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Parenting

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Original poster

Newborns umbilical stump

18 replies

moomin35 · 29/05/2014 10:36

As a first time mum, this is one thing I am really nervous about caring for and dealing with. Has anyone got any advice as to how I go about caring for it, im worried I will knock it or hurt my baby somehow, how did you deal with it. Is it horrid to look at? Sorry if this sounds ridiculous or silly!

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callamia · 29/05/2014 10:42

It's neatly clipped up, and seemed pretty safe until it just fell off one day. It doesn't get in the way of nappies or clothes, and you just need to keep it clean and dry, pretty straightforward - your newborn won't usually need daily baths or anything, so it's easy to avoid.

LIZS · 29/05/2014 10:42

you leave it alone and it dries up an comes off. No special care needed . The mw will clamp it and the baby doesn't feel anything.

Wolfiefan · 29/05/2014 10:51

You can fold nappy down to help keep it dry.

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Original poster

moomin35 · 29/05/2014 10:54

I've bought nappies that are dipped to allow room for the stump so hoping at least the nappies dont rub on it.

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Original poster

moomin35 · 29/05/2014 10:54

How soon does it fall off?

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LIZS · 29/05/2014 10:55

a few days, maybe a week.

hedwig2001 · 29/05/2014 11:46

The umbilical cord has no nerves in it, so baby can't feel it. It will gradually dry out, shrivel and drop off by about 2 weeks.
Try to keep it outside the nappy. If it gets sticky or smelly, clean it with clean water and cotton wool.

NorthEasterlyGale · 29/05/2014 13:16

To be honest, we just ignored them on both boys! Didn't bath them when little and just made sure they were comfy and the clips didn't dig in if they were lying on their tummies on us. DH probably checked they were okay when changing nappies as he did all changes, but that was it really. He wanted to keep them when they fell off....

With DS1 it took nearly 3 weeks to drop off, was sooner with DS2 but I can't remember when. Which isn't good as he's only 13 weeks, so you'd think I'd know that

notaflamingclue · 29/05/2014 13:18

It took a while for DD's to drop off - at least 2 weeks I think. Neither nappies nor baths bothered it or her.

KLou1105 · 29/05/2014 23:04

I didn't do anything with dd's, just left it, it didn't get in the way. I gave her a bath when she was 7 days old and it had fallen of the next day wen DH was changing her x

wheresthelight · 29/05/2014 23:33

i know exactly how you feel!! i was terrified when i had dd last year as no one really ever tells you what it looks like etc! And no one warns you that it starts to really smell before it drops off - it basically goes gangrenous and drops off.

We bathed dd 2 maybe 3 times before it fell of at about 10-12 days old. my MW wrapped cotton wool around the base of it to help it dry out but also the dying tissue was giving her a rash so it just stopped it making contact with her skin.

I did notice that even though the main stump had dropped off there was still a couple of tiny bits still attached to her tummy button for about 10-12 weeks afterwards. I did mention to my utterly useless HV and she wasn't overly concerned, just told us to make sure we dried the inside of her tummy button thoroughly with a cotton bud.

gallicgirl · 29/05/2014 23:39

It honks by the way.
You don't really need to bath baby for first couple of weeks so that smell is quite strong.

NorahBone · 30/05/2014 08:52

My baby's fell of quite quickly but bled occassionally for a quite a while after. I was leaving the scab to fall off, but it isn't a scab, just dried blood (there's no actual wound). I was very squemish about it before the birth, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I was glad when it fell off though!

Gogogodaddy · 30/05/2014 21:42

Did anyone keep it? My DS was in NICU for two months and when his came off all the nurses insisted I keep it in his memory box. I thought it was gross but agreed. I found it two years later in a tissue and nearly puked. Straight in the bin.

wheresthelight · 30/05/2014 21:44

Yuk! Definitely not!!

GwladysFrightandthePups · 30/05/2014 21:53

Our dog ate our son's. It came off while I was changing him so I just put it on the side and got on with getting him ready for bed. I came back downstairs and the partially chewed clip was empty on the floor...

jessiemummy28 · 31/05/2014 07:48

DD's dropped off after 5 days and I was so relieved as it stank!

onedogatoddlerandababy · 31/05/2014 07:56

DD1's took forever to drop off, almost 3 weeks. Dried out fine, just took ages to detach completely. It does go a bit sticky/weepy looking as it begins to detach, but I was assured it was fine, just check for redness around the site.

DD2's was off by day 6, was hanging by a thread from about day 2/3 though, super wriggly kicky baby, she'd caught the clip in a nappy change and nearly took it off. We cleaned it with cotton wool and water as it was a bit sticky but midwives said it was fine.

They are quite grim though. I was definitely much happier with nappy changes/dressing once they were off!

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