Back to school for my eldeest means that both my littl’est ones are full of the cold, dribbly, snotty and generally feeling sorry for themselves. This has manifested itself in general grumpiness from both of them – very unusual, but I dosed them with Calpol and thought nothing more of it.

This morning however, I had my usual once weekly rummage in my darling daughter’s mouth to check for little teeth. At 10 and a half months old, she’s the latest of the three to cut her first tooth, but finally I felt that little sharp point we’ve been waiting for. Poor bubs, a snotty cold and teething pain to boot.

Usual teething symptoms in our house include:

• Dribbling

• Muckier than usual nappies

• red cheeks (sometimes, although no2 son has little rosy cheeks a lot)

• Tugging at ear (can also be sign of ear infection)

• cross patch baby during day/ unsettled at night (moreso than normal)

My DD however only really was dribbly and cross, so you can understand how I thought it was probably just the cold and why the paracetamol worked anyway! But aside from paracetamol, are there any non medicinal alternatives?

I have to say that I’ve tried teething powders and I don’t think they make much difference. They might quieten bubs down for a moment or two, but it’s a distraction more than anything. Other people report that they work for them, I guess it varies from child to child.

Amber teething necklaces are also supposed to give an analgesic effect when worn against the skin. My no2 son wears one, and I think it might lessen his teething symptoms slightly. Aside from that they do look cute which is always good. Look for one where the individual beads are knotted separately, so if it breaks the beads don’t go everywhere creating a choking hazard.

Lastly,and what works best for daytime for us, is to stick a clean, damp flannel (we use Cheeky Wipes of course!) in the freezer. When it’s good and cold, take it out and let your little one have a good old suck and chew on it. The cold seems to help with the pain and they just love chomping down on it.

If anyone else has any alternative teething pain remedies out there, I’d love to hear of them?