Cutting babies’ fingernails
Babies’ fingernails grow very quickly in the first months of life. You should cut your fingernails regularly so that your child does not injure himself. Find out here what you should pay attention to when cutting your baby’s fingernails.
Do not cut babies’ fingernails in the first few weeks
Like many other parents, you may be nervous at the thought of clipping baby’s tiny fingernails for fear of accidentally hurting your baby. It probably suits you that babies’ fingernails should not be cut in the first four to six weeks. The fingernails are still very soft so shortly after birth and therefore very difficult to distinguish from the nail bed. The risk of the nail being injured and inflamed when cutting is so great that you should avoid cutting your nails altogether at first.
What to do if your baby has long fingernails?
However, many babies have very long fingernails after birth. In order to prevent your baby from injuring itself or tearing its soft fingernails, you have various options in the first few weeks.
- Since the fingernails of newborns are still very soft, they can be easily plucked off with your fingers or your own fingernails at first without running the risk of cutting the child.
- Some parents find it convenient to clip their child’s fingernails with their teeth. Since the lips and tongue are very sensitive, the transition to the nail bed can be recognized precisely. Any remaining sharp corners in the nails can also be easily identified.
- If you don’t want to trim your baby’s fingernails in the first few weeks after birth, you can put small socks or special mittens over his hands when you’re not watching him, for example when he’s sleeping, so that he doesn’t get injured . However, this should not become a permanent solution!
How to cut baby’s fingernails?
When the fingernails have hardened a bit, around the middle of the second month of life, you can start trimming them normally. Whether you use nail clippers for babies or special baby nail scissors is up to you. Both aids are rounded at the ends to prevent injuries. The baby nail scissors also have very fine blades to be able to cut the tiny fingernails precisely. Both nail scissors and clippers are available in drugstores or pharmacies. The use of a nail file, for example made of sandpaper, is not recommended. The risk of injuring the sensitive skin on your baby’s fingertips is far too great.
If there are small dirt particles under your baby’s fingernails, never remove them with the tip of a nail file . You could cause serious injury to the nail bed, the tissue of which is still very soft.
How do you cut your baby’s fingernails?
Make sure you have adequate lighting so you can see exactly what you’re doing. Then put your baby’s open hand in your own and fix the little fingers in the front area with your thumb. It is important that you hold your fingers tightly so that your child cannot pull them away while cutting and possibly grab the scissors. But don’t grab too hard to avoid hurting your baby.
Then push your baby’s fingertips slightly away from the fingernail and follow the natural curve of the nail with the scissors. You can also start several times if you don’t trust yourself to shorten the whole fingernail at once. This happens anyway with the nail clippers. However, try to avoid sharp or pointed edges, as your baby could also injure himself with these. Since babies’ fingernails grow very quickly, you should repeat the procedure several times a week.
Toenails grow much slower than fingernails, so they don’t need to be trimmed as often. There, make sure to trim the nails rather straight to prevent them from growing into the cuticles.
Helpful tips for trimming baby’s fingernails
- In order to save you and your baby unnecessary stress, it often makes sense to cut your fingernails while your baby is sleeping. At that moment, he’s not fidgeting, and his little fingers are relaxed and easier to straighten.
- Babies’ fingernails can also be easily trimmed after bathing, as they are particularly soft at this time.
- If you have trouble cutting, you can also ask your partner to assist you. This allows one person to hold onto their little fingers and the other to focus fully on trimming their fingernails.