Raise the Roof!

Here is the ultrasound photo from January 22nd.

Junior has cute chubby cheeks already. Some friends have commented and said that it looks like he is Raising the Roof. Could this be the result from me listening to copious amounts of hip-hop music?

Do Jedi Have Big Heads?

Well I went in for an ultrasound last week. Mary, the technician performing the ultrasound, asked me, "Do big heads run in your family?" How was I suppose to answer that when all I could think about was my son have a huge noggin' and how he will be exiting the womb. Hmmmmm....by the end of the ultrasound, Mary determined that Junior was at 92% and weighed about a pound more than other babies during week 29. I don't know if they will move my due date, but I think they have always had it set at about a week later than it should be. Anyway, Junior is shaping up to be a big baby.

Last week you all voted on Jedi names for Junior. Believe it or not there are message boards out there devoted to people that want to name their babies after Star Wars Characters. I posted the poll as a joke and I found the names using a character index off of Wikipedia. Just for the record, Jedidiah is a real name that means "Friend of God." Maybe that is how Jedi can use the force. Anyway, there is a new poll to vote on now. Happy Voting!

Painting Pooh on the Walls

James and his parents spent yesterday painting the nursery. It was nice to have the help....maybe the upstairs will actually be finished before the baby arrives. I wasn't allowed upstairs until they were finished painting for the day. I was surprised by how much of the mural they got painted in one day.

James had the idea of painting the kite on the ceiling. I thought that they were going to just paint clouds on the ceiling, but the kite looks really cool. Below, James paints Tigger.

Jim paints a happy tree.

Linda paints the front bedroom.

I admire everyone's handy work and show off my huge belly.

Enter the Baby Pool!

Here's the deal. If you come closest to guessing the date & time of birth, as well as the weight & length of the newest member of the Stanchfield family you get to split the kitty with the parents-to-be. The cost to play is a mere $5 per entry, payable at the baby shower, or any other occasion you might see James or Kelly. You could also pass along your entry fee through one of the grandparents.

Not interested in playing for cash? No worries, just enter online like everyone else. We will assume that you are just playing for fun if we don't get a contribution from you. If you win, all the money in the kitty will go to the proud parents. I'm sure it will be well spent on diapers!

Click Here To Enter
Click the pink "Enter a Guess" button on the right. If you would like to be able to modify your guess later, make sure you register for a free account. Then just fill out the form to enter and hit submit.

Circumcision Revisited

Okay, one of my friends brought up some interesting points about circumcision, so I thought I would revisit this topic and look at the history and some of the statistics. Sorry this is such a long posting. Okay, I probably use Wikipedia way more than I should, but I actually found one of the most neutral articles on the History of the Male Circumcision there. The article begins with this statement:

"It has been variously proposed that male circumcision began as a religious sacrifice, as a rite of passage marking a boy's entrance into adulthood, as a form of sympathetic magic to ensure virility, as a means of suppressing sexual pleasure, as an aid to hygiene where regular bathing was impractical, as a means of marking those of lower (or higher) social status, as a means of differentiating a circumcising group from their non-circumcising neighbors, as a means of discouraging masturbation or other socially proscribed sexual behaviors, to increase a man's attractiveness to women, as a symbolic castration, as a demonstration of one's ability to endure pain, or as a male counterpart to menstruation or the breaking of the hymen."

The first evidence of male circumcision is found in artwork in an Egyptian Tomb dating back to 2345 - 2181 BC. The examination of Egyptian mummies has found both circumcised and uncircumcised men. So humans have been performing this practice for a while, but I discovered that each civilization performed male circumcisions for different reasons. The Jews adopted circumcision as a religious ritual and preserved the prehistoric practice to present day. The Greeks and the Romans valued the foreskin, and passed laws prohibiting the practice. Christians also rejected the practice in the first century. Jesus may have been born a Jew and been circumcised because of it (I had no idea that there was a search for the Holy Foreskin), but how did Jesus feel about it?

From the section Male circumcision in the Greco-Roman world

According to the Gospel of Thomas saying 53, Jesus says:
"His disciples said to him, "is circumcision useful or not?" He said to them, "If it were useful, their father would produce children already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become profitable in every respect."" Parallels to Thomas 53 are found in Paul's Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3, 1 Corinthians 7:19, Galatians 6:15, Colossians 2:11-12.

While looking for more info on whether or not Jesus was circumcised, I came across this Yahoo Question: If Jesus was a circumcised Jew, why don't the Christians circumcise their men folks? The answer, "The vast majority of American-born men are, in fact, circumcised...I've actually heard Christian parents say, 'If it was good enough for Jesus, then it's good enough for my son.'" Seriously? I sort of chuckled when I saw this. I guess they can just nail their baby to a cross too...but I guess those boards they strap the baby down to when they are performing the procedure could be a modern day equivalent. I guess I am just grossed out by the whole procedure, from what I've read it doesn't seem all that pleasant.

Anyway, it wasn't until the 19th century that the practice of male circumcision was performed in the U.S. for "medical reasons". I guess it was first performed to prevent "self-abuse" and they found medical justification later. From Male circumcision to prevent masturbation:

Non-religious circumcision in English-speaking countries arose in a climate of negative attitudes towards sex, especially concerning masturbation. In her 1978 article The Ritual of Circumcision, Karen Erickson Paige writes: "In the United States, the current medical rationale for circumcision developed after the operation was in wide practice. The original reason for the surgical removal of the foreskin, or prepuce, was to control 'masturbatory insanity' - the range of mental disorders that people believed were caused by the 'polluting' practice of 'self-abuse.'" Self-abuse was a term commonly used to describe masturbation in the 19th century.

These online histories, although biased, support this statement. Both have heavy citations.

A Short History of Circumcision in the U.S. In Physicians' Own Words
History of Circumcision

Circumcision to me is shaping up to be more of a barbaric ritual rather than a procedure performed for medical reasons. I understand that there is research that supports a decrease in incidence of urinary tract infections, transmission of STDs, and a decreased chance of development of penile cancer in men that are circumcised. Obviously proper hygiene can limit the incidence of UTIs...the STD thing is matter of education, use condoms because everyone is at risk when unprotected sex is involved. The penile cancer is probably due to the fact that there are more cells....bottom line if the medical benefits were really proven it wouldn't be an elective procedure.

Some Statistics...Cuz I Like Numbers
Male circumcision is on the decline.....maybe this is related to the fact insurance companies won't cover the procedure anymore. From the Circumcision Reference Library, in 1979 popularity of circumcision reached a record high in the United States at 85%. Since then the rate has been decreasing.


U.S. Inpatient Circumcision Rate by state in 2004

It is interesting to see all the green states out west with all the red states in the middle of the U.S. Image from the article, Clean-cut All-American Boys

Top 10 Most Ridiculous Products for Babies

Click here for article
James emailed this to me today and I thought it was pretty funny. My personal favorite, #10 The Red Neck Pacifier. Don't get any ideas.

To Circumcise or Not to Circumcise

Hmmmm....so this is the question of the week. I've been doing a bit of reading, and I am not sure that there is any medical benefit to having our son circumcised. I get the impression that many American boys are circumcised because of cultural norms. After reading about the procedure, I'm beginning to think it isn't any different from female genital mutilation, which isn't exactly culturally accepted here in the U.S. Apparently Europeans are shocked by the rate at which American boys are circumcised, just like I was when I heard about the women in Africa that were having clitoridectomies forced upon them. Am I wrong to think this is an unnecessary procedure? Here is what I have been reading:

Circumcision Positions of Advocates and Critics
Arguments from both sides of the debate

Circumcision to Look Like Others
I guess nobody wants their child to feel different

Answers To Your Questions About Infant Circumcision
A FAQ file from the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers

Deciding Whether or Not to Circumcise Your Baby Boy
Dr. Sears makes a pretty good argument on why not to circumcise

Week 26

Now that the holidays are over, I guess it is time to really get the house organized and finish the nursery. James has been working on the last bedroom upstairs...I just wish it would get painted already so we can set up the crib and changing table.

I've been feeling pretty good. My belly is starting to get huge. I can't imagine how big I am going to be in my ninth month. James finally felt the baby kick last night. Normally as soon as he puts his hand on my belly, the baby stops moving, so it was exciting for him to finally feel the baby move.



This is what is happening with junior this week:
"Your baby may be very active between weeks 24 to 28, when small size and ample amniotic fluid allow for freedom of movement. You may feel your baby jump in response to loud sounds or "settle" at the sound of your voice. Studies indicate that your baby can respond to touch. Your baby is around 14 inches from head to toe, and weighs 1 pound, 12 ounces to 2 pounds 3 ounces."