You may feel a little uneasy when you first cut your baby’s tiny nails. But as they grow, you will be able to take care of their nails with confidence.
When to cut baby’s nail?
- Newborn’s toenails and fingernails are usually long and sharp, just like adults. If you keep wearing gloves and mittens for your baby for a long time, it is not good because babies need to be active and exercise to stimulate the babies’ development.
- Therefore, with newborn baby’s toenails and hands, it is best for mothers to regularly cut or trim them short. This not only avoids the baby scratching the face causing allergies but also ensures the child’s maximum development.
- After 2 weeks of birth, baby fingernails will grow very quickly while baby’s toenails will grow slower. Baby nails grow fast in the first months of life, so parents need to trim them 1-2 times a week. Particularly for two thumbs, this time can be extended longer than with the remaining fingers. After 6 months of age, parents only need to cut their baby’s nails 1-2 times a month.
How to cut fingernails properly
Many parents find it uneasy when cutting nails for babies because of the fear of hurting their babies’ skin. In fact, this job is not so “scary” if parents carefully grasp the following tips:
- The best time to cut your baby’s
- nails is when they’re asleep or very drowsy and calm. After a bath is a good time because their nails will be softer then.
- Make sure you have plenty of light and that you hold your baby securely either in your arms or in a highchair. You can use baby nail clippers or baby nail scissors with rounded ends. Pull the pad of the finger or toe gently away from the nail to avoid cutting the skin and then cut the nail straight across.
- Sometimes you may just need to use an emery board to smooth and round the nail. Some babies might not like having their nails cut. You can soothe them by talking or singing to them, distracting them with a toy or making a game of it.
- Praise your baby when you have finished. File your babies’ nails after cutting. This will help ensure that your babies’ nails are free of sharp corners. Thanks to that, it avoids scratches when the baby rubs their eyes, raises their hand over his face.
What to do if something goes wrong
Most parents are panicked and scared when they see their baby bleeding due to negligence while cutting nails. Therefore, timely treatment and safe first aid are essential. Parents need to calm down and follow these steps:
– Calmly comfort the babies and do not scream to make them scared
– If the wound area shows signs of swelling, the babies have high fever, it is necessary to take the babies to the doctor as soon as possible.
– Use clean gauze to hold the bleeding part.
– After the bleeding stops, wash the wound with clean and dilute salt water.
– If the bleeding still hasn’t stopped, cover the wound with gauze.
– Try not to let the babies suck on the wound area to avoid infection.
– It is not necessary to use alcohol to clean the wound because it can cause more pain and stinging for the babies.
– Absolutely do not use any ointment or herbal medicine applied to the wound of the child.
How to use nail clipper safety for babies
On the current market, there are many types of nail clippers for parents to choose from, each with its own advantages and disadvantages as well as a variety of prices. Some common types of nail clippers for babies that parents can refer to are as follows:
Nail clippers with magnifying glass included
The advantages of this type of nail clipper are:
– Come with a convenient magnifying glass.
– With nail file which is safe and easy to use.
– Round head to protect the baby from being hurt.
– Folded face, cut according to the curvature of the nail without hurting the baby.
– Stainless steel cutter, high hardness, solid durability.
– Grip is even, use both left and right hands.
Parents should clean it for longer and more durable after use.
Newborn clippers
- Products with technology will help parents not to worry about nicking babies ‘nail. The machine is designed to be compact, easy to use and 100% safe for baby’s small toes.
- Nail clippers machine are convenient in that when the parents are done cutting and filing, they do not need a nail file, but the baby’s nails are already smoothed by the cutter.
- With 2 cutting modes, fast and slow, mothers can choose to suit their needs and the filing heads are designed to be disassembled and flexible for easy use and cleaning.
- In addition, parents can use small nail clippers specialized for babies or nail scissors. However, with these types, parents should carefully remember how to cut as mentioned above to ensure that the baby’s nails are both clean and absolutely safe.