John David and Abbie 9: Yet Another Baby Watch - Grace is Here!

[Rio]

Actually a really sad story: I was against circumcision but my husband really wanted it for our son so I gave in. My co-worker who had gotten pregnant on the verge of her divorce (and then had her baby alone) told me, “I wished I had had a man there to make that decision.” 

Ultimately my son, who will be 18 next month, says he is glad he is circumcised. Also, there is less risk of HIV in circumcised men as we know now.

[SorenaJ]

They have invented something else that also greatly reduces the risk of sexual transmission of HIV. They're called condoms, and they are actually really neat. Also greatly reduces the risk of getting other STIs and reduces the risk of unwanted pregnancies. 

[Sullie06]

17 hours ago, adidas said:

I begged daily ... and wore my parents down! 21 became 18, then 15, then 13, then 10 ... and I got them done for my 8th birthday ❤️ I still love buying earrings to match my outfits. 

 

Same to the bolded. I have like 180 pairs of earrings and my husband is always like are you buying more earrings. Of course I am, you can never have to many earrings. 

[Mama Mia]

I had my daughters ears pierced as infants, it was just common at the time. For multiple piercings or non-ear piercings they were in their teens at their request. A couple of the boys also got piercings in middle school. One kept his and went on to get the ear gauges when older  - that seems like more of an adult decision as they leave more than a tiny pinprick if they change their mind. I’m glad they can’t legally get tattoos until 18. Most of my kids (now in their 30’s) have several and that doesn’t seem like a decision that should be made lightly. 

 

 

They’ve all handled ear piercing with their daughters in different ways - there are a ton of little girls in the family, I think the youngest was 1, most were 6 ish, 1 didn’t until she was 10.  But out of 8 girls currently aged 4-11  I believe they all have pierced ears (maybe 1 doesn’t) . 

[Snarkasarus Rex]

It’s funny, because I remember getting my ears pierced was such a big thing when I was little. But it’s just not a thing in my family now.  I got my ears pierced when I was 9. 

I think I brought the topic of ear piercing  up with my girls when we were watching an episode of Dr. Pimple Popper. One of the patients regretted getting gauges and wanted to get them sewn up.  My daughters wanted nothing to do with pierced ears after that, even though I told them it was nothing like getting gauges ?. I rarely wear earrings, so maybe that has influenced them.

[therulesofjinx]

18 hours ago, adidas said:

I begged daily ... and wore my parents down!

Same here! I also got mine pierced when I saw 8. I think my mom was tired of me asking. Then we both went to get our cartilage pierced when I was in the early years of high school and she eventually let me get a second hole in my cartilage as well. The begging worked yet again when I wanted my belly button pierced and she went with me when I was 17 to get it done. I got second holes in my earlobes on my 18th birthday just because I could. And then I got my nose pierced at 21. The only ones I still wear now in my mid-30's are the nose ring and first holes in my lobes. Haven't worn earrings in the second holes or cartilage in years, although they have not closed. I try them out from time to time...the belly button has closed.

[Flossie]

Regarding circumcision for boys.  My family did it routinely, it was the way things were done.  My husband's family was the same, but he was born prematurely and the doctor told his parents to wait until he was older.  By the time he was considered old enough, his parents were still paying off hospital bills and trying to keep their home.  They decided to wait a little longer.  No insurance back then, at least not for them.  In the end they never had it done.  

My MIL confessed that she always worried about health and cleanliness issues and the strangeness of it all.  My husband remembers that during baths, she would insist on having him pull back the foreskin and really wash his penis well, maybe too well.  He hated it and resented the intrusion.  I assumed that happened when he was still a small child, but I found out from other family members she would invade his baths until he was in his teens to oversee the washing of the penis.  It took the family doctor to tell her that someone of that age knows how to wash their body and leave him alone.  Finally able to bathe alone, he ignored pulling back his foreskin and just washed however.  

When I first got with him, I admit that the only other penis's (penis'?) I'd seen were circumcised and it was weird, but the damn thing worked just fine, if you know what I mean.  Initially, we just had regular missionary sex.  The first time he asked me for a blow job, I couldn't do it.  His penis smelled nasty and there was some yellowish pasty stuff under the rim of the head.  I got him to wash by making the cleaning of the penis into foreplay.  It became our thing.  Over time, he completely washed his penis without the promise of sex afterwards.  Once, when drunk, he admitted that he ignored washing his penis because he resented his mother making it such a big deal that she insisted on overseeing the process.

Regarding pierced ears, my mother wouldn't allow it.  She'd had pierced ears when she was a teen and once pulled a tight sweater over her head and the earring caught on the sweater.  It tore through her ear lobe, which hurt like heck and the blood ruined her sweater.  By the time the wound healed, she was done with earrings, and wouldn't let my older sister get it done.  Big sis was quite the rebel, and showed up one day with pierced ears.  She'd got a friend of hers to take her to a beauty shop.  Mom acquiesced, and let sis keep them, predicting that eventually she'll regret it.

I had my ears pierced when I was 16.  I was visiting my father and my step mother took me to have it done, I suspect as an FU you yo my mother.  Horrible experience, the aftercare of taking care of newly pierced ears was a chore and I got a mild infection from not following the instructions correctly.  I found that I was only occasionally interested in earrings and would wear the same pair for months on end.  Eventually I stopped wearing them completely and let the holes close.  One time I decided to reopen them and pushed the sharp pointed piercing studs through my ears by hand.  Again, after a couple of years I took my earrings out and can't imagine bothering with them again.

I've offered my kids the option of having their ears pierced, but only after they got into their teens, and told them about the initial pain and the aftercare, but admitted that if you like earrings, it can be fun.  My oldest elected to have it done, but eventually found it to be too much of a bother.  She doesn't wear earrings very often, so I'm surprised that her holes hasn't closed up.  None of my other kids have ever been interested in it.

[neuroticcat]

On 7/14/2020 at 6:06 AM, CarrotCake said:

But you make a decision about their body that they cannot change back.

Maybe they never want their ears pierced and they will always have the scar.

Yeah my mom pierced mine as a baby so people would know I was a girl. 
i don’t know if I would have wanted pierced ears as a teen/tween - probably since I got my nose pierced then.

But I dislike it now. I never wear earrings, have permanent holes, and a nickel allergy which is super common after ear piercing. I didn’t even consider it for my daughter. 

We circumcised our boys. I left it up to my husband. It is becoming less common here though. If it were my decision I probably wouldn’t have. 

I don’t know if the cleanliness thing is true or not but if so I’m glad. It’s hard enough to get tween/teen boys to shower let alone clean anything properly (and I’m not going to be that mom checking on them!)

[SorenaJ]

I got my ears pierced at age 12, because I wanted to, and I was happy I did, because I would be too scared to do it now as an adult, because I hate needles, but I was less afraid as I child, and I don't remember the pain. I saw a 5 or 6 year old girl having her ears pierced in a jewelry shop, and I thought that was a good age, because she is braver at that age, than as an adult, and she won't remember the pain. But I wouldn't do it to a baby, but a 6 year old, sure. 

[HereticHick]

JD and Abbie are so quiet, they may make it to Baby Watch #2 before this moves on to a new thread.

[EmiSue]

2 hours ago, HereticHick said:

JD and Abbie are so quiet, they may make it to Baby Watch #2 before this moves on to a new thread.

Almost like, gasp, normal people who don't have reality shows. 

[Audrey2]

I know that Torie Bates did that as well.

[neurogirl]

I got my ears pierced at 13. I didn't want to beforehand because I was too scared. I still rarely wear earrings. 

My husband is uncircumcised. His was the only male undercarriage I've ever seen so I didn't know any different! His father either experienced or knew a circumcision went wrong so he insisted his three sons remain uncut. It was weird for someone of my husband's age but the times are changing. My friends' male partners who are uncut feel for the most part strongly against circumcision. It was the fashionable thing to do for a while, but unless there are health or religious reasons, there's no impetus anymore. Plus the US was always by itself in its popularity.

[dolcez]

This... doesn’t seem very safe.

Edited August 17, 2020 by dolcez
Cropped the picture

[Not that josh's mom]

I can swin,  butI don't go boating.  This just isn't right 

Just a couple days ago i was giving these two credit for being a little wiser because they were older.  Wrong again!

[mpheels]

Grace is wearing a sun hat and a life jacket, so that’s two steps up from Joe and Kendra.

[princessmahina]

She’s wearing a hat, a life jacket, and probably sunscreen. Right now those two are the Duggar parents of the year. 

[Italiangirl]

I'm ashamed to say that I was sure it was a doll in the basket ?

Boy if the bar is low with the Duggar, a life jacket and hat is already seen as an important step up! But why they put the young babies in basket on a boat? Why not take it with you if you are doing a selfie? Is that a selfie just for two? Just for married people? I don't get it 

[FluffySnowball]

I got my ears pierced in my early 20s, though I don’t remember exactly how old I was. 22 maybe? Around that age anyways... I didn’t find it in any way painful, just two quick pricks. I obviously felt it, but I wouldn’t actually describe it as pain. And the aftercare was alright, too. So I cannot complain. Also, I just love love love earrings and do enjoy wearing them very much. No allergies either, thankfully. I then got a helix piercing a while later but took it out after around two years cause I didn’t like how it looked anymore. It wasn’t really my style, but I’m happy I tried it out. And I got my bellybutton pierced one and a half years ago and like it a lot. Not painful, easy healing, and I love how it looks. 

Regarding circumcising boys, I only know my hubby’s penis and he, as a Muslim, is circumcised. So it’s what I’m used to and find it pretty (I don’t mean to be graphic), but I also don’t know it any other way. In fact, he was circumcised as a baby in the hospital and doesn’t know his penis any differently either but is happy he’s been cut. 

What I find really important, however, is to distinguish between professionally done male circumcisions and FGM (female genitalia mutilation). I often hear the term "circumcision” being used when it comes to the torture women in some parts of the word have to go through, but the procedures for boys and girls are just so so different. So what happens to women needs to be called mutilation! 

18 minutes ago, princessmahina said:

She’s wearing a hat, a life jacket, and probably sunscreen. Right now those two are the Duggar parents of the year. 

Sad but true... the bar’s getting so low, it’s not even on surface level anymore. 

[dolcez]

11 minutes ago, Not that josh's mom said:

Just a couple days ago i was giving these two credit for being a little wiser because they were older.

I remember your comment! If John and Abbie weren't fundies, it wouldn't be such a wild idea for them to have acquired a bit of sense from age and life experiences. (Even though there are non-fundie people who are generally clueless.)  But alas...

Abbie looks very cute, but why is your child in a plastic box, girl?

[BernRul]

On 7/14/2020 at 9:42 AM, CarrotCake said:

Do you think the general opinion is changing? That would be a good thing.

Here it was actually discussed to make it illegal for non-medical reasons but the only reason why they did not go through with that is because people will do it for religious reasons anyway and in those cases it is better to have it done in official clinics. But there are practically no non-jewish/muslim people that do it here anyway.

 

I've heard multiple times from guys that they never understood why everyone in American movies used lotion to masturbate ?

I hope it's changing. Aside from religious reasons (which are not my place to comment on) there is no reason to routinely circumcise infants. The health benefits are minimal and don't really matter when you can teach a child to have safe sex and practice hygiene. I want to teach my son to do both, anyway. 

If it really helped stop STDs to such an extent, than you'd think that Europe would have higher STD rates than America, since they don't circumcise. Yet the funny thing is, America has the higher STD rates, and poorer health than the first world European countries that don't circumcise. Plus, the foreskin has a purpose. It helps lubricate during sex and make sex more pleasurable for both partners. 

But even if there were minimal benefits, the fact of the matter is it's a cosmetic procedure that my son can't consent to. Maybe he wants to be circumcised, maybe he doesn't, but he can't make that choice as a newborn. His body his choice, period. If he wants to be circumcised, he is free to make that choice when he's old enough. 

Anyway, I just found out I'm pregnant for the first time the other week. If it's a boy, there's no way in hell he's being circumcised as a baby. 

 

[SassyPants]

Hat and life vest check. But this vessel is so unsafe for a baby. It’s like riding in a tin can. Didn’t these 2 just go boating, alone, while Jana babysat? How about taking a nice walk along the shore? 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think the plastic bin is to keep her in one place. She probably can’t climb out of it. Although I wonder if she could tip it over and roll out.

Edited August 17, 2020 by JermajestyDuggar

[mpheels]

6 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I think the plastic bin is to keep her in one place. She probably can’t climb out of it. Although I wonder if she could tip it over and roll out.

That was my thought as well - it’s the cheapo aquatic version of a pack and play.

[AussieKrissy]

3 hours ago, dolcez said:

This... doesn’t seem very safe.

some people don't deserve children, fucking idiots. I could not imagine wanting to boat so badly I would put my infant in danger. Perhaps they are hoping to recreate the Moses in a basket (plastic tub) down a river.. Are they coping shit on SM for their lack of parental care?

ok i was a bit harsh, I didnt see the life jacket... they are duggars I assumed it wasnt there

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by AussieKrissy
ok i was a bit harsh, I didnt see the life jacket... they are duggars I assumed it wasnt there