Oh my god… a dad’s worst nightmare... a baby that is crying inconsolably and there is nothing you can do to stop them, so what’s the problem???    Well, it could be that they are starting to teethe.

Let’s face it, teething isn’t fun for any of the parties involved. Your baby is going to have sore swollen gums, which is going to make them irritable and affect their feeding and sleeping patterns. Guess what?...... this has the potential to make your life miserable also, sleepless nights, and disrupted days due to an inconsolable baby that has fallen out of their usual routine, are not the ingredients for a happy dad!

Unfortunately there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to teething. It can happen at a different age for each baby, but generally it starts at around 6 months with a complete set of teeth present by about 30 months. You will be pleased to know that it is usually just the first few teeth that cause the problems and then symptoms subside. The thing you are not going to like however is that you may have to go through months of the teething symptoms without any teeth actually coming through!

There are lots of things that people blame on teething such as vomiting, bad temper, cold like symptoms, diarrhea and rashes. All may be true, however they are symptoms of other problems and so should be checked out by your doctor, if you are worried, and not necessarily just brushed aside as being part of teething.

Typical teething symptoms include the following:

• irritability

• disturbed sleep patterns

• sore gums

• flushed cheeks

• dribbling

• chewing hands, and anything else they can get in their mouths

• loss of appetite

• a slight rise in temperature (however anything above 39C, indicates a fever and you should contact your Doctor)

If you feel like risking your hand, and want to check if your baby is teething, you could put your finger inside your baby’s mouth and run it along the gum line to see if you are able to feel the tooth starting to cut through the gum.

So what can you do to help ease the pain of your baby’s teething and give everyone some relief???

Well, first off, your baby’s inbuilt reaction to the sore gums is to chew, so try giving them something hard to chew on such as a teething ring - the pressure against the sore area relieves the pain. There are also numerous teethers on the market which are filled with liquid or gel. These go into the fridge and so are cold when your baby chews on them, again helping to numb the pain.

Teething gels such as Bongela can be rubbed on the gums, these contain a local anaesthetic which relieves the pain, however they usually only last for 20 mins or so and should only be used 4 – 6 times a day. This is great to give your baby a break or to see you all through a particularly irritable spell.

If your child is over three months, there is every dad’s cure all … sugar free paracetamol, such as Calpol, which can be given to help ease the pain if all else fails and the pain is very bad.

Guys, good luck with it, and just remember in the grand scheme of things, teething is going to last a relatively short time and is just one of those memorable stages of childhood and parenting.