coles belly button?

[ammanda]

Okay i notices some yellow coming out of my babies belly button from that thing thats supposed to fall off.  I was cleaning it with water and a qtip like the nurse told me too. she never said anything about rubbinmg alcohol.. am i doing it wrong? what should I be doing?

[rebekah385]

since it is having the yellow discharge I would use the rubbign alcohol, with my last one (he is 2) i was told that you don't need to do anything to the stump unless it is having trouble drying up or is oozing then use rubbing alcohol and for my previous 2 (ages 4 and 6) i was told to use rubbing alcohol since it helps dry it out faster all of them fell off within 3-10 (one was 3 days, one was 10, the other was 7). like nickie said unless it's getting red there probably isn't any infection so I would'nt worry about it too much, they do ooz a little some times just from drying out and moving toward the outside. Good luck, i'm sure it will be fine!  

[Ladybugbc]

That's normal. My son's cord fell last week and before that he also had a yellow discharge staining his clothes too. Just clean it the way you are doing it now and keep the pee away from the area. I wasn't told about the rubbing alcohol too. So I am just sticking to water and Qtip and drying it well with a wash cloth.
I checked with the doctor and you don't have to worry unless the area around the belly button is reddish.

[BTS1022]

I was also told to use rubbing alcohol. It helps dry it up faster, and helps keep infection out. If the oozing gets to bad you can put a gauze over it.

[mom2ariana]

i was told rubbing alcohol on a q tip 3x a day OR whenever we change her diaper..we had her first appt today and the doctor said everytime we change it is fine. i was also told it can get wet, just can't sit in water. so IDK i think it depends on the doctor but i'd at least call about the discharge.

[msteri]

I was told to use rubbing alcohol or distilled water 3x a day on the stump. It fell off in 7 days and did not have any discharge. I was given little alcohol pads from the hospital so that I wouldn't use too much alcohol and get it too wet. The nurse at the hospital said to clean it with every diaper change but the pediatrician said to only do it 3x a day. I went with the ped's advice.

[Sunkissed19]

i was told not to touch my sons at all...not even to clean it with a q-tip and water...i was told to not let it get wet at all. his dried up and fell off on its own in about 9 days and never had any yellow discharge so i have no idea what that could be from...just thought i would share my experience with Matthew's. I agree with Nickie about if it isnt red around it then its probably not an infection...ive seen some umbilical cord stumps that got infected and its definitely all red around it and oozing nasties lol! they say the rubbing alcohol thing is a little old school and unnecessary (sorry nickie lol) but people used to do it so u can if you want but my sons healed perfectly without doing anything...i was really careful not to mess with it at all. i think the less you touch it is probably best because the less bacteria and irritants you would b introducing...thats just IMO tho. i would stick with whatever it was your own doctor told you to do.

[nickieb85]

No problem... Doesn't sound like an infection and yeah they stick to clothes! LOL! It is gross but it will be all better when it completely comes off =)

[ammanda]

no its not red.  at all.. but its getting on his white onsie lol.. darn it.. but thanks you so much for responding.. i seem to have alot of questions lately.. thank god for this website and you wonderful ladies!

[nickieb85]

I think more than likely it is just discharge from the umbilical cord (both of my sons had it) I would say use the rubbing alcohol to help dry it out. If the area of skin around his belly button isn't red then it is more than likely not an infection. Don't worry hun!!!! He will be a okay!

[ammanda]

Okay now im terrifed  :( I cant imagaine, should i tr the alcohol for a day and see if it goes away or take him in immediatly

[nickieb85]

The yellow stuff is most likely the rest of the inside of the umbilical cord that is drying up but it could also be an infection and it might not hurt to have a doctor look at it but more likely it is the innies of the outies! LOL!

[ammanda]

okay im gonna use it tomorrow, kinda late but i dont have any at home and will have to use my moms when i go there.. so whats the yellow stuff that comes out?

[nickieb85]

The rest of the umbilical cord will fall off but most of the time it will happen faster if you use rubbing alcohol. RA dries out what is left of the UC and will also help from his belly button getting infected. Some nurses and doctors tell you to do different things and it has been almost 4 years since my last little one but I always used rubbing alcohol =0