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Mom's Viral Post Nails What Parents Of Teething Children Know All Too Well

"It breaks your heart to see them like that."
By 

Culture & Parenting Reporter, HuffPost

With one pitiful photo, Jules Coffey has summed up what it’s like to be a parent of a kid who’s teething.

On Monday, the mom behind the Instagram account NewMumsTheWord posted a photo of her and her visibly upset daughter, Emmison. In the caption of the photo, she wrote that her daughter, who just turned one, is teething.

You know when you're really tired & you have to close one eye to focus. Kinda like half of you is at least napping? That's me typing this. I wouldn't have been surprised if the Neighbours reported an unattended crying infant to the police last night. "No no officer all is fine thank you, but if you could possibly arrest me so I could grab some sleep in the holding cell that would be tops". See said child was not left to cry she was cuddled, rocked, patted, sang to, taken out into the loungeroom to watch wiggles, taken outside to look for birdies (all might I add I don't ever do because all of the above I am opposed to but when your child is in pain like that and screaming uncontrollably like never before - zero fucks will be given) given water, given 3 bottles, given Panadol, given gel, kissed, loved, changed nappy, changed clothes, put in with the dog (she was STOKED at 2am).Sometimes NOTHING WORKS.Sometimes you just have to do what you gotta do to SURVIVE.Although I don't look like I survived.Tooth 4 has cracked & is swollen, she has a ulcer on her tongue from chewing down on it & life is just a bit shit for her.It breaks your heart to see them like that. I'm a tough one for routine & not giving in but it's all irrelevant in circumstances like last night.So many emotions involved as a parent when your child is in distress.Empathy, sadness, frustration, resentment.I went from saying "my poor girl it's ok" to "stop, you are being silly now, calm down mummy has had enough!" She was tired.I was tired.Daddy was tired.The dog was tired. I'm sure the Neighbours were tired.So to women out there who have had these moments of utter exhaustion & despair, when you feel like you are going to crack, you are not alone.We are all human, it's normal to go through all the emotions when these tiny people are so reliant on you. It's physically (seriously though my arms & back think they have done a pump class) & emotionally draining.You have just got to do what you have to do in the moment & not be afraid to ask for help (MY GOD ADAM GET UP & GET THE FRIGGEN PANADOL) & remember 'THIS TOO SHALL PASS'. #untilthencoffeeandwine #andflipteeththebird #iminaglasscageofemotion

A photo posted by Jules Coffey (@newmumstheword) on

“Tooth 4 has cracked & is swollen, she has a ulcer on her tongue from chewing down on it & life is just a bit shit for her,” Coffey wrote. “It breaks your heart to see them like that. I’m a tough one for routine & not giving in but it’s all irrelevant in circumstances like last night.”

Coffey wrote in her post, which has been liked more than 11,000 times as of Friday, that she tried everything from cuddling her daughter to using gel to letting her watch “The Wiggles.” She soon learned though, as many parents do, that “sometimes nothing works.”

In her bout of sleepiness from staying up with her daughter, she noted that parenting can be “physically ... and emotionally draining.” But going through this emotional process with her child prompted her to give some extra motivation to parents going through the same thing.

“You have just got to do what you have to do in the moment & not be afraid to ask for help ... & remember ‘THIS TOO SHALL PASS,’” she wrote.

You got this, moms and dads!

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