Babies have very sharp fingernails. They can feel like little razor blades sometimes. It makes you feel like a bad parent when you get your child out of the crib in the morning to discover they've scratched their face during the night.
When my son was first born, I wasn't worried about changing his clothes or dealing with dirty diapers. That came rather naturally. But a few weeks later his longer nails were scratching me, his father, him and anyone who held him. I had these little infant nail clippers I was suppose to use. But they looked scary. His hands didn't hold very still and I had no idea if I was about to clip off a portion of his finger. Suffice it to say, I was too afraid to trim them.
What I did know how to do was file nails. I went to a beauty supply place and got some fine-grit buffing blocks and a gentle file. I filed his nails until almost a year. When my daughter was born, I did the same thing.
At a point, it was obvious his nails were bigger, harder and in the case of his big toes, plain dangerous to anyone in his fast-moving way. My husband suggested we clip them. I held him still and he clipped his nails—not because he wouldn't sit still, but because I didn't know how to use nail clippers.
When my husband was done, I said "you should file them with this buffer so they're nice and smooth." He said, "you're going to have to do that because I don't know how to file nails."
This is exactly what it sounds like. My husband is a guy. Guys don't file their nails. He didn't know how to file, in what direction, how hard to press, etc. I chewed my nails until just a few years ago. While I do get my nails trimmed, I have the nice ladies at the nail parlor do it. So I had no idea how to trim nails.
I've got more experience now and I can trim the tiniest of baby nails without too much worry of lopping off a finger or toe. I even trimmed my own nails the other day, a wholly unique experience for someone who chewed their nails all their life. I don't think my husband is going to start buffing their nails anytime soon though.
The Big Boy Update: Little duster. He wanted to help with the dusting today. He took the feather duster and tried to emulate the dusting process. After tearing out multiple feathers accidentally after stepping on the ends, his dusting for the day was over.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She participated in a study to help understand how children learn sounds. I held her in my lap while bird sounds were played as graphics moved around on a computer screen. She was very interested in what was happening. She was also very happy and smiled at Maria, the administrator of the test, every time she saw her. After the test we went to Target and she sat in a cart for the first time. She wasn't really old enough to hold herself up, but I was able to strap her in and she enjoyed looking around for the trip.
Right-size Countdown: 2.4 pounds to go
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