Need Some Tips on Trimming My 9 Month Old's Fingernails

I was so scared of cutting too short that I used a file. I'd do a little every a day (it was part of the routine and thus accepted).

I love the idea of doing it when your child is sleeping - but if you're blessed with a light sleeper, that doesn't work :(

Good luck

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I would always do it when they are sleeping. It is even easier if they fall asleep in the car, so carry a baby clipper in your purse, if you are out and she falls asleep, you can trim her nails, and toes if needed. It really saves on your back if you can do it in the car.

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Hi J.,
As a mom of 6, the best thing I can tell you is to do it while she is sleeping. It's like pulling teeth otherwise. Sometimes it will wake them up, but usually it works. I would sometimes let them fall asleep on me, and would stroke their little hands and try to sneak in the clips here and there. It's definitely a challenge!

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I do it while my daughter is breastfeeding. I cant do it while she is sleeping, it wakes her up.

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I used to wait until the kids fell asleep. Then I would go in with a flashlight and trim their finger and toe nails. Good luck! Now that they are older it doesnt work (they wake up), but it worked when they were little.

I still have trouble with my 5 & 2 year old but what I do is put on a Barney Video or something that I know will distract them and just have them sit on my lap and start trimming. They don't see me "really" because they are facing the TV and I can reach around and really see what I am doing. And I wisper the song or talk about what they are seeing on theshow.
Good Luck .. it seems to be an every other day thing in my house and it's not easy!

you definitely need to do the trimming while she is sleeping, her hands are relaxed and she should be still. plus, I use cuticle nippers - I find them much easier to control than regular nail clippers.

Hi J. - do it while she's sleeping....

Hi J.,
I'm sure you have had a lot of responses. I would suggest doing it while she is sleeping. Another time is in the bath tub or right after the bath when the nails have softened up a bit. The other thing you can do is use a nail file, but I never liked using one. I have a very small nail clipper I'm sure I found at Babies R Us. I have a few around the house. But, I like the smaller ones better. I find they are easier to maneuver.
It does get easier. But when they are sleeping is always a good time. Enjoy your daughter!

once she falls asleep is the best time...do it in your bed or the couch so you can move her to her own bed and clean up the itty bitty nails

I find it best to do nail trimming of fingers and toes while they are sleeping. Nap time is usually the best as it is light out and you're not turning on a light to see.

Best of luck,

J. R

Trim her nails while she is asleep. Works like a charm.

Ellen

mother of 3 girls.

I have a 3 year old son who has always hated getting his nails trimmed, so i just wait until he is in a deep sleep and trim away. He is none the wiser in the morning

Have you tried to do it while she is asleep?? Have her take a nice long bath to get them really soft first..

I made the time a mancure session. I began around 9 months and it seems to work. My daughter gets her nails trimmed, shaped, and then painted. Of course I do it myself, so the painting looks pretty awful, but she doesn't care. The polish is usually gone in an hour anyway.

You know I had the same exact problem with my son when he was that young. What I learned that is the easiest way to trim his nails was when he is sleeping. Then that way you don't have to worry about a squirming baby. Always limp and very easy to trim their nails.

The best way that I have found to trim a baby's fingernails is to do it while they are sleeping. Hope this helps.

Hi! Is she still nursing or taking a bottle. I would have my husband cut them while my daughter was nursing.
R.

I plopped my kids in front of the tv with their fave show and then gave them a treat that they only got if they sat still.. when they were as small as your's I had my husband hold them or put them in the swing.. I gave them either cheerios or special crackers.. if you get their attention on something else, they tend to cooperate more. OR - have your husband hold her until she falls asleep and do it then. Good luck

Hi J.,

I trimmed my daughter's nails while she slept. During nap or bed time. It makes things easier on both of us. Hope this helps.

C.

Do it when she is asleep. Its the only thing that worked for me.

when they get out of the bath just use a emory board nail file. the nails are pretty soft from the bath and the different size nail boards that are available should allow you to find one that you like. When they get interested in holding things I would let my kids hold one also and imitate. now they groom their own nails (with a reminder!) :)

Hi Jenn, I always had the same problem with both of my kids. I usually waited for them to fall asleep, and then trimmed their fingernails and their toenails. That way i didn't have to worry about them squirming around and possibly hurting them by accident.

I have a nine month old as well, and the best way that I have found to cut her nails is to have my husband hold her on his lap, while holding out each finger for me. She is surprisingly ok with it. I just congratulate her each time we finish a nail! Another way I've done it is while she is in her carseat (in the living room, NOT in a moving car!) or in her high chair- helps me to stabilize her elbow so she can't pull her hand back.

My four and a half month old is a wiggler too and will turn himself into a Freddy Kruger look a like given the slightest length on his nails and a two second window of opportunity! Trimming his nails while he sleeps is too difficult because I can never get to a good angle.

So, I do it while DH (dear hubby) holds him and feeds him his bottle. My son is pacified and calm with his feeding and doesn't notice mommy messing with his hands. I only wish I'd figured this one out years ago with my girls!

Hi J.,

With my first daughter, I would wait until she was asleep and then file all of her nails. She would fairly easily fall asleep on the couch so it was easy. Later on I had to do it in her crib which was more difficult. By that point she was old enough to do it while awake. My second daughter has never allowed this. She would only fall asleep in her crib, so it was difficult to file them there, and then she was a very light sleeper, so invariably she would wake up. What I do with her is distract her. I would lay her down on the carpet, give her a bottle, and do her toenails. Then I would have her hold the bottle in one hand and then the other to do her fingers. Once she gave up the bottle, I started doing it in her high-chair. I give her finger foods and do her toenails. Then I see which hand isn't busy and do that one. Then I make her switch hands and I do the other. It isn't perfect, or as easy as doing it in their sleep, but it gets the job done easier than dealing with a squirmy baby.

I used to trim my son's when he was asleep!!
M.

The trick to doing it when they are sleeping is to find the time when they are in the deepest part of their sleep cycle. With my dd, it was at about 20 minutes and it lasted just long enough for me to clip her nails. (Look for the time when their limbs are heavy and still--when you can lift their hand and drop it and they won't move as a result.) She's now almost 3 and I still do it that way.

I always found it easiest to do when they were sleeping. If that doesn't work, then I try to make a game out of it...."this little piggy went to market", or counting games "how many fingers do we have left?" and then when all else failed - bribing with m&m's if they did a good job always did the trick!

I always did the trimming while they were napping or while they were taking a bottle (someone else doing the feeding).

What a nightmare those little nails can be! When my daughter was your daughter's age, my husband and I would tag-team her in the bath. My husband would distract her with bath toys and hold her little hand steady while I clipped her nails. Just be sure to dry your hands and the baby's hand first so you don't slip. It can also help to have someone else hold her arm straight at the elbow instead of the wrist or hand. Now that she's 2, I give my daughter a nail clipper that has a bumble bee on it (I think my mom got it at Babies R Us) that's "her" clipper which she can only play with if she lets me use my clipper to cut her nails. The bee clipper has a safety guard on it so she can't hurt herself. Best of luck!

trim them when she is asleep.

I found the only way I can cut my son's nails is if I put on a Baby Einstien DVD, I feel more comfortable with him watching Baby Einstien than just the tv. Since he is 13 months now I sometimes need the faster versions of Baby Einstien to distract him. Sometimes he still rips his hand out of my hand while I am trying to clip the nail, I just wait a few seconds and try again. Sometimes I have to wait till a few hours later b/c he just won't let me do it then. When he lets me do all his nails I also do his toenails b/c he hates having those done, if I find him in the zone then I take advantage of it.

If she's a deep sleeper -- do it while she's sleeping. If not, try giving her something to hold in the other hand (something other than her "usual" toys so she stays interested); also a TV show can be a distraction (since she's probably not typically watching TV, it should keep her interest). Sometimes singing a song is a good distraction too. It is a tough chore, and you're right...they grow sooo fast!!

Hi Jen,

I used to sing the ABC's to my kids while I clipped their nails. That seemed to help a little bit, because they were distracted with the song - plus they're learning at the same time!

Jen

J.,
Cut her nails when she is asleep. I have 9 children and did it with all of them. They don't move and I felt so much better. Just make sure she is "dead" asleep before doing it and take a big breath Good Luck

Definitely do it while she is sleeping. I rock and nurse my 5.5 month old to sleep and about once per week, right after she falls asleep I clip them and it works wonderfully. Good luck. Oh and I do the toe nails then too.

I could not get my son to sit still while trimming fingernails or even worse... toes nails!! so, I trimmed them while he was taking his nap.

Do it while she's sleeping.

My mother had me use scissors instead of clippers, and I try to do it when they're drinking. I nursed all mine tho, so that may make a difference, I'm not sure tho. My 11 year old was the best one, he started cutting his own at 3, and doing a decent job too. I'm not sure if it's possible for you to do it that way, but good luck.

C.

I would always trim my little ones nails when they were sleeping. Even my light sleeper did not seemed to bothered by it. Good luck :)

try useing an emery board and just file them down. nails at that age are very fine and it won't take long just a couple of passes with the board. it'll be less stress on you cause you won't be worried about clipping little fingures on accident.

Try putting on the tv or something else mesmorizing just for the time you need to cut her nails. Hope that helps!

Hey Jenn, Seems like you got a lot of great advice,after a bath when their the softest and while sleeping. Remember no one says that you have to do all 10 or 20 at the same time either! Give yourself a break this stuff all gets easier eventually. It's funny you need a license to drive a car, or even to go fishing. But having kids doesn't come with directions or a book and anyone can do it. (Although I've run into some Moms at the store who didn't have a clue and I felt horrible for the child.) At least women here care enough to ask for help or advice and get plenty. Twenty-five years ago I was clueless and no one had the Internet.
I learned thru trial and error like the rest. Any other questions, we're here for you girl! D.

I had the hardest time trimming my son's nails when he was that age. I had to do it while he was sleeping - it was the only way I could do it without him screaming! I used to carry nail clippers in my purse just in case he fell asleep in the car. :O)

My son is 2 now and I can clip away anytime. I started trying every once in a while when he was awake, but I didn't push him if he got fussy. He got used to it over time and now it's not a problem.

I also only trimmed my daughter's nails while she was asleep. Did it in the car a lot while my husband was driving and I was in the back seat with her, after she fell asleep. Now I have found that early is best - as in early after she wakes from a nap or early in the morning. If she's tired, no way! I also let her watch cars out the window now, one of her favorite activities, and sneak it in while she does that. Whatever distracts your daughter but doesn't involve her hands (like playing) is worth a try!

If you have a light sleeper you cannot cut nails when they are sleeping! My son is like me you touch him and he is awake. So that never worked for me. He is 16 months old and freaks when trying to cut his nails. I have tried everything and NOTHING works with him. But for some reason every once in a while he will sit and let me cut 9 out of 10 nails....lol. But I manage to get the 10th one too. I could use some advice too & I looked at other peoples comments but I tried all those tricks, doesn't work for my stubborn boy.

do it while she is asleep!
I sometimes carry the clippers in my pocket & if I take my babe out on an errand, and when I pull into the driveway or parking lot and my babe is asleep, then I trim before taking him in to the crib ... this works great.

I let my daughter watch her favorite cartoon while we cut her nails. She's so fixated on the tv that she doesn't pay attention to the clippers. Avoid tv for a few hours before attempting to start.

My younger two (one is 16 months and the other is 3) hate having nails trimmed, so it is never fun, but about half the time I can sing songs or play this little piggy went to market(and usually add what she went to market for to give me long enough to get the nail trim) and about half way through a foot or hand she is usually calm enough and waiting for the tickle up the leg at the end of the rhyme. Other times though it is just pure hell and the only thing you can do is just try to be quick, the older of my younger two gradually just got used to it, as I am sure the younger one will also. Good luck! :)