This site had a tool for logging a bath and nothing that told you how to give one. So this page is the act: seven steps for handling a newborn on the outside, each quoted from the source that publishes it, with the never-do list first because a page about putting a baby in water is dangerous if it puts the method above the rules. Then the part that is genuinely published two ways — how long the cord stump takes to fall off.
This section is first on the page on purpose. These are not this page’s opinions and not this page’s list — every one is quoted from the source that publishes it, and unlike the rest of this page there is no published dissent on any of them.
The stump is the one thing on this page where two national sources publish different numbers, and the difference is most of two weeks. One gives a midpoint; the other gives the point at which it stops being routine and becomes a visit. Both are quoted here with the sentence around them, because the second half of each sentence is the part that matters.
| What the source publishes | NHS | AAP HealthyChildren |
|---|---|---|
| How long the stump usually takes | “Your newborn’s umbilical cord takes about a week to dry out and drop off.” | “The umbilical cord stump should dry and fall off by the time your baby is 3 weeks old.” |
| What to do when it is outside that | “If you notice any bleeding or discharge, tell your midwife, health visitor or GP.” | “If it is still there beyond that time, a doctor’s visit is needed.” |
| A few drops of blood vs active bleeding | not published by this source | “You may notice a few drops of blood on the diaper around the time the stump falls off; this is normal. But if the cord actively bleeds, call your baby’s doctor immediately.” |
| Alcohol on the stump | “You only need to wash around your baby’s umbilical cord if it’s dirty with pee or poo.” | “There is no need to use alcohol on the umbilical cord stump; just keep it clean.” |
They are answering different questions. “About a week” is when it usually happens. “By 3 weeks” is where the AAP stops treating it as routine and says a doctor’s visit is needed. Reporting only the first would drop the call to action; reporting only the second would make a normal stump read as late on the day it appears. The page keeps both because both are published.
The AAP publishes both halves of this in one sentence: “You may notice a few drops of blood on the diaper around the time the stump falls off; this is normal. But if the cord actively bleeds, call your baby’s doctor immediately.” Quoting only the reassuring half would be a different page, so both halves are quoted. NHS publishes the same distinction in its own words: “If you notice any bleeding or discharge, tell your midwife, health visitor or GP.”
It does not look at your baby’s stump, score it, or tell you whether what you are seeing is fine. It restates what two sources publish about timing. Where the AAP does attach a list to the cord, it attaches it to infection — its lead-in is “Although umbilical cord infections are uncommon, contact your pediatrician if you notice any of the following.” The list it publishes there is: “Foul-smelling yellowish discharge from the cord”, “Red skin around the base of the cord”, and “Crying when you touch the cord or the skin next to it.” Quoted so you know what the source says to bring to a pediatrician — not so this page can decide for you whether any of them applies.
This is the sequence the sources publish, in the order they publish it, with every step attached to the source it comes from. Nothing on this list is this page’s invention, and no step carries a number the source did not publish.
Every page you will find on this subject gives a temperature. Neither of the two sources here publishes one, which is worth knowing before you read a number somewhere else. What the AAP does publish is the hottest the tap should be, plus a feel test; NHS publishes the feel test and the order to fill the basin in. Those are the only three things stated.
Neither source publishes a temperature for the water the baby is in. One publishes a maximum for the tap, one publishes a way to test it with your skin, and both treat those as sufficient. A page that hands you a bath temperature to aim for has added something neither of these sources was willing to state, and it has added it in the direction of more precision than the evidence carries.
NHS puts the order first for a reason: a hot tap run into an empty basin can put a slug of hot water in before the temperature settles, and a baby’s skin is thin. Run the cold first, then add hot, then mix. It is the only method claim either source publishes on this point, so it is quoted rather than paraphrased.
This is the other place where the two sources give the same advice for different reasons, which is worth separating rather than merging. Both say a daily bath is not required; they justify it differently, and both figures are left as published.
The cord figure is the one thing here that is easier to hold as a date than as a range. Give the tool a date of birth and it writes out what each source’s published figure lands on: the NHS midpoint of about a week, and the AAP’s three weeks, together with the line the AAP attaches to it. The date of birth is the only input. Nothing is saved and nothing is uploaded.
Print it and leave it where the bath happens. It is a restatement of what the sources above publish — not a schedule, and not a set of numbers to hit.
| Everything ready before they are undressed | bowl · towel · fresh nappy |
|---|---|
| Room warm, baby settled | not straight after a feed, not hungry, not tired |
| Hand stays on them | flat padded surface · never leave the room |
| Face first, then down | covered except the part you are washing |
| Sponge bath only | until the stump is off (AAP) |
| Never | alone in the bath · a bath seat · a bath that is a fight |
| Cord: NHS published figure | about a week to dry out and drop off |
| Cord: AAP published figure | by 3 weeks — a doctor’s visit if still there |
| Question for the care team |
Method restated from AAP HealthyChildren (Bathing Your Baby; Umbilical Cord Care in Newborns) and NHS (Washing and bathing your baby; Getting to know your newborn). This card is a reminder of what those sources publish, not an instruction to hit a date.
Two sources publish different figures and both are reported here. NHS says the cord “takes about a week to dry out and drop off.” AAP HealthyChildren says it “should dry and fall off by the time your baby is 3 weeks old” and adds: “If it is still there beyond that time, a doctor’s visit is needed.” One figure is a midpoint, the other is the point at which that source stops treating it as routine. This page does not average them and does not tell you which applies to your baby.
AAP HealthyChildren: “There is no need to use alcohol on the umbilical cord stump; just keep it clean.” NHS describes the same approach: “You only need to wash around your baby’s umbilical cord if it’s dirty with pee or poo.” and “Keep it clean and dry until it does.” The AAP also publishes the practical step that goes with it: “Also, keep the diaper folded below the cord to keep urine from soaking it.”
Neither source on this page publishes a bath temperature, and this page does not invent one. What is published is a faucet ceiling and a feel test. AAP HealthyChildren: “The AAP recommends that the hottest temperature at the faucet should be no more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help avoid burns.” and “Fill the basin with 2 inches of water that feels warm—not hot—to the inside of your wrist or elbow.” NHS gives the order to fill it: “Run the cold water first and then add hot water. Check it with your wrist or elbow and mix it well so there are no hot patches.”
AAP HealthyChildren: “Newborns don’t need a bath every day. They rarely sweat or get dirty enough to need a full bath that often.” and “Three baths per week during baby’s first year may be enough.” NHS: “You don’t need to bathe your baby every day. You may prefer to wash their face, neck, hands and bottom instead.” The AAP also publishes the reason it gives for less rather than more — “bathing more frequently can dry out your baby’s skin” — while NHS simply describes the alternative. Neither publishes a count as something to hit.
Every item is quoted from the source that publishes it, and the list renders above the method and above every number on this page. The first item is the one both sources state in almost identical words: AAP HealthyChildren “Never leave a baby alone in the bath, even for an instant.” and NHS “Never leave your baby alone in the bath, even for a second.” Two national sources, one rule, no dissent.
No. Nothing is saved, nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and the page makes no network requests. The tool does date arithmetic in your browser from the date you enter, and it is gone when you close the tab. It does not assess your baby and it cannot tell you whether anything is normal.
Each one was fetched and read when this page was published, and every quotation above is taken from it. If a source changes, this page is corrected rather than quietly left behind.
Published by DadYolked · Updated October 1, 2026 · Editorial standards and corrections · The newborn care hub · Where an evening bath fits into the crying. Guidance on this page is restated from the cited sources and is general information, not medical advice for your baby; your care team’s instructions override it. This page is not medically reviewed and does not diagnose anything.