Let me start by saying that it took almost 11 days for Baby K’s umbilical stump to fall off. It bled afterwards, which everything says is alright. The doctor said not to worry if there is a little bleeding after it comes off.
At this time – I thought it was bleeding more than the little we were instructed to anticipate. My husband found some instructions telling us to press a piece of gauze on it for 15 minutes and if it hadn’t stopped bleeding then we needed to call the Doctor right away. We did this, and the bleeding seemed to stop.
Exactly one week after it fell off she woke up with dried blood around the belly button. I called the DR’s office and the nurse/receptionist told me that it was normal and fine and not to worry… well I worried and I WISH that I would have followed my instincts.
While this may not seem like a huge deal to anyone else, it is to me…
This morning at the DR appointment, he looked at her belly button after we told him it was really red and inflamed looking. He said it is not closing properly, but now it’s too far for him to be able to put the silver nitrate on it to help close it up, and we just have to wait for it to heal on its own.
Is it a huge deal? Probably not. Am I a little bit upset that my daughter has to be uncomfortable and in pain because the office worker that answered the phone didn’t say, “It’s more than likely ok, but since it’s been a week let’s go ahead and have the DR take a look”? You bet.
My Advice: Don’t wait if the belly button is bleeding or oozing more than what YOU consider a little. I did, and although I called the doctor when there was bleeding after a week – I wish, wish, wish, that I would have insisted on bringing her in to see the doctor if not when it first fell off and I was worried – I should have done so at that point when I found dried blood on it that morning a week later. Please don’t make the same mistake. It may not be life threatening, but who wants to put their child through more pain that necessary?
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