How should I care for my baby's circumcision site?

After the procedure, a thin piece of gauze is left covering the incision site. The gauze may stay in place for approximately 24 to 48 hours before falling off on its own. Sometimes your physician will have you replace the gauze.
There will be some yellowish crusting or scabbing for about 7 to 10 days--don’t worry, the skin will eventually heal and look normal. Until it is healed, your physician may recommend that you continue to cover the end of your
baby’s penis with petroleum jelly or another ointment at each diaper change to prevent the area from sticking to the diaper.

Call your pediatrician (or whoever performed your baby’s circumcision) if your baby doesn’t have a straight urine stream, if your baby hasn’t peed for 8 hours after the circumcision (he may finally pee while you are dialing the phone), or if there is a lot of bleeding, pus, redness, or bruising.

Healing after a circumcision takes about one to two weeks. In general, after a circumcision has been completed, the doctor will wrap the baby’s penis with a gauze dressing. This dressing should be removed after the baby’s first urination or four hours after the circumcision, whichever occurs first. New gauze with petroleum jelly is then applied: With clean hands, open a 2x2-inch square gauze pad up to its 4x2-inch size, and squeeze a line of petroleum jelly onto the pad. Fold the pad in half lengthwise, and press so the petroleum jelly seeps through the pad. Add a second line of petroleum jelly, and wrap the side of the gauze with the petroleum jelly around the penis but not over the tip. For the next 48 to 72 hours, apply a clean dressing to your baby’s penis every time you change his diaper. Watch for bleeding; a small amount of bright red blood is normal. However, if the bleeding on the diaper is larger than the size of a quarter, fold a 4x4-inch gauze pad into thirds, wrap it around the penis, and apply pressure with your fingers for several minutes. Put on a diaper tightly, and call your pediatrician.