Yes! The Stump is Gone!

I was up with Riley for her 3:30am feeding this morning when I went to change her and was so excited to find that her umbilical cord stump had fallen off! I saw that it was gone first, then had to fish through her little sleep gown to find it. Aside from being an ugly sight, that darn stump made diaper changing and dressing her a challenge - I was so afraid of getting it caught on something. This is definitely a milestone in my book! Thankfully I realized at the next feeding that the stump had fallen off of the changing table onto the floor. I would have been disgusted if Oliver or Wendell would have eaten it. I was only keeping hold of it until I talked to Mom this morning to see whether or not it is something that I should keep. We both agreed to throw it out. I'll still have her belly button as a reminder. =)

We have an appointment with Dr. Kannensohn (pediatrician) at 3:40pm today. I was reading an article in a baby magazine last night titled "Infant Illness". The article listed out some of the "most common infant health complaints". I read about something called 'thrush' that I had never heard of before. Thrush is a yeast infection in your baby's mouth. The symptoms are elevated white patches that look like cottage cheese on the inside of your baby's cheeks or on the tongue, roof of the mouth, or gums. If you try to wipe them away, the area will look raw and red and may bleed. The treatment is to see your pediatrician who will prescribe an oral antifungal medication.

I had noticed the past few days that Riley had this white substance - that looked a bit like cottage cheese - on her tongue. I just assumed it was breastmilk remnants and never gave it any further thought. I am glad I read this article. While this may turn out to be nothing, I'd rather err on the side of caution and get it checked out. I took a washcloth to her tongue last night, but just dabbed it very lightly - I didn't want to make it raw or bleed ... I'll leave that to Dr. K if it's necessary. At least I'll get to see how much the little stinker weighs now.

Here is a link to a good article on Thrush.