My first-born had blue dye on his cord stump and it was well-preserved for a few weeks, just hanging on and on and on. My second and third children had nothing applied to theirs and the stumps turned black and fell off in THREE days. Sometimes modern times do cause us more problems and needless anxiety - one mother told me while I was making a breastfeeding follow-up call that her baby's cord was smelling funny - the baby was two weeks old - and the nurse just told her to put more alcohol on and call the doc if it continues to smell. But just think - these 'preservatives' are making some more money for the disposable diaper companies who make special diapers cut low just to avoid the stump. ;) Mardrey Swenson