When your baby is born the umbilical cord is cut and there is a stump left. The stump should dry and fall off by the time your baby is 5 to 15 days old. Keep the stump clean with gauze and water only. Sponge bathe the rest of your baby, as well. Do not put your baby in a tub of water until the stump has fallen off. Let the stump fall off naturally. Do not try to pull it off, even if it is only hanging on by a thread. Watch the umbilical cord stump for infection. This does not occur often. But if it does, the infection can spread quickly.