The Fight of the Finger Nail

I don't understand why cutting my 17 month old son's finger nails has to be such a battle. If he would just sit still and let me do it, it wouldn't even take five minutes. It was so nice when he was a little baby and would fall asleep in my lap and then I would cut his nails, ahhh lets all take a minute to remember those days.
I think the most annoying thing about cutting nails is that his nails grow so fast that they need to be cut practically once a week. I mean seriously the kid is like wolverine when it comes to his nail growth.
So let me paint the picture for you of how it goes when nail cutting time is upon us. The minute he sees the clippers he takes off to his hiding spot behind the couch. Our couch is a sectional that is about 2 feet from the wall, which makes a perfect fort for a toddler. The only problem is now that I happen to be 32 weeks pregnant I can't easily fit behind the couch to drag the little stinker out.
When I finally manage to get him corralled onto my lap the waterworks start. He screams and struggles to break free. I usually get about two out of ten nails cut before he escapes and we start the whole process over again. Now keep in mind this is only for the finger nails, if I'm cutting his toe nails he will sit there like a little angel, go figure.
I have no idea why he hates it so much. By some miracle I have never got his skin. I've tried turning on the TV and letting him hold his blanket. In last month's issue of Parent magazine there was an article on how to make the things your kids hate easier with these simple tricks. One of the things just so happened to be cutting finger nails. The author said when she cuts her child's finger nails she pretends like the nail hits her in the eye and it makes the kid laugh. Well I'm desperate and willing to give anything a try, so I tried it. Let's just say if it had worked I wouldn't currently be blogging about how much I hate cutting Brayden's finger nails. I am open for suggestions, but feel that there isn't much hope and it will continue to be a pain in my constantly growing arse!