Pedicure for a 4 Mo Old :)

I have a 4 1/2 year old and a 2 year old.... When they were little I would wait to cut their nails until they were sleeping... makes things easier!

M.

I had the same problem with my 5 mo daughter's finger nails. I bought a NEW KIND of file, it's a Nail Tek Crystal File. I found it at my beauty shop (Mane Attractions for about $15). You can saw back & forth, rub on skin and it's so smooth. It quickly wares down the nail and no harm is done to their skin. It really works great!! Well worth the price! I can even do it when she's awake-that's a first for me!

Clip her nails while she is sleeping. Also what I have had to do with my son since he is a light sleeper is strap him in his carrier and my husband holds his leg. It sounds horrible I know but its that or they grow over the end of his toes.

try a nail file!
but you have to hold her down, or have someone else do it..even if she's upset
good luck!

I used to let my children fall asleep in my arms during one of their naps and then cut their nails then. They were usually in a deep enough sleep where they didn't wake up and it was a lot faster trimming their nails. Just make sure you have the trimmers with you before you settle into the chair! :)

Sleep her in socks until she can sit up in her bumbo, then, once she can sit in her bumbo, for the first few weeks she should be quiet and still enough for clipping her nails (honestly, that is how long it took for me to completely take care of my sons nails!). I've also tried distracting with TV, as bad as that sounds, but it is the only TV he watches and it takes five minutes.

When my 17 month old was younger, I had the same problem. He loved to rub his feet together on his legs, scratching up his legs something fierce.
I kept socks on him. Even though it was the middle of summer, I had to keep socks on him or his poor little legs would get scratched.

G.,

Distraction works best on very little ones - and an extra set of hands if you can get them. I choose to sing "One little, two little, three little toenails........to clip off" to the tune of "one little, two little three little Indians." It's ridiculous, I know, but they just look up at me like "my mom has lost her marbles" and totally forget I am clipping their nails.

FYI for the future - I had two toddlers who went crazy when I tried to clip their nails. I picked up one of those "Little People" movies that Fisher Price came out with. Each episode is 5 minutes - just long enough for me to do all fingers and toes while my toddler is glued to the screen, but not enough TV time to see any negative effects.

Good luck,
S.

I always have the best luck clipping my son's nails when he's asleep in his carseat. I can get closer to him than when he's in his crib and have both hands free unlike while I'm holding him. Good luck!

Do it while she is eating or sleeping. If that doesn't work try conditioning... Just do one toe and clap and hug her and kiss then snuggle her. In an hour to one more toe (if she will let you do two) clap and hug and kiss and snuggle her. Keep do it every hour until you are done. If done correctly you will soon be able to do 10 and she will giggle and feel good. Same works for brushing little girls long hair or any other thing that is initially problematic.

I found that clipping nails while my kids were asleep was the best and I used an emory board to finish up those little hard to reach spots. good luck

Hi G.. My daughter is 14 months old, and she, too, fights me still when it comes to clipping her nails. When she was 4 months old, I would cut her nails while she was drinking from her bottle. This, of course, is challenging since you have to help her hold the bottle and cut the nails at the same time. I would prop the bottle under my chin and use my hands for the clippers. However, if you have someone else around that could do the feeding while you do the clipping, it would be much easier. Now that she's older, she doesn't take a bottle anymore. So my new trick is to cut her nails while she sleeps. She is a heavy sleeper, so I can usually get it done without waking her. Well, I hope that either of these suggestions will be helpful for you! Good luck :)

Do it while she is sleeping or nursing.

I used to cut my childrens' nails (both fingers and toes) while they were sleeping. They are both heavy sleepers, which helped a lot. Maybe try doing it after a bath-the nails are softer and she might be calmer.

why pay they money for a pedicure. Cut her little nails when she is sleeping. I used to have the same problem w/ our son & started cutting them while he was sleeping & there was no crying no wiggling & less headache for me. also I found a soft nail buffer works for taking the endge off the sharpness of the nails as well.

Good Luck!

I used to clip fingernails & toenails whenever they would fall asleep. I know it's best to get into the habit of having them fall asleep in their cribs, but if they do doze off, clip them quickly then wake the baby to move to crib (or move sleeping if you prefer). I miss those days!! Now M. girls only sleep in their cribs, so I can't do it anymore--and forget doing it when they're awake!! I have now found myself waiting for whenever we have to drive somewhere during naptime. Then I crawl in back between them & get them all trimmed up!!! haha Good luck!

The only thing that I can think of is clipping them when she is passed out. That can also go for her fingernails as well. My daughter is 6 mos and I've been doing both while she sleeps since the day she was born. I also like to use the little nail files or buffers that came in her kit to take out the sharpness. Just make sure you don't go down too far...that hurts!!
Hopefully, she's not too light of a sleeper. Good luck!

I cut our daughter's nails and toenails, and always have, while she is sound asleep. That is when I paint her toes too. :)

That may be the easiest way to actually get it done. Good Luck!

Hey G.!

I had a kicker too! I got better results cutting them after he was sound asleep. Try that. Good luck!
D.

Ok-here goes-do you swaddle her? If so wait till she is securely wrapped and then go for it she may feel safer.My son had some issues so we had to swaddle him very tightly. This was to keep him from sleeping on the wrong side of his head due to a torn muscle in his neck. Any way once swaddled he would just sigh and fall asleep...it simulates the tight confines in the womb. Anything we would do after that didn't seem to bother him in the least. I have a wonderful way to securely swaddle an older infant based on an existing product, but only using receiving blankets...email me if you need

My daughter gets the same scratches on her legs, no matter how carefully I cut her nails. I've started putting her in footed pj's, lightweight for summer.

Have you tried cutting her toenails while she is sleeping? I had the same problem with my son, and everything goes smoothly if I wait until he is sleeping to cut his fingernails and toenails!

I start cutting my baby's nails probably before they are 1 mo old. Because they can't control their muscles well, when they flail around they do end up scratching themselves.
*Cut the nails (finger & toe) when they are asleep.
*Of course, be careful not to go too short.
*Only use a baby nail clipper. They are smaller and it's easier to cut little fingers & toes with them.
*You can put baby socks on hands & feet so they don't scratch themselves. I used baby socks on hands to keep my babies warmer in the cold of winter when they were young, you can also use for this purpose.
Hope this helps!

I would think that the more you force her to allow this, the more she will fight with you over it. Get a very small, infant size cutter if you don't have one and make it a fun, after bath cuddle time. Just do one at a time if that is all she will allow.

the best, never fail method; do it when she is asleep! when my son was young, i never cut his nails when he was awake both for fear i would hurt him and also because babies are too wiggly! so just do it when shes sleeping! when she gets a little older and can hold still, you should start trying to cut them when she is awake, but relaxing or something, so that she can get used to the idea and you can clip them when shes older more successfully. my son sometimes still wiggles at 19 months, but i try to have a movie on or something going on where hes just sitting and resting. around snuggle time or bed time or something..

good luck!

Have you tried doing this while she is asleep or almost asleep? Try doing it after a bath when her nails are softer. Good Luck!

D.

Hi G.,
The easiest way I found to cut my daughter's toe & finger nails was when she was sleeping. She's 2 now and a bit better about it, but 9 out of 10 times I still do it while she's asleep.

Try to do it while she is sleeping.

I always clipped my son's toenails and fingernails while he was distracted...watching a baby video, being entertained by another adult, etc.

My daughter was the same way at the age... and at 2 she is still that way. She just hates me cutting her toe/fingernails. I tried to do it while she was sleeping and that just woke her up and she would refuse to go asleep again. So try it but moe on if it does no work, everyone needs there sleep.

I use to 'pin' her down with my leg and arm to get control over her and did as many as I could but never got all 10 let alone 5 done at the same time.

I have started using a nail file and that has gone better... it does not look as scary. I don't use a metal one I use one of those baby ones so it is small and soft. I can finally get more done without her crying/screaming/kicking and so on.

Also after bathtime is good, it makes the nail easier to trim because it is soft. It also makes less of a noise when you clip the nail.

G.,
Cut them while she is sleeping. My son hates to get his toenails clipped, so I sneak in his room to do it while he is zonked out. It works great!
Good luck,
J.

HI G.,

It always worked better to clip nails when my son was sleeping. I would go in at night rather than nap time because he was in a deeper sleeper, less chance of him waking up. It was awesome because he would be so still. I could clip and file his nails with ease. Hope this helps!