Umbilical cord

[LouisianaMomma]

My DS is 3 1/2 weeks & his umbilical cord (stump) has still has not fell off & it is starting to smell. (It's not red around it or anything so I am pretty sure it's not infected.) Is there anything I can put on it to help it come off besides alcohol?

[kitkat5505]

My 2nd son's cord took 4 weeks to come off. My other 2 only took 4 days and 8 days, so I was a little worried, but it did eventually come off by itself just fine. From what I've heard alcohol is not necessary, and the best thing to do is just leave it alone.

[philomom]

My ds's cord stump was a little late to hang on and got a tad weepy. The pediatrician put a drop of silver nitrate on it and it looked much better 24 hours later.

[iemaja]

You can also use Golden Seal Root powder (loose powder) on the base of the umbilical cord, should come off pretty quickly.

[MsBlack]

You want it to DRY UP. So, keep it dry. No fluids on it, avoid full-immersion baths for a few day, make sure diaper is folded back from the navel, don't wrap baby up in too many layers so s/he is sweating. And you can use a hair blow-dryer on a low/warm setting, 2 or more times a day for about 5min or more--aim it right at the navel, not too close to the skin. This can help dry up that last bit of weepiness very fast. As long as the skin around it is not red/inflamed, and baby's signs are otherwise good, no need to worry. But do everything you can to get it to dry up.

[josie423]

Golden seal and keep it dry! My son's took a long time to fall off, I wasn't as careful with keeping it dry and I used alcohol. With my DD I kept it very dry and did nothing to it and it fell off in less than I a week, I believe.

[laughingfox]

I put witch hazel on DD's daily, at the advice of my doc. Hers fell off at 5 days, but I really don't know if the witch hazel had anything to do with it, or if it just varies from baby to baby.

[Sijae]

well if you think about it you want the cord stump to rot off like it's supposed to. Preserving it with alcohol doesn't hasten the process. You don't have to put anything on it, just keep it dry.

[jecombs]

That sounds just how my DD's cord looked and smelled right before it fell off! I panicked a bit and called my ped because I thought it was infected (due to the smell), but she said as long as it wasn't red not to worry about it. DD's fell off about about a week. All I did was keep it dry... I stopped doing alcohol after we left the hospital.