skinny hips so I didn’t think to size up, but trying size 1’s before I would have guessed they’d have fit him was the solution to his waking-up-soaked problem.