Matchstick Monkey

I've had a pretty easy run of it on the teething front. There have been red cheeks, horrid nappies and a few grisley days but on the whole it's not been as horrendous as it could have been. There have been times when I've tried to get the boys to chew on something as it must offer such relief but I have never found anything they were really into - even world famous Sophie the Giraffe held the interest for a mere 5 minutes and has spent the rest of the time being retrieved from the dogs bed.

However I did have to do a stocking for Jack who was five months old at the time and the third child so I not only wanted to keep presents minimal and practical but I also tried to buy things from as many small brands as possible. I received a press release for Matchstick Monkey teethers and thought it was stocking worthy - would take up a reasonable amount of stocking space, looked fun, is practical, not too expensive - but didn't hold up much hope for it being used for it's original purpose.

I really underestimated it. It's a big hit. Easy for him to hold and get into his mouth and pretty much every part of it is chewable. One of the problems I've found with other teething toys is if they get the wrong part of it and can't fit it in their mouth they abandon it for something else. It needs to hit the spot first try. Babies have a low attention threshold. The monkey is made from silicone and the back of his head has bumps on it (as you can see in the photograph) which means you can apply teething granules or gels to the bumps and then get them straight to the source of the pain without losing a finger. My kids weren't bitey when I applied granules but would shake their heads from side to side and scream making the whole thing noisy and unpleasant - I was never sure how much I actually got on there. Now I can just put the granules on the monkey and let Jack get on with it.

I love the choice of colours you can get - pink, blue, green, grey, orange - meaning it's a great present for anyone who doesn't know the sex of their baby. It is also so easy to clean, you can even put it in the dishwasher. It is small enough to take anywhere (the bright colour means you can find it in your handbag), big enough not to lose and you can attach a dummy clip to one of the arms which is great if you need something for them to chew on-the-go.

Since I purchased the Matchstick Monkey they have bought out the Dancing Monkey teether which is a bit more textured and some lovely looking muslins. They are also much more widely available - I prefer to purchase direct from the shop if possible but these are now also available from JoJo Maman Bebe and John Lewis among others.

I really like this brand - created by a mother wanting to solve a problem (her first daughter had three teeth by three months!) they have products that really work. Definitely one to keep an eye on.