My baby stinks of rotting flesh

[Spuddybean]

Hi all, my 6 day old baby absolutely hums. His umbilicus really smells bad. The entire house smells of it and i am finding it hard to hold him close without gagging. Everyone comments and it is really upsetting me. No one elses baby in my baby group has it.

Is there anything i can do? The MW saw it yesterday and said it was fine but might be another 10 days before it drops off. She also commented that it was particularly pongy in relation to others :(

Your HV probably doesn?t have a sense of smell. You will still have your heightened sense of smell from pregnancy, and for this very reason, to help identify when there is a problem, for the safety of your baby.

My ds had an infected umbilical stump. It was easy enough to treat.

You really need to see the GP today.

I think you need to see a GP urgently because I am wondering if this actually is the baby's cord stump or if it's you and you have an infection. i had an infection after birth and I felt awful, just really ill - but before that kicked in I was very weepy and felt like I couldn't cope at all.

Good point northernlurker. And if ever a GP house call was needed, then it is now.

I would get to A and E and get him checked out properly. Hope he is ok x

Spuddy Somehow I missed that you had a baby, so first, congratulations. :)

I think you should get to a walk in centre or A+E and if everything comes up okay with the baby then perhaps Northern is right, in which case it needs dealt with ASAP.

I really can't believe they aren't taking this more seriously.

I was coming back to post what Northern has said.

Dd1s was the same. My doctor did a swab just to make sure as it was a bit wet looking, but it was all fine, it just smelt dreadful! I agree with everyone else, get a docs appointment for him and be kind to yourself, things do get better!

okay - panic over, i think. I have just changed DS and the cord has come off (it was in the back of his baby gro. The belly button looks okay and i bathed it and dried it. the smell has gone from DS.

5 days old is very early to lose it isn't it? Is that a worry?

Thank you for all your concern. it is very kind. I do have DP but he went back to work this week. We were planning a lovely water birth and him being at home for a week, then mum coming for a week, then DP being at home for another week later on. But baby was 14 days late, we had a horrific labour and birth so DPs pat leave week was used up last week. Mon-weds of labour and thurs-sat me in the hospital.

Mum was supposed to come up the 2nd week for when the baby was actually due. But dad had surgery booked last Thurs and has had complications so she is now having to stay home with him this week.

It's fine really, it just means i have to establish being at home on my own in the days. DS is awful at night and I don't want to wake DP as he has to go to work. Going to try to bathe my stitches in some tea tree now.

Spuddy My DS was around 5 days when he lost his so don't worry about that too much I think.

I hope things get easier for you. I thought the tea tree was really quite amazing, I used to go into the bath and put a load of sea salt in as well, it was bliss.

spuddy, pre soak all your maternity pads with tea tree oil, the whole packet, its really soothing and helps keep infection at bay

also, when weeing, keep a sports water bottle by loo, put a few drops of tea tree oil in and warm water and aim when weeing, it also helps

take some lactulose as a matter of course

these tips were passed onto me with DC3 and my recovery time was much faster and it was first time I didnt end up on antu biotics

i put a few drops in centre and at either end of the pad.

Spud - you do know that DP will want to help you in teh night, regardless of whether he has to go to work? unless he's air traffic control, he can really cope with a night or two of little sleep. You should also forget any laundry or cleaning and sleep when baby sleeps as you'll heal much faster if you aren't stupidly overtired. xx

I don't know Northern, DP and the MW defo say the smell is coming from the umbilical cord.

I really hate the health 'service' here. Everyone just passes the responsibility to someone else and it is a kafkaesque nightmare of beaurocracy. We have had this throughout the pregnancy and during the last few weeks of complications.

Just had a call from the docs. She said i need to go in. I said i can't and she rudely snapped 'for what reason'? I said because it's a 2 mile walk, i am double incontinent with painful stitches and i can't drive. She said 'well just get someone else to bring you' i said i don't have anyone and she sighed incredulously 'what no friends or family?' Erm no, then she said 'really?'. Sorry if i'm a freak doctor! but i can't believe how hard it is to get a call out.

She then said she'd see if a district nurse would cover me as technically it's not their jurisdiction and as the baby isn't registered at the surgery they would have problems processing swabs for a non patient.

I am

She is calling me back.

Congratulations and sorry to hear to have had such a rough time. Both my girls clamps came off reall quickly with no ill effects. Hope things start getting easier for you.

Also Northern I owe you an apology, i have just remembered i have a tesco voucher to post for Toddle. What with everything i completely forgot.

How is she? I hope her, baby and kittens are well. :) I will post the voucher when i can get out i promise

OH MY GOD! Doctor just called back. She said she had called my MW who said she saw it yesterday and it's fine, she also then said that my partner could take me to the centre. I said my partner isn't here. Then she said as if i was lying 'the midwife has said your partner works from home', i said 'no, he was working from home when she visited last, but he does not work from home normally'. Then she dismissed me and said, 'oh well whatever, the mw will deal with this now, bye' and put the phone down.

I feel an enormous complaint coming on.

Def complain. New mothers where I live are treated terribly - not enough mws and health visitors, and I made a formal complain to the trust and got a very thorough response.

Complain! That is shocking treatment. :(

I'd call the ward you were on after you gave birth (assuming it was at hospital) I called mine for all sorts of worries in the first week of two and they were fab.

what a shocking treatment.
what if baby was really ill and no one takes new mother seriously...
please complain, this is ridiculous!

I woudl complain to the head of the surgery but also see if you can change surgery. I seem to remember somewhere from the depths of my mind that they get addit'l funding for preg / post natal women so you should be welcomed. what a cow. Maybe she was unaware of your situation? I feel rather sorry for the MWs who appear to be having an unacceptably high burden of medical care thrust upon them at your surgery

Oh Spuddy :(

Whereabouts are you?

My GP was more than happy to see my DS before he was registered, btw. Because he was a tiny baby.

That is outrageous. Where I live, you are not discharged from the hospital until day 10 I think, regardless of when you leave hospital. So I would call the labour ward and see what they say. Poor you.

Can your BF use some of his holiday allowance up?
Glad to read about his cord falling off though.