A newborn baby's umbilical cord stump can look intimidating at first glance, but there's no need to get worried. Anybody can care for baby's cord stump with some simple instructions. Here are three tips for making sure your baby's cord is clean, comfortable, and healing well.
Keep Things Away
You want to keep things away from your baby's cord stump. It's not the end of the world if a diaper or outfit brushes your baby's cord. Don't get too worried about it. But as a general rule, you want to keep pressure off of the cord stump while it's healing. A diaper pushing against it could get irritating or cause a few drops of blood to come from the cord site. Though this isn't a bad thing, it's not as easy to clean up and may bother your baby when you go to remove dried blood.
Most newborn sized diapers have a convenient cutout to go around the site of the baby's cord stump. Be sure you line these up so they're directly under the cord stump and your baby is protected from having the diaper rub and chafe up against it. Many newborn sized cloth diapers have the same cutout.
If you're using larger, size 1 diapers or if you're using prefold or one-size cloth diapers you won't have this cutout. This is still okay. Just fold down the diaper so that it's out of the way of your baby's cord. You can situate the diaper a little higher on your baby's back to make it a little lower in the front, too. Newborns tend to leak out of the back of a diaper (if it's going to leak) anyways! If you have a little boy be sure you point his penis downwards as you're diapering so he doesn't spray upwards towards the belly button site.
Dress your baby in comfortable cotton clothing. Kimono shirts and gowns are ideal for the first few days as the cord site is healing.
Keep Your Baby's Cord Area Clean
You'll want to clean around your baby's cord area regularly. You can check it at each diaper change to see how it's doing. Look for signs of puss and bleeding.
A little discharge and a few drops of blood are completely normal and part of the healing process. If your baby's cord smells strongly you should call your baby's doctor or your midwife.
The cord will heal just fine most of the time. Use a little water on a cotton ball to gently swab around the edges of the cord and the newly forming belly button. I like to use purified water for this rather than tap water. Keep a little jug next to your baby's changing area.
You can also use alcohol (purchased at the drug store) to swab around your baby's cord. Some doctors recommend this and some parents feel it helps the cord dry out more quickly. Others say that water works just as well. I've used water with my five babies.
The Healing Process
Your baby's cord will heal fine with regular swabs to keep it clean. Gentle swabbing will help prevent any bleeding, but again, a few drops of blood is nothing to get too worried about.
Some moms prefer to use an herbal powder around the site of the cord. Goldenseal powder, either by itself or in a cord care formula, can help speed healing and the drying of your baby's umbilical cord site. Many midwives recommend this.
You can expect your baby's cord to fall off within one to two weeks after birth. It may fall off as you clean it, or it may fall off inside your baby's clothing at some point.
If your baby's cord does not seem to be healing well, go see your baby's doctor. Persistent droplets of blood can usually be remedied by having your doctor apply a touch of silver nitrate to the umbilical cord site. It's a quick and easy procedure. Most babies won't need this, but if you're worried know that it's a simple solution.
By the way, do you want to get more practical baby care information that will give you keys to a smarter, happier baby while building a strong bond with your little one?
If so, download my free guide: How to Have a Smarter, Happier Baby
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