About Your Baby's Umbilical Cord
Nancy & Betsy
The cord originally looks grayish, but as the days pass, it turns brown -- and almost looks like a little beetle stuck to your baby's belly. So when will it be gone already?!
"The umbilical cord stump can fall off as early as three days and as late as two months," says pediatrician Bryan Sibley, M.D., F.A.A.P., medical director of Beacon Health, Ltd.-Westchase in Houston. But, he notes, as long as the area does not become infected or become a source of bleeding, the timing really is not a medical issue. "Typically, if the cord has not fallen off by two months old, it can be removed in the pediatrician's office. This procedure is more a service for parents than a medical treatment."
So hold on: Soon enough, you will be able to bathe your baby, put on diapers without folding down the top, and kiss that gorgeous little belly button. (Read this page for more about umbilical cord care.)