Fingernails! | Imamother

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Infants

Fingernails!

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seeker

Sun, Dec 26 2010, 9:00 pm

My poor baby (month old) hasn't seen her hands in ages because every time they're uncovered she scratches up her face.

I tried (timidly) filing them down a bit but it doesn't seem to have helped much if at all.

Help?!

superjew

Sun, Dec 26 2010, 9:12 pm

Is it that her nails are long? If so, try & cut them with a baby clipper they are easy to use. Try & do it when she's eating this way she's distracted.
If it isn't the length of her nails & she just scratches even with short nails, thats normal too. Just keep em covered to protect her. I know its frustrating, but I'm almost sure its more frustrating for you then for her.
If you really feel bad keep them off for a bit.
I know I couldn't keep it on my ds for too long, I just cut his nails every week & covered them when I felt he was in his 'scratching mood' LOL

Good luck! Try not to worry about it too much

Undefined

Sun, Dec 26 2010, 9:21 pm

I used to bite my babies nails when it got too hard to cut, if he wouldn't keep still. It's easy to do while you're nursing.

seeker

Sun, Mar 13 2011, 3:56 pm

OK, I'm back. The baby is now three months old. I gave up on covering her hands because she started to need them for sucking and playing...

Every time the nails get even a little long, I clip them as close as I can get and then if they're still sharp I file them too. (Once I even got close enough to draw blood - yikes! - but she didn't even seem to notice. Whatever!)

Anyway, IT DOESN'T HELP! She scratches herself all over! Most of the scratches are light enough that they fade right away but sometimes she gouges herself pretty deep. I'm mamish afraid of being accused of child abuse, but what can I do?

It's strange because at the beginning I thought this was happening because she didn't know how to use her hands, but now she's much more coordinated - she can find toys, her mouth, etc so shouldn't she be able to avoid scratching? It looks like she's doing it on purpose now!

seeker

Sun, Mar 13 2011, 4:07 pm

Oh and have I mentioned she scratches me now, too. It's seriously annoying when nursing. She scratches the hands of those who hold her. When she's not wearing long pants or one-pieces she gets slashes all over her legs too. I have honestly never seen such scratchy nails on anyone!

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