Bartering for Mallows...

Well, after waking up this morning with three more scratches on his face. It was obvious that something was going to have to budge on H Man's new "No Personal Hygiene" stance.

Nail clipping is much more delicate than teeth brushing... when he's completely unwilling to brush, I simply sit on him and brush like I'm Mario Andretti - really, really fast. He thrashes about like a caged animal and so I figure that's probably Not really an option with a pair of clippers. Probably wouldn't be very safe, for either of us.

So, I came up with a brilliant little bartering idea today. One that I honestly didn't think would be very successful, but it was worth a shot. It's a tough call for me though. We never have sweets in the house, and I really love that H Man has yet to acquire a taste for candy or junk food. The thought of sweets as a reward or a trade makes me nervous... but in the end, a lot less nervous than H scratching his eye out.

I sat lil' H down with me and showed him my hand full of marshmallows. I gave him one. Then I explained that he could have another, but we had to clip a few nails and held up the clippers. He recognized them instantly. He held up his tiny hand for examination and considered it.

Then he left.

A few moments later he was back. He sat next to me on the step and put his hand in mine. After we got a few nails clipped he asked, "Moh Peeaase". It was a total bargain, 6 marshmallows for 10 snips! I'm still in shock, I can't believe it worked! And when it was all over, he wasn't even interested in the last 3 mallows!

I'm Thrilled and Bewildered.