• Swab the umbilical cord (navel) each time you change your baby's diaper.
• Soak a cotton-tipped swab in rubbing alcohol.
• Clean the tip and base of the cord area. She may squirm because the alcohol is cool, but you're not hurting her.
• It can take several weeks for the cord stump to fall off.
• Continue the same care for a week after the cord stump falls off.

Except for the diaper area, which you will clean at each diaper change, your baby does not get very dirty. Until the umbilical stump has fallen off and the circumcision site (if one was done) is fully healed, only a sponge-bath is recommended. Daily bathing will dry his skin. Two or three baths each week are plenty.

Alert your doctor if the area around the cord becomes reddened or inflamed, if you see pus around the cord, or if your baby appears to be sensitive to touch around the site.