How do I care for the umbilical cord stump?

Hi Everyone

The title says it all really. What do I do to look after my newborn's umbilical cord area??? I am clueless :doh:.

I didn't do much for my boys ones :redface:. I just made sure their nappies were folded down so they didn't touch it and kept the area around it clean and I tried not to bump the clamp when dressing them. Just keep your eye out for redness I suppose, in case it gets infected.

Ummm.... I don't think we did anything for her, cos hers was really tidy and fell off really quick.

His got a bit yucky and smelly so we just made sure it was reasonably dry - outside of the nappy - and put a bit of saline solution on it when it got sticky and gross (and STINKY!!)

We had the saline solution anyway because he got a gunky eye that we were using to fix it.

Hi Oscaroscar
All you need to do is keep it clean and dry. Wash and dry it once or twice a day. A cotton bud (Q TIP) is good for this. Wet a cotton bud with clean warm water. Cive the cord stump a good wash with this. Make sure you get right down to the bottom of the stump. (don’t worry, it will not hurt your baby, in fact your baby has no feeling in the stump. When you have washed the stump it needs to be dried. You can do this with another cotton bud or two. It is also a good idea to dry the stump after a bath again using a cotton bud.
Keep an eye on the skin around the stump for redness as this could be a sign of infection. Some mild redness is quite normal however if the redness spreads for more than about 0.5 cm from the stump then it should be investigated.

Oh, yeah, and when you're MIL says use metho, just smile, nod, say ok and don't do it LOL!!! I had a million and one people say "metho" but seriously, just a bit of warm water, or saline, on a cotton tip around the area was enough for us, we cleaned it superficially and just left it to its own devices and it'll usually heal naturally.

Thanks everyone. LOL Leasha my mother has already mentioned metho!

We have some saline and some make up remover pads (if you know what I mean, those cotton discs) so that should do.

Thanks again :).

yeah,, what everyone else said.

Mia's was pretty good, i jut cleaned it with a cotton bud and water once a day and when she was havig a bath i would give it a gentle wash then. She never had any problems and hers didnt hang around for too long. Mayb.. a week?