We have been avoiding trimming Avery’s pterodactyl claws nails for quite a while now and I thought I’d give it a shot this morning. Bad choice.

The baby clippers I used has a nice light to help see the nails, but attempting while Avery was awake and squirmy is not the best time. I knew this, it’s obvious, but I tried anyway after being scratched so much. Plus, she scratches herself!

Trying to trim her nails in her sleep is pretty useless too since she’s swaddled every time she’s sleeping. So, I figured this was my only shot while she wasn’t too fussy.

I was doing just fine and finished within minutes with a sense of accomplishment. I picked her up and we went back to the kitchen to talk and do whatever else she wanted to avoid crying. Mostly I just stared out the window with her and cursed the cold weather we’re having.

As I looked down on her clothes, there were blood spots across her leg. At first I thought is was from my dry, cracked hands, which is pretty common, but after a quick assessment, there were no open wounds on me. I checked Avery’s hands and sure enough, there was a little spot on her right index finger; right where daddy trimmed her nail!

It didn’t seem to stop since she kept moving her hands everywhere like a baby does, so I put a mitten on there to hopefully let the bleeding stop.

Do they even have Band-Aids for babies? I figure she’d just put it in her mouth which could be a choking hazard. All of here other scratches clot pretty fast and I’m hoping, given the chance, her finger will too. Avery, when you’re reading this someday, daddy’s sorry. Please don’t take it out on me if you have to care for me in my old age. : )

Yesterday we made our rounds to two stores and a vacuum shop to get ours repaired. Avery was pretty good the whole time but really missed out on her naps. I try to plan as much as possible so the entire trip will allow me to avoid feeding in a cold car and just do it when we get home. This worked, for the most part, but getting a good nap was futile and we just waited for her bedtime.

I still have some figuring out to do regarding store trips, but I guess I have time for this being a stay-at-home parent!

Have you ever trimmed more than your baby’s nail? Any advice?

How do you plan store trips with your baby?