Friday Things
1. Please tell me – how am I supposed to trim or file Joseph’s nails if he never, ever stops moving?? I’ve gotten countless suggestions of “when he’s asleep” but… how? He naps and sleeps in his crib AND he sleeps on his hands 99% of the time. His little fingers are becoming little talons!
2. I got an email this week for a Ticketmaster pre-sale alert – Janet Jackson. What?! I had no idea she was touring! I feel like my 13-year-old self, who spent an entire summer watching MTV videos of “That’s the Way Love Goes”, would be disappointed if I didn’t see her live. (I now have “like a moth to a flame” stuck in my head.)
3. Love this list of bedtime rituals… I need to start making a few of these a habit!
4. How absolutely insane do these milkshakes look?! I want to dive head-first into all of them!
5. I love this:
6. Are you into photography? If so, this link to 15 of the Best Cheat Sheets, Printables and Infographics for Photographers is an awesome resource!
7. Exciting news… I completed the Whole30! I know many of you asked if I could write about my experience – I will definitely do so within the next couple of weeks. It was actually much easier than I anticipated!
8. Aaaaaand the first sweet that I’m craving is a soft serve ice cream cone. I still haven’t had one this year, I’m way overdue!
9. I spent the last couple of weeks watching Wimbledon (so bummed Federer lost in the final!) and now I’ve switched over to the Open Championship. I’ve morphed into a total Jordan Spieth fan, mostly because I love rooting for athletes that seem to be genuinely nice people (see Roger Federer, above), so I’m pulling for him to keep winning!
10. TGIF! I hope you have a relaxing weekend!
I watched a Janet Jackson concert on HBO like 12 years ago and promised myself I’d see her live one day. So excited to go!
Pediatrician and mom of two here (#2 is only about a month older than your Joseph) – we try to minimize screen time around here for both kids, but the one exception is Muppets on YouTube during nail trimming. For babies something with lots of music and action works best – our favorites are “Mahna Mahna” and “Hugga Wugga.” If you can manage to hold their hand/foot and the clippers out of their line of sight it will make your job easier. Finally, my favorite clippers are Summer brand – the business end is baby-sized but they have a big adult-sized plastic handle. Good luck!
When my boys were little I carried a clippers in my pocket, so it was always available when needed. If I got a couple cut that was great, I just cut the others as I could. I kept one in the car too (and still do), so if he fell asleep I could take advantage.
So, pretty much right up to the age where I could tell her to sit still and she would listen, I would file my daughter’s nails. This way, if she moved, she wouldn’t get hurt. Now I ‘threaten’ to cut her sister’s nails first if she won’t let me do hers; works like a charm ;)
My son will be 2 in August and I’ve always trimmed his nails as soon as he gets up from a nap. It takes him a little while to get moving after waking up (just like his mama haha). He likes to snuggle when he gets up so I do it then. That way has always worked for me. Hope somebody’s tip helps you! :)
I have a 7 month old and she is a mover, too! The cut-her-nails-while-she’s-sleeping thing has always been impossible. I usually just try to cut them when I’m changing her diaper and if she only lets me get one or two, that’s okay. I just try again later. Or sometimes I’ll try to cut her nails while my husband is feeding her. That’s basically the only time that she stays still!
Also, I use “Piyo Piyo Yellow Baby Nail Scissors” from Amazon. I think they’re a little easier to use on tiny nails and makes the job faster.
Good luck. :)
Hi! I trimmed my daughters nails while I nursed her. She was calm and pretty still when I nursed her, so I could trim them. Hope this helps. :)
Love Joseph. He is so sweet.
I look forward to the next photos as soon as I’ve seen the current ones.
Try putting a cartoon on tv. Place him on your knee, with him leaning against you. The cartoon should hold his attention long enough to cut his nails.
Hope it works.
Charlie
I only had one little darling gal and I would have her dad make funny faces while I held her and I bite them off of her, I tried a baby nail thingie it did not work and she cried so I just trimmed them while her daddy made funny faces and it was great..as she grew older there was a nurse practioner who lived in our cul de sac she came over and had these neet scissors for baby dolls only and did them weekly, she gave them to me when we left the area, they never hurt her at all, blunt tip and tiny and small for her tiny fingernails..ciao your baby Joseph is getting even cuter, ciao!
I always kept a pair of baby clippers in the car and would clip my kids nails once they were asleep.
My baby is same age as yours, I have my other children do jumping jacks as I trim her nails. She does not move a muscle!!
Try a glass nail file. They are not sharp and a few swipes and the nails are smooth. I pick mine up at Ulta get the travel size. Also they are great for brittle nails.
I trim my sons nails when he is in the high chair or in the swing. It’s tough because they move a lot!
Looking forward to hearing about your Whole 30 experience.
Nailclipping….the first time I accepted the fact that I will have to be Mean sometimes.
Hold baby sitting on your lap, centered. Hold his hand to be trimmed close to his chest, near the breastbone area which will make it hard to flail. Pinch (not hard, but that’s the body motion) the finger to be cut with your pointer and thumb. Use your middle, ring, and pinkie fingers to press gently into the palm of his hand. This’ll keep him from trying to ball a fist on you. Wrap your other arm gently over the arm your not working on to keep that arm from flailing. Now you can cut the nail.
This isn’t foolproof since he can still kick his legs or buck his back. But those you can feel coming on and move the clippers away. I sang in my babies’ ears gently or blew in their ear as a distraction which sometimes helped. Or have daddy or doggy doing something interesting in their face as a distraction.
Pinning ’em down is just something we have to do sometimes. If not, boogers would never get sucked out, diapers couldn’t be changed on the couch, medicine couldn’t be pushed and so on. Good luck, Mama!
When they’re that young and they’re not usually getting screen time, that’s when I would pop in a baby mozart DVD or something and clip away. Or I’d have my husband do tricks with the dog while my LO sat in my lap and watched and I quickly clipped!
I put my son in his high chair (without the tray) to cut his nails. My husband will stand behind me and make goofy faces or show him videos. If my husband’s not home, then I position the high chair in front of the tv and put on Paw Patrol. He seems to do best before a nap when he’s too sleepy to care what I’m doing.
I root for athletes that seem like genuinely nice people too!!
Forget the scissors use your teeth, they think they are playing while you bit them off. . .
Congrats on completing whole30.com !!!
Let him fall asleep on you and then bite his nails. Nothing more painful than baby claw scratches.
For nail trimming, I bite his nails. My mom and grandma did the same thing. Not only are babies squirmy, but their nails are so think that the trimmer did always do a good job cutting them. Even the special baby trimmer with the magnifying glass. So, I bite them off. Gross, but he’s always loved it.
Hi! On the subject of your cute babies nails…try just using a soft fingernail file. I used this method years ago. Definitely solves the problem! Have a great weekend!
Try a baby glass nail file, but a Czech made one.
I clip my baby’s nails when she is eating. (we still breastfeed) She still moves around but not nearly as much. I also use a small Swiss army knife that has mini scissors on it. I find it easier than the nail clippers.
At times I would do one or two nails at a time and then go back after she was distracted and do another couple. Works well, less stressful!
I was desperate, so I turned on BARNEY. My son was mesmerized. I have no idea what it is about that purple dinosauer, but it totally worked.
We live in San Diego. When my girls needed their nails trimmed,I would spend the day at the Wild Animal Park or the Zoo. We’d ride the tram or the bus. When they fell asleep, and they did, I’d clip their nails. Win win.
I’m all about Phil Mickelson! Any man who would miss a major tournament to stay home with his wife who is sick from chemo, is good in my book! (You would think it would be a given that they would do this, but it’s not.) That’s one of the reasons I was a huge Kurt Warner fan too – he shaved his head when his wife lost her hair to chemo. I adore a man who loves his wife!
Joseph is looking really good these days – he’s getting so big! My mom suggested putting him in a high chair with a toy and trimming the nails on one hand while he plays with a toy on the high chair tray and then switching hands. It will distract him and let you trim his nails at the same time.
So as a mom of 7, I always found it easiest to bring the little nail clipper with me where ever we went. A car ride would always put my little kiddos to sleep, before I took them out of the car seat I would trim their nails ;-) they were In The perfect position & they were still.
I think Joseph took a HUGE growth spurt this past week!! He even looks older in his face! It really surprised me when I clicked on your blog and saw his picture. He is just so adorable! I’m anxiously awaiting your Whole30 post. I got both books last week, and am saving them to read while we’re on vacation (not ideal beach reads, but . . . ). I adore that picture of Duke sleeping. I am so smitten by Goldens. Talk about squirming when trying to trim nails . . . my 8 month old Golden is the worst. Although I understand it’s probably because her deformed paw is kind of tender, I still need to keep her nails trimmed. The only way I’ve found to keep her still is to give her a Frosty Paws treat to lick while trimming. Have a great weekend!
For a while I had to have my husband hold our little one while I clipped. He HATED it! He’s a lot better now. I’ll hold him on my lap, and talk to him about what I’m doing and count, like someone else suggested. The problem is that he’s a thumb sucker, and since I always cut his nails before bed, when he’s tired, prying the thumb out of his mouth while I do that hand is the biggest challenge!
He is such a cutie. I always cut them while they were sleeping on their stomach, just pull their arms out from underneath them. Same as putting on shoes when they curl up their toes, lay they on their stomach. I had 7 of those little guys and worked like a charm.
If you’re breastfeeding, try working on his nails while he’s nursing. This will work best if he’s on a nursing pillow- I used a My Best Friend.
It’s the only I’ve managed to do it so far, and I’m on baby No. 2.
that’s how I did it also
It’s a 2 person job in our house. I distract and old her as still as possible her while my husband does the trimming. Sometimes music helps keep her relaxed.
So my pediatrician taught me this trick with my first: count whenever you’re doing something that requires them to stay still. It has worked like magic on both of my littles. And you’ll (hopefully) find this extremely helpful when your little man starts resisting poopy diaper changes!
Ahh, such a good idea! I started counting “1, 2, buckle my shoe…” when I put on his sleeper a few weeks ago because he was so squirmy and I was trying anything to distract him. It definitely makes him still – he smiles and loves it. I never thought to do it with nails!
Best to try and let Wriggly Worm fall asleep in your arms, then have the cutters at the ready! Desperate times, call for desperate measures! Good luck. My heart was in my mouth the first few times I cut their little talons…Gotta love Albert E!! Thanks for reminding me of this….Happy Friday xxx
I trim my daughters nails when she falls asleep in her car seat. I find it much easier, I always keep her nail clipper in the car. She hasn’t let me do it while she’s awake since like 6 months. It’s a battle I rather avoid ☺️
My SIL has a 12 month old and just did it this way! She was so excited because she was having so much trouble trying to cut his nails anywhere else!
Definitely try the car seat when he’s sleeping!!
I second… or third the cut in the car seat. the crib and the car seat are the only two places my daughter falls asleep and while I can’t cut them in the crib the car seat is a much easier place to do it!
I fourth (?) the car seat maneuver. ;)
Have your husband try cutting his fingernails when he’s feeding.
Simba baby nail scissors. Cheap on Amazon, easy to use, and hard to accidentally cut skin. I made it to 12 months without incident! We don’t let the babies watch much TV, so I would put a show on that had singing and go to town. With the nail scissors I can cut my twins nails in about 3 minutes each.
Hi Jen, Thank you for the recommendation, I am definitely going to order those!
Just the regular ones with really short blades, I can’t vouch for the others with the magnifying glass. :)