Newborn Questions

You can use a little bit of Alcohol to clean it - with a Q-tip... bt not a lot, you don't want to dry it out and irritate it. What you're doing is perfect. It's going to fall off soon anyway. The fuzzies are okay... it happens.

Hi J.,
I also have a newborn and my little girl's just fell off I used the alcohol swabs and qtips and and huggies makes diapers for the new born's with the button cord which makes it so much easier to deal with .GOOD LUCK

SAHM of four great kids ...

You're doing great! I freaked out too! My baby's cord was bleeding b/c her clothes were rubbing up against it. But just use alcohol and it will fall off week 2! I went to change her diaper and it was in her clothes! :) Congratulations!

I would rub a little acohol around the base of it. You don't have to do it everytime you change the diaper. Only do it about 3 times a day. With my son (now 10 years old), I did it first thing in the morning, after I had my lunch and after I ate my dinner. It fell off when he was around 3 or 4 weeks. With my daughter (now two years old), I did it whenever I thought about it. I was not neurotic about it and if I forgot, oh well. I just did it when I remembered. Her's fell off in just over two weeks.

One thing that I also recommend is to tuck the tail end of the diaper shirt into the diaper (diaper folded down below the cord) in the front. It will help protect from irritation from clothes rubbing it. The chances of it getting wet from their urine is slim at this age. If it does happen to get wet, don't worry about that either. Urine is sterile when first expelled and it will further act as a drying agent. Just gently clean the tummy around it, but not the cord itself. Remember, yes, the cord is attached to the belly button,. but it is not alive. The cord itself does not hurt anymore than it hurts to get your hair cut or clip your fingernails (but do NOT clip the cord off - not what I am saying at all). You only need to treat the base of the cord where it is attached.

Good luck. I know that the cord can be a scary thing. I was terrified of it when my son was born.

I know "things" have chaged since our mothers had children, but sometimes the old time methods do work best. They were used on us and aren't we all fine? I used alchol wipes with all 3 of my kids. My last one being born in 06 and the DRs were still using that method. We never had any problem and my daughters fell off within a week and my boys about 2 weeks.

J. you are doing just fine. The cord will fall off soon. Just keep using the warm wash cloth and keep it dry. You are always going to have those famous "old-timers" with their "back in my day" quotes. And yes some do work and some are totally off the wall crazy. But that is why we are here so we can help you to balance that wonderful world of doubt.
Good Luck and keep us informed.

first piece of advice...dont worry about your mom. things have changed so much since we were kids. my aunt came and stayed with me after i had my daughter and she tried to give her honey, put her on her stomach, and baby oil her head (everything the little take home sheet told you not too!) i didnt even wast it with a wash cloth, just around it. my pedi told me i could put a little alcohol on a q-tip and wipe the base once a day. not to much though or it might crack and get infected.
good luch

I honestly did nothing... My Dr told me to keep it dry, so I didn't even use a warm wash cloth. I just let it do its thing and it fell off. when about 1/2 to 3/4ths of it started to come off, I "helped" it come of. It didn't bother my son at all.

Your baby is fine. The cord will come off in about a month. If it is hanging by a thread, you could help it off. Just use the alcohol like the doctor said and keep it dry. I know it looks wierd but it is alright. Just make sure that it does not swell up. If so, contact your doctor. But from what you said it is fine. You can relax on this as a new mother. Enjoy your baby.

The only other thing i can suggest is rubbing alcohol on a qtip. i used this with my first 3 children. With my last child born in 07 they told me to just leave it alone.

You are doing just what you need to do, please don't worry.

With my 1st son they recommended the whole alcohol thing. It took two weeks for it to fall off and it kept getting irritated. With my 2nd son they had gone on to the "hands off" approach. It took less than a week for it to fall off and it never got irritated like my 1st did.

Good luck!!

You are doing fine. you might try and fold the dyper down to wear it will get more air on the belly button but other then that your ok. I will tell you this from experiance, parents will tell you all kinds of things. Such as when we were children our parents put us in alcohol baths to get our fever down. THEY NO LONGER DO THAT B/C IT WILL SEND THE BODY INTO SHOCK..... lol. Alot of the things that moms know come by instinct. Go with your gut feelings. You as a new mommy will find your own ways of doing things. Good Luck and God bless

Princess

The alcohol thing is right. The nurses in the hospital did that for my babies, too. You can roll the diaper down in the front to keep the area drier and free from snagging. Just roll it down an inch and then pull the tabs over the top where it is rolled. Worked pretty well for me.

I used alcohol to keep it clean and dry w/a q-tip and it was off within 14 days.

Don't worry wwhat your mom says, things have change and your baby will be fine.

Hope this helps.
M.

Doing what you're doing is plenty. Your mother is thinking about how things were done back when she had babies. Things change over time. They used to suggest using alcohol wipes, but they have changed that recommendation. I'm not sure what the reasoning is. Maybe it makes the cord dry up too fast and fall off before it's healed? I have no idea! Either way, they are now suggesting to just keep it clean with a wash cloth like you said and that really will be enough. Folding down the diaper below the belly a couple inches will help prevent it from bumping the cord.

A cord can come off completely and things will be fine. They removed my daughter's cord the day after she was born (i found it rather disturbing!). They were trying to get an IV in through there and so they took it off (the line was for heart surgery). It healed perfectly fine. So, no worries if anything happens to the cord, though obviously you'll want to do what you can to keep it on until it's healed! But if by chance something happens before then, it'll heal fine still. Congratulations!!