Baby Fingernail Clippers

There were few things that freaked me out more as a brand-new parent than the challenge of cutting an itty-bitty baby's nails. I was relieved when our pediatrician told us that we could get away with just filing them in the early days ... but those days didn't last very long. And even though we swaddled Baba G every night, by the time he was three months old he was wiggling at least one arm out in the wee hours and scratching his face.

Does this cheek gash make me look gangsta?

When the moment of truth finally came and I knew I had no choice but to cut BG's nails with real clippers, I first used the American Red Cross kind for babies (on the right in the picture on the left, and on the bottom in the picture on the right) that I received in a big "Safety and Grooming" kit. 



The experience was a miserable failure because that safety extension on the bottom of the clippers makes it IMPOSSIBLE to clip anything. I had another generic pair of baby clippers that came in a big gift set of grooming items we received from friends, and I realized that the safety extension could slide off, leaving you with simple mini-clippers (as seen on the left and top in the pictures above).

I tried these and they rocked. But I have totally failed you as a baby product blogger because these have no brand! I'm assuming they're the exact same as ANY brand of baby clippers without the safety part clipped on. I see no difference between them and normal adult nail clippers except for their overall size.

I have been lucky in that I have never nicked BGs skin or cuticles (enough) to cause bleeding. But these clippers are definitely sharp and I can see how it could easily happen.

I am also something of a glutton for punishment in that I always clip BG's nails when he's fully awake. This goes against this sage advice which suggests doing it while he's asleep or right after a bath when nails are softest. Or having someone help me hold his arms down.

While writing this post I realized that I have no idea why I never tried the baby nail scissors that we have a few pairs of (which came in those same grooming sets). I've never used nail scissors myself, so that's probably why. But my friend and fellow new mom Claire Z tried out these cute Piyo Piyo baby nail scissors ($6) and was happy with them:

Has anyone else been pleased — or frustrated — with a certain brand of baby nail scissors or clippers? Anyone have any time-tested tips for getting the job done quickly and painlessly?