Cover healing umbilical cord site with a cotton nursing pad

Kim calls this the "rising moon." When I saw her hack in my inbox, I thought it had something to do with Twilight mania! Then I remembered the book is called New Moon, and that I'm not as connected to pop culture as a few other people I know. (Hey, I just watched the first Twilight movie last week.) (And Robert Pattison is cute, but to me he'll always be Cedrick Diggory.)

Where was I? Oh yes, writing a long, rambling, unrelated intro to a very smart one-sentence hack for parents of newborns!

Instead of folding down diapers so that the umbilical cord doesn't come off too early, try covering the cord with a cotton breast pad before diapering.

More: Tips for newborn parents

Comments

[Scissorbill]

Come off too early? Ick! You protect that stump so it stays dry and falls off sooner. I hate that nasty black stump!

[Scissorbill]

And, yeah, I'd much rather run into Cedric Diggory in a dark alley than Edward Cullen.

[Alicia]

My only concern with covering up the umbilical cord with anything, even with a cotton nursing pad, is that it may not be getting as much air, and it may take even longer to fall off. Before covering the umbilical cord, I would look into this. Ask your pediatrician.

[badmummynocookie.com]

Ditto with the other posters. My midwife promoted exposing the stump to air to speed up the healing process.

[Nicole]

If you let baby hang out in only a diaper for awhile during changes that should be enough air to help the "stump" dry. It won't get much air under all the baby's clothes anyway. I love this hack because it seems that it would help protect the "stump" from being pushed up on by the folded diaper and protect it from pee! Also, no more gross brown stains right in the middle of an adorable onesie!

[Cindi]

As a NICU nurse I totally disagree with this hack. You want the cord exposed to air to be able to dry out and fall off more quickly. Covering it up will cause it to stay on longer. And just think - nursing pads are meant to keep moisture in and a moist cord is a haven for infection, especially when kept covered. Give me a dirty onsie over an umbilical cord infection any day. Not a good idea.

[Nicole]

Seriously Cindi, I don't think anyone would rather an infection over a clean onesie. Thanks for the advice even if delivered a bit sarcastically. Although I can't imagine how much worse a nursing pad is than a diaper (which is also designed to hold moisture...doesn't always stay folded on a wiggly baby.

[Barbaramills]

I think this would work nicely - wish I had thought of it a few months ago with my newborn. Disposable nursing pads absorb moisture and pull it away from the skin. Plenty of air would still get to the stump because the pad would not be adhered to the skin in any way. It would just keep the diaper from rubbing on and snagging the cord stump.

[Ananymous]

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[cali]

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[Ling]

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[Linda]

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