How to cut your newborn baby's nails

Nails on the feet and hands of babies grow even during intrauterine development. Not surprisingly, a baby can be born with a decent manicure, and it can also be very sharp. The delicate skin of the baby is easily injured if he scratches himself, so one of the very first questions about caring for a baby is the question of how to cut a newborn's nails.

Clipping the nails of a newborn

First procedure time

Cutting your baby's nails for the first time is always scary, it seems like an incredibly difficult task. The baby, which has just been born, has thin, small fingers and nails. The latter can break very quickly, it is not easy to "pick up" them with tweezers or scissors.

Note! Doctor Komarovsky, a Russian pediatrician, warns: even if a crumbs are swaddled at the seams, this does not mean that he will not be able to injure himself. When his hands are free (when bathing, massaging, changing clothes and in the morning procedures) he can get scratched.

It is known from history that mothers resorted to an extraordinary method of shortening the marigolds of a baby who was just born - they used their teeth. This is not surprising, it is completely natural by nature.

Usually, for the very first time, the marigolds are trimmed when the baby is already a month old. Until that time, mothers acquire special mittens ("anti-scratches"), shirts with "closed handles" for their child.

What is needed

The adult manicure set is not suitable for a newborn procedure. These scissors have very sharp and thin ends. A kid who still does not know how to coordinate his movements, constantly moves his arms, can easily injure himself and his mother.

Important! Infant immunity is very weak, and the surrounding world is inhabited by a large number of bacteria, they are not harmless for the child's body. Wounds and cuts should be absent to the maximum during the manipulation.

The little one should have their own accessories for safe and comfortable nail cutting.

Tools:

Scissors with rounded or plastic-coated tips - they can protect the baby's skin from accidental exposure if it pulls out and twitches.

Scissors for newborns with rounded tips

Tweezers. They can be used with children who are six months old. They usually react more calmly to the procedure. Newborns can accidentally "pull out" a piece of skin with forceps.
File. Get rid of sharp corners. It is worth buying a file with a soft dusting and processing only dry nails. It cannot be used often, maximum once a month - stratification may occur.
You should definitely purchase alcohol solutions for disinfecting devices, antiseptics and sterile cotton pads for treating the skin if it is injured.

Important! The cutting surface of the scissors should be sharp enough, as blunt instruments can “tear off” the nail plate or lead to severe delamination. Trauma can contribute to the appearance of some features of the plate, and it will remain so for the rest of your life.

When is it time to carry out the procedure

Starting from one month of the baby, the procedure is carried out as needed. When the crumbs grow marigolds by 3 or more millimeters, you can resort to manipulation.

Regrown toenails

There are important conditions for a successful procedure:

Do not run her.
The environment should be calm, objects and hands clean.
Next to her, my mother should put funds in case of an "accident": cotton swabs, bandage, furacilin, hydrogen peroxide 3% or "Chlorophyllipt".

How often to carry out the procedure

The manipulation is carried out every 10-14 days, as needed. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the baby: for some, nails grow quickly, for others - slower. Pediatricians recommend leaving this question to the doctors.

Additional Information. In the Orthodox faith, there is a rule - cutting nails at Epiphany cannot be done. Why is it so customary: you need to approach this great church holiday with a clean body and thoughts, otherwise, according to the omen, the year will be difficult. It will be correct to carry out the procedure, to trim the nails of a baby before the holiday.

Algorithm of execution

How to cut nails correctly for a newborn mom's action algorithm:

It's good if there is an assistant nearby. He will always be able to hold the baby's pen or leg, and the mother will deal with the nail plate.
They take one finger of the baby in their hand, fix it. The best thing is to squeeze it between your index and thumb of your hand.
The skin that is located under the protrusion of the nail in front of the fingertip should be slightly pulled back - this way the baby will not get hurt.
The nail is trimmed with one or more scissors. Too much trimming of the nails is impossible - it will hurt.

Note! If there are burrs, then you should not tear them off with tweezers or "lift" up. If the nails grow in, it is best to visit a surgeon. You cannot get rid of an ingrown marigold on your own.

When to conduct

It is important that the procedure takes place when the child is calm and relaxed. He should not cry and worry - this way you can create an association with a bad mood in the baby, the baby will subsequently always have a negative reaction.

When is the best time to trim your nails:

After feeding. The child is full, therefore, more pliable.
After bathing, when the nail plates are softer, pliable and elastic.
Can be carried out during bathing, if the baby is comfortable to lie. However, one must remember that it is easy to make a mistake with the length, and the manipulation itself will drag on, and the baby will freeze.
When nothing hurts the baby, does not suffer from colic, a clean diaper.
When the baby is breastfeeding or sleeping. Some mothers are unable to carry out the procedure, especially if the child is very active, during waking moments.
When the child is awake, at the same time talk with him affectionately, hum a song.

Disinfection of the instrument

Before you cut your baby's nails, you should disinfect the instruments in a special solution: this is alcohol, products purchased at the pharmacy. If there are no such preparations, then it is enough just to pour boiling water over the device. This manipulation will help to disinfect objects and protect the baby from the effects of harmful microbes and bacteria. After using scissors or tweezers, wash them with soap and water.

Preparations for equipment sterilization

Komarovsky offers the following cheat sheet to every mother to learn by heart:

Treat all instruments before and after the procedure.
Store scissors, tongs and nail files in a dry and dust-free place.
One set of instruments for one child. For a particular baby, only those tools are suitable that are intended for him. He must not use them at the same time as another child or adult.

The importance of clean hands

To make the environment as safe as possible, the following rules must be observed before the procedure:

The diaper on which the baby will lie must be clean.
Wash the kid's hands with soap.
Mom should also take care of the cleanliness of her hands: wash them with antibacterial soap, you can also lubricate them with Miramistin non-alcoholic antiseptic.

Trim shape

The shape of the nails in newborns on the handles, according to Komarovsky, should be oval; it is permissible to make rectangular on the legs.

Rules for how to cut your nails

Important! It should be monitored so that no sharp edges remain on the plate - this way the crumb will not get hurt or injure itself later.

So that the baby is not afraid

How can you cut your baby's nails so that he is not afraid of this procedure in the future:

Since the baby is just beginning to recognize the world around him, it is worth forming a positive attitude when cutting marigolds. There can be no coercion, shouts or sudden movements.
You can create the atmosphere of the game, talk with the baby, cheer and amuse.
Mom should be calm, relaxed. The psychological mood is above all. Even a small child “feels” the mother, her tension and excitement.

Note! If the mother is offended, upset, very tired, angry or worried, the procedure is postponed until a later date. Otherwise, the baby will scream, worry and jerk hands.

You can play with your baby while cutting nails

Observe the child, analyze his characteristics. It is convenient for some children when the procedure takes place during bathing, while others behave calmly after feeding.

What not to do

In order not to cause inconvenience and pain to the baby, you should know the following rules:

Taking care of marigolds is a mandatory procedure. If care is improper or absent altogether, then inflammation, suppuration may begin, this will cause pain and tears.
Do not cut too short, leave a millimeter in length.
It is imperative to process the tools - bacteria and microbes accumulate on them.
The shape must be rounded, otherwise the nail may grow. It will be possible to solve such problems only with a surgeon, since the growth of the nail plate will have time to change. The question is independently resolved only in the case of a slight ingrowth of the marigold.

Children's scissors options

What to do if a wound appears

Any mom knows what to do with cuts. In the case of newborns, the procedure is almost the same. The obligatory and most important advice will be: do not panic. Antiseptics, cotton pads and a bandage should always be at hand.

When blood appears, it is removed with sterile cotton wool, and the wound is treated with an antiseptic. Bandaging your finger is usually not necessary. If inflammation has begun, then a cotton wool soaked in levomekol is applied to the wound. Usually the situation is resolved within 3-5 days.

Useful Tips

There are several guidelines to help mom:

Lay the baby on the tummy. So he will not constantly throw the arms up, and the legs will be in one position.
Very often, babies have their nails cut when feeding. It is very convenient to do this, since the baby is busy with eating, relaxed. The only caveat is that you need the help of the other parent. When mom feeds, dad does a haircut manipulation.
If the crumb is very hostile to this procedure, then you cannot aggravate the situation, intimidate the child and try, at all costs, to manipulate at the moment. Otherwise, the child, having matured, will constantly scream heart-rendingly before manipulation, run away and hide - this will create unfavorable associations and difficulties.
If possible, work in pairs - one parent can distract the baby with a toy, a rattle or a fairy tale.
Manicure called "counting". From six months old, children love to study everything around, so in the process of cutting marigolds, you can give each finger a name, come up with a story or a rhyme for it.
Show by example, then the child will then help the parents with the procedure.

Nail trimming is an easy and comfortable procedure if you follow all the necessary rules. Soon the baby will be calmer, so the whole process will not be difficult.