Teething doesn't help!

Our first baby was 4 weeks early. 

The second baby is always quicker. Right?

Wrong!

We're now just a few days away from a booked induction of the labour process and baby girl is long overdue. She'll only be a couple of weeks late (if nature doesn't take it's course prior to inducing) but it feels like she's so much later. The stress of waiting is intense. As if things couldn't get any worse, the next most stressful thing to add to the situation is occurring right now. Molars. The first of Claytons back teeth are forcing their way through his unsuspecting, sensitive little 14 month old gums. It's a terrible state of affairs from his point of view and I feel terribly for him, but with everything else that's going on and patience being at a premium, I have to say... It's driving me MAD! The first 7 teeth that we've had make their appearance thus far have all been front teeth. The narrow ones that slip through the gums and almost went unnoticed. Molars though are like big, blunt boulders that bully their way into the open mouth with brute force and nothing else. Molars care for noone but themselves and will potentially ruin the day of anyone within radius along the way. I hate molars!

Our usually happy, playful, cheeky toddler (still hard to say toddler instead of baby) is struggling to be himself and whines, moans and whinges for a large percentage of the day. Sophie the Giraffe, Teetha and Calpol all provide temporary relief but he manages to find the time to take regular crying breaks during playtime, meals and baths. All the things that usually keep him occupied, happy and more importantly quiet are just not working. Our poor little chap is practically inconsolable and with all of the added stress of waiting for baby number 2, I'm virtually inconsolable myself half the time. It's made worse because I feel awful at the end of the day when he has fallen asleep and I realise that I've actually been quite selfish in even thinking about how his teething has affected me. I'm his Dad and I should come second. Ensuring his happiness should be, and is, my primary target but the fact that I'm already stressed and there seems very little that I can do to help him through his teething pain is extremely frustrating.

With any luck, there will be a healthy new arrival with us very soon to brighten up these cloudy days. With any luck, these teeth will make a speedier arrival than expected and put an end to Claytons pain. Maybe even the arrival of his little sister will distract him so much that little man will even forget about the pain his teeth are causing him. Am I wishfully thinking here? I get the feeling I might be, but don't ruin the daydream...I just want to see more of this cheeky face instead of those awful crying ones.