Is this normal for my 12 day old baby?

Question

I have a beautiful 12 day old baby girl. She is very tiny, weighing only 5lbs 5oz at birth, and was 5 days overdue. She is very healthy though. But now I being a first time mom, I have 2 questions. Her belly button is really gross and is bleeding a bit here and there, what should I do? And her arms, legs, and torso are very dry and scaly, what should I do for that? Baby cream doesn't seem to be working.

Answer 1

Congratulations on your first baby! It sounds like you are going through what we all did on our first child - worrying that something so perfect and beautiful couldn't be true and scared that there may be something wrong. It is perfectly normal for you to feel this way. Often times when a baby is born a bit later than expected the skin begins to dehydrate while still in the womb, it is nothing to worry about and should sort itself out in a few weeks. If the cord stump has not fully fallen off or dried out it can look a bit odd at first and just needs to be kept dry and clean. There may be a small spots of blood after the cord falls off, but this should stop quickly and if it doesn't then seek medical help.

Here are a couple of quotes from the site below titled 'Looking at your Newborn: What's Normal'

"The withering cord will go through color changes, from yellow to brown or black — this is normal. You should consult your baby's doctor if the navel area becomes red or if a foul odor or discharge develops."

"The top layer of a newborn's skin will flake off during the first week or two. This is normal and expected and doesn't require any special skin care. Peeling skin may be present at birth in some infants, particularly those who are born past their due date."

Answer 2

Use rubbing alcohol on the belly button. Dip a q-tip in the alcohol and clean around the belly button several times a day. If you haven't been doing it or have been putting baby in the tub already, I would clean it with every diaper change for a day and then 5 times a day after that. For the dry skin, my doc said to leave alone unless it is cracking and bleeding. In that case put vasoline on those areas.

Answer 3

I made the same mistake with my first baby: Dont use baby lotion like Johnson and Johnson's on a newborn. It actually dries out their skin. Aquaphor is great for really dry and scaly spots also cetaphil is great too. You can get these at any store like Walmart or Walgreens etc. Dont give her a bath everyday either. She is too long to be getting dirty. What I did: I gave my son a bath everyother night and washed him off with a washcloth inbetween.
If her belly button is really gross it might be infected, I would make an app with her pediatrician to have him look at it just to make sure.

Take Care and Good Luck

Answer 4

Congratulations on your new baby girl. As a new mom you will find yourself worrying about every little thing and that is okay--it just shows how much you love her. I would take her to the pediatrician and see what he/she has to say about it. In the meantime, continue to clean it with a cotton ball and alcohol and keep her diaper folded down so it isn't rubbing on it and irritating it. I think Pampers makes a newborn diaper that has an area cut away so her little cord won't be rubbed by the diaper. Here is a website with more info on the cord:

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/127.html

As for the dry skin, a lot of that is natural for a new baby....they tend to be a little flaky and dry :-) I used a product called "Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema Cream" on my daughters when they were infants. You can purchase it at Target and it works really well. Most of her dry skin will clear up by itself but a little cream may make it clear up sooner. Here is the website for the cream:

http://www.gentlenaturals.com/products/eczema_cream.cfm

Do not hesitate to call the doctor at anytime.....they are used to it and if they are a good pediatrician, they will not mind your questions. They are there to ease your mind as much as they are there to care for your baby.

Answer 5

Her skin will be dry and scaly for a while she has to shed her old skin. The doctor told me you can put lotion on her everyday and its not going to make a difference till all her dead skin falls off. As far as her belly button is concerned i don't think blood is that normal. My daughter didn't lose her umbilical cord for a month but it never bled really, it did smell though. I would just keep putting alcohol on it.

Answer 6

The doctor told me not to use the baby lotion on my newborn, and he was peeling like crazy! It could clog her pores and cause bad acne. You will just have to wait it out...most babies peel after birth. About the belly button though, make sure you are cleaning around the base with rubbing alcohol every other time you change her diaper. If it still bleeds/pusses see a doctor. If it is infected it could cause liver problems.

Good luck and congrats! :)

Answer 7

It is actually normal for a newborn's skin to be like this. Just keep using the baby lotion. You need to clean the belly button and keep it dry as much as possible until it heals. It is normal for it to bleed a little. Just make sure that it doesn't become infected.

Answer 8

My daughters bellybutton took awhile to come off as well. The doctor put some silver stuff on it to help it fall off alittle faster. The doc also said bleeding was completely normal and to only worry if it gets really red and has pus. As for dry skin, the doctor said you can actually leave it alone because it is her "newborn" skin coming off. If it is so dry that it is cracking, use lotion that has no dyes or perfumes. So no JOhnson and Johnson baby lotion!! Use Aveeno Baby. It makes their skin so smooth and is hypoallerginic.

Answer 9

Baby oil for the skin. The belly button-I would clean with a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol but if the cord has fallen off and its been gross for a few days I would call her Dr in the morning. My son had a big blob in his belly button that looked like a gross ugly ball of snot. They used something to clean it out and it was fine in a couple of days. THey said If I hadnt brought him in he would have been ok but wouldhave a big ugly "outie" belly button
congrats on the lil princess

Answer 10

ugh-the dry skin is just something that will slough off --my baby had it for a few weeks --I tried every baby lotion possible, lol-nothing worked.
you can lightly rub her hair brush over her skin to try to get some of the already flaky skin off (not on her face though)
if her bb hasnt fallen off yet-just continue to do what the doctor told you to do when you took her home from the hospital, if it has fallen off though and it's bleeding--call her doctor that could be signs of an infection, as when it falls off it should be closed up, not an 'open' sore.