3 Ways to Clip Your Baby’s Nails Safely

Pregnancy and motherhood bring in hoards of new duties for a new mum. Be it managing diets or the infant’s laundry, the feeding times or the sleep schedules, ensuring optimum room temperature to gauging baby’s mood; a mother starts to learn and unlearn her mommy skills at every stage of raising the baby.

It also makes a woman ultra-sensitive about the smallest things that may bother her little one. It is not only her concern regarding her child’s safety but also her protective maternal instinct that scares her to do certain things with a nagging fear lest she hurts the child accidentally. It could be something as basic as changing clothes or bathing or something actually challenging like cutting nails.

The little babies have small fingers and toes and even smaller nails. Though they are supple, they grow fast and are fairly sharp that can cause painful and bloody scratches. So, trimming their little nails is important. It is also important from the point of view of maintaining cleanliness and hygiene. With trimmed nails, the baby will have less chances of bugs entering their little tummies and thus, will enjoy better health.

Here we present you three effective ways of cutting the nails of your baby. They are safe and tested and offer maximum protection against cuts and bruises.

In This Article

1. Filing

Emery board is one of the best and secured methods to file nails, especially in the very first weeks after birth. Unlike nail-clippers, they don’t have any sharp edges. It is even better if the nail is wet as they make the process smoother.

The only flipside is that it is a bit tedious and requires patience. One must also be careful, not to over file and cause injury to their delicate skin underneath the nails. They are also useful to level the rough edges after clippers or baby nail cutters are used.

2. Using baby nail clippers

Baby nail clippers/ scissors that are specifically designed to trim the nails gently are widely available in stores and they are also faster and easier to use. They also come in many varieties. In order to use clippers, one can gently push the tip of the baby’s finger and then slowly trim the extra nail growth with steady hands. One must be careful to minimize the movements of both toes and fingers. Taking the help of your partner is again a good way to distract the baby and hold them in proper position.

3. Trimming while sleeping

The job of cutting nails is nerve-wrecking for the parent as well. Since the babies are sensitive to touch, they can wail, panic and throw about their hands and legs and the parent can accidentally injure the child. In such cases, it is a good idea to cut their nails when they are asleep.

You need to keep a few things in mind while trimming the baby’s nails:

  1. There should be adequate light for the parents to trace the safe movements of their own hands.
  1. The parents should never nibble off the portions of their baby’s nails as they habitually do with their own. It can be dangerous and be a medium of passing microbes and germs.
  1. In the case of accidental injuries, the parents should not put a bandage on the wound. This can lead to suffocation in case the bandage is undone. It is better to wash the affected part with cold water and then lightly press a paper towel to stop bleeding. If needed, a doctor can be consulted for further advice.

The skill of nail cutting is acquired gradually, with regular practice, till both the parent and the baby become comfortable with the routine. And the above-mentioned tips can be a great start for the parents.

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