Caring for your newborn baby’s belly button
You pictured yourself nuzzling your newborn's little tummy, until you get your first look at it -- the umbilical cord stump. There's nothing cute about your baby's belly button -- at least not at first.
After birth, the once important umbilical cord is no longer needed, so it's clamped and snipped, leaving behind an inch-long stump. It's not a pretty sight. Baby's belly is going to be like that for about two weeks, so you better get used to looking at it and caring for it.
Keep the stump clean and dry. If it stays clean and dry on its own, then leave it alone. But if it becomes dirty or if you see some dried blood (which is normal), gently wash the stump with soap and water and dry it well with a clean, absorbent cloth. Keeping the stump dry will help the healing process. Expose it to air as often as possible, and keep the front of your baby's diaper folded down so it doesn't cover the stump.
While the stump is healing, avoid immersing baby into a tub of water. It's better to wash the baby with sponge baths until the stump falls off.
During the healing process, be on the lookout for signs of infection: redness, swelling, bleeding, pus or foul-smelling discharge. Contact you doctor if you notice any of these symptoms or if your baby develops a fever. Prompt treatment will stop the infection from spreading.
You'll probably notice the stump change from a yellowish color to brown to black. It will fall off on its own; resist the temptation to pull, cut or scrape it off -- even if it's barely hanging on.
Before you know it, you'll be kissing the beautiful little belly button that's left behind!
Read more:
After birth, the once important umbilical cord is no longer needed, so it's clamped and snipped, leaving behind an inch-long stump. It's not a pretty sight. Baby's belly is going to be like that for about two weeks, so you better get used to looking at it and caring for it.
Keep the stump clean and dry. If it stays clean and dry on its own, then leave it alone. But if it becomes dirty or if you see some dried blood (which is normal), gently wash the stump with soap and water and dry it well with a clean, absorbent cloth. Keeping the stump dry will help the healing process. Expose it to air as often as possible, and keep the front of your baby's diaper folded down so it doesn't cover the stump.
While the stump is healing, avoid immersing baby into a tub of water. It's better to wash the baby with sponge baths until the stump falls off.
During the healing process, be on the lookout for signs of infection: redness, swelling, bleeding, pus or foul-smelling discharge. Contact you doctor if you notice any of these symptoms or if your baby develops a fever. Prompt treatment will stop the infection from spreading.
You'll probably notice the stump change from a yellowish color to brown to black. It will fall off on its own; resist the temptation to pull, cut or scrape it off -- even if it's barely hanging on.
Before you know it, you'll be kissing the beautiful little belly button that's left behind!
Read more:
