Have you noticed that kids' nails grow like weeds? I feel like I cut Lukas' nails one day and they're long and sharp again the next. It's like he has ten little claws at the end of his fingers.
Cutting his nails has been a difficult task for me since he was born. At first he wore those little hand socks to prevent scratching himself, but eventually I had to cut his nails and it scared me. I was worried I would cut his nail and we'd have blood everywhere. So I tried to file them, which was a failure from the get go. I even may or may not have attempted to bite them off (it's not as strange as it sounds. Or is it?). But eventually I realized that the baby nail clippers were the only way to get rid of the baby claws.
But Lukas always resisted. He hates my manicures and refuses to sit still from me. Every nail cutting session ended with both of us in tears. I even tried cutting them in his sleep but he just rolled over on me. I had a friend who had success with giving her baby a set of baby clippers to hold in one hand while she cut the nails on the other hand. This didn't work for us. Nothing seemed to - he just would not sit still and give me his hand.
Then one day he was playing on his little green tractor and I nonchalantly went over and took his hand and clipped the pinkie. He snatched his hand back and pressed the button on the tractor. But then he actually gave me his hand back for one more clip, pulled away, pressed the tractor music button and let me take his hand again. We repeated this 20 more times (it takes me two clips per nail - efficiency has never been my strong suit) until all his nails were trimmed down. So it may have been a ten minute ordeal, and he would never let me do more than one clip at a time, but eventually, and with no tears, he was claw free.
And it worked the next time I tried. And the next.
So if you're having issues cutting your little one's nails, maybe this one clip at a time, toy distraction approach will work for you too!
Does your kiddo love getting a manicure by momma? What are your nail cutting tips?
Distraction always works for us! And now with two of them...strangely enough competition works. As in, "who can get their nails cut the fastest?" Seriously. Maybe I have weirdos for kids.
ReplyDeleteI use the baby nail scissors- I can cut the whole nail in one quick swoop. Much faster than the clippers. Josie hates getting it done too. I sit her in her high chair and give her Cheerios to eat with one hand while I cut the "claws" on the other :)
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