As cute as those tiny finger are on your newborn, they seem to come equipped with nails as sharp as the talons on a bald eagle. They will scratch the hell out of you and themselves, scratching their perfect little squishy faces at every given opportunity.
Now you might think “it cant be that hard to cut a babies nails” you couldn’t be more wrong.
Just imagine trying to cut a cats nails while wearing oven gloves and you’ve just about got the idea of what its like.
They will wriggle and try to pull their tiny hands free and may even squeal.
So as a mum of 2, who has gone though this, here are my top tips to getting the job done with minimal fuss.
The fist time you cut your babies nails you may want to just use an emery board, but you can also use baby safe nail scissors or even tiny nail clippers. TBH, I found nail clippers a lot easier to use. Also, you can do it after baby has had a bath, as the nails will be a little softer.
- Wait until baby is asleep as this makes the job a whole lot easier.
- Sit baby on your knee facing away from you and talk to them all the time. It may sound silly but if you talk though what your doing as you go, in a soothing voice, it will help baby to be calm.
- Take one finger at a time, quite firmly and gently cut the white parts.
- Smooth out any sharp edges with the emery board.
As baby’s nails grow faster than weeds you may need to do this every few days.
You can use scratch mitts if you want but I found that my two were always loosing them, so instead I found the greatest invention ever!
Baby sleep suits with built in scratch mitts!!
Omg life changing.
You just put your baby in the sleep suit as normal and fold over the mitts. Bingo, no more scratched face.
It’s ok to be nervous the first time you cut their nails.
Just remember you are not going to break a finger by holding it firmly and don’t panicked if you do cut them. Simply apply pressure to the wound with some tissue or cotton wool until the bleeding stops, give plenty of kisses and cuddles and rinse under cold water.
