Three weeks ago I thought Bryn had started teething. He was drooling a lot and chewing on my fingers and his hands all the time. I asked the nursery nurse at our clinic who said unless I could feel anything, he wasn't. Give him a toy to chew on.

A week later, he was getting more upset as he chewed so I asked some oral health people who were talking at baby club. They repeated what the nursery nurse had said, but said to look into stage 1 teethers. Stage 1 teethers are for before any teeth start to get near the gum surface and break through, but for while the teeth are starting to move down. Many can be refrigerated to help babies deal with this discomfort. We invested in a Tommy Tippee Gummy. He chewed on this a bit, but was still upset, drooling and wanting to chew on my fingers a lot.

A week later, someone at a parent and toddler group commented that she thought he was teething, and on that day, he was more upset than usual. I felt round inside his mouth and could feel a couple of teeth that were nearly breaking through on the bottom, but also some that had come through the side rather than the bite surface on the top. I wish I'd trusted my instincts! Anyway, since teeth were cutting through, we progressed to a stage 2 teether. These are designed to be bitten down on by the front of the mouth to soothe teething there.

We haven't reached it yet, but stage 3 teethers are to reach the back of the mouth. Teething can start at any time, but the norm is about 6 months. My son was 4.5 months when this started for us.