Baby bellybutton discharge

[Gman0206]

Hi all, our DC is 5 weeks old, he lost his cord at nearly 2 weeks old and for the past few days we've noticed a bit of crusty yellow discharge on his vest/nappy in the belly button area, and sometimes the bellybutton looks a bit wet.

It's not red or swollen, he hasn't had a fever and he doesn't seem to be any more fussy or upset than usual.

We went to the GP yesterday to see about it, she had a 5 second look at it and then didn't seem to know what to say. Not in the sense that she was stumped, but just that she didn't have a lot of confidence in anything she was saying. 'It could be normal but also maybe not... Could be infected but maybe not...', she didn't tell us anything we couldn't have googled. She suggested antibiotics (don't they always) and warned us that they could give him diahrrea.

So far he's been thriving, eating lots (BF), putting on weight like it's going out of fashion, passed all of his health checks with flying colours, no signs of fever or sickness, not colic, and when we heard that the GP's (kneejerk?) suggestion of antibiotics could actually make him feel sick, we were reluctant to go with it. Eventually we agreed that we'd keep an eye on it for a few more days before we make a decision.

My question is, is belly button discharge on newborns anything anyone else has experienced? If so, is it something to worry about or just a normal part of losing the cord? Are we being daft for not taking the GP's recommendation for an antibiotics treatment? It's just that she didn't seem confident in anything she was saying, and frankly I don't remember ever going to the GP for any reason that I didn't get an antibiotics prescription. Just don't want to rush into giving our 5 week old something that will do a number on his still underdeveloped digestive system if we're not sure he needs it.

Could it be an umbilical granuloma? Nothing to worry about and easily treated. Can you go to baby hub/clinic to see the health visitor, they will have a look and tell you how to treat.

I've never heard of that but will look into it, thank you. See, this is the sort of thing we expected the GP to suggest, to show that she has some sort of idea of what it might be.

We did think about popping into the weigh in clinic when it's open on Thursday and have a chat with the health visitor.

Better safe than sorry so I second the recommendation to take baby to see your HV or baby support group, for example my local NHS breastfeeding one was run by a nurse and she was brilliant at checking minor concerns.

If you're breastfeeding, express some breast milk on to the navel as it is incredible at helping things heal, also great for crusty baby eyes, cradle cap etc, magic stuff.

That's a great idea ref breast milk, I'll try that. And will definitely be popping in to see the HV on Thursday to get a second opinion.

DId you go to baby clinic?

I had this with my first, although a bit younger. With her, it did start turning red, was swabbed and tested positive for bacteria, and we did end up with antibiotics, so please do pay very close attention to how it's going – if it is infection, you want to catch it early in such a wee one.