When your baby is born, you'll marvel at her tiny, perfectly formed fingers. But you may be surprised to see those fingers already capped by long, jagged fingernails. Because your newborn's nails grow quickly and can cause her to inadvertently scratch herself or you, you'll need to clip them once or twice a week; toenails require trimming just once or twice a month.

Clipping
Wait until your baby is asleep or in a calm, quiet mood (such as after a feeding or a bath). Prop her up in your lap, facing away from you, and take hold of one of her fingers with one hand and gently pull back the pad of the fingertip so you don't accidentally nip her skin. With your other hand, use a pair of baby nail clippers or infant-size nail scissors with rounded tips (available at infant supply stores) to trim the nail, following its natural curve. Be sure to leave a thin, rounded white rim, since cutting any lower into the nail can cause bleeding.

Filing
When you've finished cutting your baby's nails, carefully examine each of them for sharp or jagged edges, trimming the corners with nail scissors or clippers and smoothing rough spots with an emery board (file in one diRECTion only).

  ©2004 The Parenting Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be copied or reproduced without permission from The Parenting Group Inc. PAReNTING is a registered trademark of The Parenting Group Inc., a Time Inc. company.