Umbilical Cord

[jodiefullagar]

My baby is 14 days old & I have a query about his umbilical cord. We have noticed a bit of blood around it and there is a bit of a yucky smell.

We have phoned the doctor who said just to keep it clean with warm water and a cotton bud. The hospital said the same thing.

We have taken his temp and it is OK and there is no redness or swelling around the belly button to indicate an infection.

Does this sound normal?

[drewid]

Sounds fine to me. It does take quite a while for it get "normal". Just keep it clean, and try to keep the airflow around it - ie. fold the nappy down so it doesn't cover the cord up.

[jodiefullagar]

I'm a bit conflicted about keeping the air circulating around the bb. Leo really likes being wrapped up, so basically as soon as I've changed his nappy/fed him, he gets wrapped up.

Should I leave him unwrapped for some of the time to let the air get to it a bit more?

[kimmy]

i had the same thing with my baby girl i remember freaking out with the smell & the blood. i took her to the dr & i got told the same thing. so i just kept it dry & clean & in the end it just feel of so.

[Ky]

If you are really worried, get some sterile wipes from the chemist ... the kind that they wipe an injection site with before giving you a needle.

I had these for Bella as her umbilical cord got a bit weepy and they dried it up in no time.

Plenty of time without the nappy rubbing is also a good idea and try some kick time on the floor (on a towel or cloth nappy) without any clothes on ... make sure that the room is at a nice warm temperature. I know that little babies often prefer to be wrapped/clothed, but a bit of a kick is good exercise for thier little legs and you can spend some really good playtime with them. Maybe incorporate a nice soothing baby massage.

[Siennasmum]

I used saline solution and cotton buds to clean DD when hers got a bit yucky.The other thing is,if they have an innie pop it out slightly to get right in there.(the paediatrician told me to do that) When I did that, it cleared up in no time! :D

[jodiefullagar]

Thank you all for your replies. We ended up going to the dr yesterday just to ease our minds - and of course, all was absolutely fine. And this morning, it finally dropped off!! Oh, the life of the new parent, huh?

[JenNT]

Glad to hear its all fixed up. We still had a prob after it dropped off and they recommended betadine solution.It worked :) but gee that smell from the cord eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew