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