Clipping fingernails

[bowies]

This is an ongoing issue for us. We used to be able to do this without a problem when DS was asleep but now he wakes up as soon as we touch his hand. Distraction via cell phone app was a bloody disaster this morning. How are we supposed to do this?

[spk926]

How old?

I bite them. Quick, easy and have never nicked her with clippers.

Sent from my SM-G900P using proboards

[robinsbff]

I use my glass nail file and do it right after eating when he's pretty happy and content. We only use the clippers on the toenails and that's DH's job since I handle the fingers.

[gibbinator]

One nail at a time?
At that age I'd often just target the longest looking nail and concentrate on grabbing it and holding it still long enough to cut it off. Then release the baby and try for another one in a couple hours. It seemed like all I ever did was cut nails every day.

[whiskeyandwine]

When we do our cat's nails, H traps her and clips while I pet her and tell her how pretty she is. We can usually get through two paws with this tactic.

We're just hoping the same approach works on the baby.

[oswin]

DD gets to watch a few minutes of Daniel Tiger on my tablet, otherwise it's like a wrestling match.

[mrsc23]

I sang songs to distract them and sometimes I could only do one or two at a time. It took about 3 years before we could cut my son's toenails without major hysteria.

[chickadee77]

I have one of those clippers with a light on it, and she is fascinated by it. I have also resorted to turning on the TV for a few minutes. That zombifies her pretty quickly, lol.

[bowies]

Mar 4, 2015 6:56:56 GMT -5 spk926 said:

How old?

I bite them. Quick, easy and have never nicked her with clippers.

Sent from my SM-G900P using proboards

He is 8 months and firmly in the wiggly stage.

[water*drop]

We temporarily switched to a nail file during the super wiggly time. DD didn't necessarily wiggle less for the file, but at least we didn't have to worry about cutting her.

[Deleted]

Mar 4, 2015 6:56:56 GMT -5 spk926 said:

How old?

I bite them. Quick, easy and have never nicked her with clippers.

Sent from my SM-G900P using proboards

I did this too.

[jenn248]

We use a nail file for DD's finger nails, but haven't found a solution for toe nails yet. That kid has strong little legs and a mean kick...

[changedname]

I use one of those filing block things they use at salons.

I can normally do three or four nails at a time before she starts trying to eat the file

[simpsongal]

Best I've got is right after a nap when he's groggy. Other than I wrestle him down and chop off the talons. Sorry.

[kdubs923]

My child's first exposure to screen time was used to distract him so I could cut his nails. We've had good luck with youtube clips of Elmos World or the Despicable Me Minions.

#noregrets

[kategm]

I don't think I successfully trimmed DD's nails since she was 6 months old. We've survived by filing a couple at a time when desperate, pinning down to trim a gnarly one, and living with claw marks and scratches.

Until this weekend when she was down with a stomach bug. I plopped her in front of Daniel Tiger and she let me trim every single nail.

[geek96]

I wait until DS is sound asleep for the night around 30 minutes. I usually cuddle in the chair with him and wait until I hear heavy breathing. It's so much easier this way.

[boxerdog]

I have had success in the highchair; he can't wiggle away from me there.

[DarcyLongfellow]

I usually go the brute force route if my first few attempts at doing it nicely aren't successful. I just immobilize a little hand or foot with one hand/arm, secure the body with my legs, then clip away with my other hand.

That's probably why my kids hate having their nails trimmed, but it's over quickly, and I've never cut them :-)

[Ashley&Scott]

I filed M's nails at that age, no chance of clipping the skin.

[Alyssa]

We wait until they have been asleep for a couple hours. Even if they slightly wake up, they are so groggy and out of it, they can't really make sense of the situation. I go in with one of the head lamps at night and clip away.

[Deleted]

File instead of clip.
Hold his hand with a blanket instead of your bare hand.
Do it while he is breast/bottle feeding.
Do it at night (with a flash/cellphone light).

[winemaker06]

Mar 4, 2015 7:01:58 GMT -5 whiskeyandwine said:

When we do our cat's nails, H traps her and clips while I pet her and tell her how pretty she is. We can usually get through two paws with this tactic.

We're just hoping the same approach works on the baby.

Since having the baby and wrestling him for various reasons - nail clipping, medicine, toothbrushing - the cat is SO easy to deal with now!  She's lighter and smaller and just less strong, so I can hold her down with no problem when it wasn't so easy before. I'm either getting stronger or quicker


For the first several months we only filed, and he just cried through it. Now we just do a couple fingers at a time, DH is much better at getting him under control enough to do it without hurting him.

[MadamePresident]

I do it when nursing.

[turtlegirl]

Under a year I had the best luck when nursing or bottle feeding.

[WillabyWallabyWu]

I do it while nursing, which has been a great success so far. Who knows what I'll do when we wean?

[Deleted]

I have some luck holding the finger, ready to clip, then I shake his arm and make a silly noise then hold it still and clip real quick. It's like I get the wiggles out for him for a second and then he's also just kind of like "huh?". Hard to explain lol but it's been working