I did that too!! I nicked my eldest's thumb when clipping his nails when he was a baby and I did it right in front of my MOTHER!! Now she already thinks I'm the most inept person that ever graced the planet and she gave me nine kinds of grief. It's really one of Matthew's favorite stories...he likes to hear how Grandma bawled me out.
You know, I bit them off after that...no kidding, I just nipped them off with my teeth...I could gauge where to nip better and they just thought I was sucking on their fingers or something. Then when they got older, I started clipping them again.
That's what I did with my first! I was too afraid to cut her so I bit them. :)
I guess I felt like as a second-time mom, I shouldn't be afraid of something as "armless" as cutting her nails. Was I ever wrong!
My mom came in right after it happened, along with my husband and my other daughter. They all said "What did you do!?" I felt so terrible (and still do). I get woozy just thinking about her screams and the blood.
I'll stick with the file or biting until she's older.