Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Does This Look Infected?



We had some issues early on with Penny's belly button. From the very beginning, when her umbilical cord was tied off, B was told, "Sorry, she's going to have an 'outie.'" It might as well have been some kind of birth defect, the way she said she was sorry. I have to say I was a little disappointed by this because I come from a long line of "innies." Apparently, the determining factor is the amount of skin that grows around the umbilical cord. Penny had a LOT of skin, and now she has a HUGE outie. We will probably have a conversation about it in 15 years when she wants to get it pierced.

Then her "stump" fell off really early and it totally reeked and it oozed a bit. Calls were made. We were told not to worry and to treat it with rubbing alcohol, and to call back if it started to turn red. Late one night, it started to look red. We weren't sure. We consulted the BOOKS. "Sometimes the stump will become infected—this is a medical emergency." SIGH.

The BOOKS fill me with anxiety and this is not the only time I will complain about them. We made a call to the attending physician at our clinic and tried to describe it over the phone. We ended up emailing him a series of photos. He called back and told us not to worry, stifling a laugh (probably) at the hysterical newbie parents. It was pretty cool to be able to email him, though.


3 comments:

w. wilson said...

Step away from the books.

Seriously, sell them or give them away. They do nothing but increase the craziness.

And her belly looks mighty cute to me!

Anonymous said...

I love outies! I used to have one, but my family taped it in, and eventually it stayed that way. The books say that won't work, but it did.

I'm still annoyed that the books don't mention how the stump oozes goo when it falls off. We totally freaked. It didn't help that the dry, yet gooey cord fell into my bra.

Penny's belly is perfect.

Ironic collector said...

Homer: It's a boy. And what a boy!!!