Help....I ripped her cord off. :(

arcook0307 · January 2012

I don't think it looks infected or anything....not yet anyway. I was cuddling her after her bath to calm her and when I went to dress her it was hanging by a thread. Before it was completely attached still at 2 weeks old. I don't know whether to clean it, leave it alone, or use neosporin. So far I just dressed her and left it alone.

argeraci · January 2012

thats about the right time for it to come off right? Just keep alcohol on it to keep it dry so its not moist. when its moist is when it can get infected. DS still had his stump at 2 weeks and it was just hanging by a goo (ick i know) so my ped just pulled it off and told me to keep alcohol swabbing it with diaper changes. It was fine

MommyMar2010 · January 2012

arcook0307:
I don't think it looks infected or anything....not yet anyway. I was cuddling her after her bath to calm her and when I went to dress her it was hanging by a thread. Before it was completely attached still at 2 weeks old. I don't know whether to clean it, leave it alone, or use neosporin. So far I just dressed her and left it alone.

Not trying to be snarky--but you hardly "ripped" off her cord. Your post scared me!! What you are describing is totally normal, it will hang by a thread before it comes off, leave it alone and allow it to fall off on its own. Don't put neosporin on it without talking to your doctor, at least, I wouldn't!! I'm sure your pedi will check it out at your LO's next doctor's visit. If you are that worried, call and ask the doctor what to do....but no need to exaggerate with the "ripping off" stuff.

arcook0307 · January 2012

I really did rip it off though. It was completely attached before. Now the entire belly button looks wet where it was pulled off.

NoodleM · January 2012

Our baby kicked hers off at 6 days old with her fussing, and she's fine. We kept the area clean with q tips and water to get rid of the blood and she's doing great. We were told to just use water on it, nothing else.

It does look gross underneath, I'll agree but it'll start to look more normal as time goes by.

ArcadianDreams · January 2012

If it's not bleeding I would maybe put some alcohol on and let it air-dry, and leave it alone.

Also, at the 2 week checkup if it's not drying on its own, the pedi can put nitrate on it to dry it up.

lenabug · January 2012

Even though it looks "wet", you still did not likely rip it off- this is very normal. It is also normal for it to look a bit gooey and for it to bleed a little bit randomly over the next week or so. As long as it does not look inflamed, or have red streaks or a growing area of red around the area, and does not have a smelly discharge, it is within the range of normal. Belly buttons are weird.

Best bet is just to keep it as dry as possible until it looks like a belly button (alcohol is no longer the current standard of care). There is evidence that shows that a drop of breast milk can help it heal faster, but certainly don't put any ointment on it without discussing with your ped first.

OurJellybean · January 2012

My lo had her cord stuck to her shirt and it accidentally got ripped off. She was one week. My hospital told me putting alcohol on it is old practice, all you need is a wet qtip and dry it.

kourtneyp23 · January 2012

Yep I did the same thing. Usually a bath will help the stump to fall off anyway, so that's probably why it "ripped" so easily

also, I was told to never use alcohol so I would call your doctor and see what their preference is

MesmrEwe · January 2012

I agree with the PP in that it hardly sounds like you actually "ripped" it off. It sounds about normal for how it came off along with the timing... Lots of times it looks like it's wet and hanging by a thread and the slightest bump or touch will take it to the point where the only thing holding it on is a little dried blood that it may seem like you're "ripping" that final itsy bitsy bit but in reality you aren't...

Also, with DS when it popped off and I looked down there was a little wet area but it's really nothing to worry about!! Just leave it alone and like PP have mentioned, leave it be unless you get an infection-looking area.

Want a personalized experience?

Help....I ripped her cord off. :(

Re: Help....I ripped her cord off. :(

Choose Another Board

Search Boards