Before you make up your mind about me being a terrible mother, please take a look at what I have to say about this subject. I promise I'm not failing as a mom that bad.

Zaylen's first birthday is right around the corner. I have been thinking of this day since before he was even born and I have been planning this day for the last few months. Turning one is a big deal!! Maybe not to Zaylen, but to me it certainly is. This precious little gift who I was blessed with to nourish and grow inside of me for ten months, and who I have helped along side each small milestone since he was born, is about to celebrate his first year of life. This is a big deal!!

I had a venue chosen, I had told several people, the food was arranged and picked out, the invite list was set, and I was beginning to start testing out different gluten free vegan cakes. I had the perfect outfit in mind, we had to find a "I'm turning one" bib, I needed to get stamps, and I had decided to not bring ice cream.

Everything was done. Everything was planned. So why did I cancel it?

Here's a little peak inside of my mind for the past few months...

Stress, stress, stress...

Right before Christmas is when I began planning little one's party. I was thinking of themes, venues, food. With the amount of guests that would be invited (around 40) we weren't able to have it at our house because of size. And let me go on record, 40 is way too much for us, but there's no such thing as having a low key anything with my family. After some thought, I figured we could have the party at my grandparents house or pick out a public venue in Greensboro. After looking around for a while I came across a great deal. There is an indoor bounce house place in town that had such a great deal for an awesome price. They set up, cleaned up, offered food and drinks, supplied invitations and decorations, we had a private room for two hours, and then we were allowed to stay and jump until they closed. All this was just above $200. It is a great deal! So I talked with some friends and my sister about how they handled birthday parties. After finding out the money they spent and hearing they weren't able to spend time with their children because they were focused on entertaining everyone else, I decided this jump place was perfect for us.

Zachary and I went to the place a few days after our decision and booked the date and time. They needed a deposit to hold our spot, but we went ahead and paid the full price since we had the money and knew this is what we wanted.

Some of the stress went away for a few days after we booked the party, but more began to develop as I had to plan for other things. I wanted to tackle food first. The place was supplying two pizzas and a few drinks. I was upset about the pizza. It may not make sense, but I lost sleep over it. I'm a vegan, I don't support anything that has stemmed from animal torture. And I just paid for pizza with cheese. That really bothered me. I tried to brush it off as best as I could, but it took a good toll on me. I had to bring more food in because those two pizzas wouldn't make lunch for 40 people. I planned on a vegetable tray, fruit tray, hummus, and a Mexican dip. I wanted more pizza, but I wasn't paying for cheese or meat. I personally love pizza with just sauce and veggies and wouldn't have had a problem buying those. But I knew I would hear feedback.

It's always the same questions. "What do you eat?" "What can you eat?" And they are always followed with judgmental looks and talk about how I think I'm better than you. I think that's when some people's conscience starts talking, but they choose to be ignorant and spread hate to someone who is a bit more compassionate than them. But that's just me.

I was starting to get anxiety pretty bad, however, I knew I had to keep on pushing through.

How was I going to do a cake? I couldn't spend the money it would take to buy two gluten free vegan cakes. They use less ingredients and it's a much healthier option, yet they are expensive. I had to bake them myself. I love baking breads and cookies, but cake is not on my top ten favorite list. I would have to do at least one trial run. The type of cake Zaylen would have and what the guests would have circled my mind for weeks. I couldn't decide what flavor, then I had to look into natural dyes, I wasn't sure about candles, and it was becoming a real mess. More anxiety, please?

Next was the presents. My husband and I had decided not to allow presents. Zaylen is loved inside and out and he has been blessed beyond anything we could imagine. He has an entire room filled with toys and this doesn't even count the toy baskets set up around the house or the kitchen drawers. He still has toys from Christmas that are in his closet, unopened and untouched. I have made a few donations this year, but you wouldn't be able to notice with all the stuff he has. All of his cousin's clothes get handed down to him. One wall of his closet is filled with boxes full of clothes up to 24 months. Zaylen doesn't need anything. Help with his laundry and baths or his grocery bill would be nice, how do I explain that?

We planned on asking for canned food donations instead of gifts. Zaylen is warm, he has shelter, and he eats more than most adults do. He is set. But there are countless people in our area alone who never know where their next meal will come from. We just wanted to help others who are less fortunate than us. I didn't know how people would take that. If that response is anything like the treatment we have dealt with over the past year, then I don't want it. It just brought on more anxiety.

The list of invites was growing and growing. We originally wanted a small gathering of close family and friends, but as I mentioned earlier, that's impossible to do with my family alone. The list went from 25 to 40 fast and it was still growing. Even though I wanted to invite some people, I just couldn't due to the size already. People would ask about his party, when and where it was. Of course then I felt obligated to tell them the details and invite them. It was getting to be a bit much.

My mind has been in a war since day one of this party planning. I have lost sleep, I have been angry, I have felt confused, and I felt judged and criticized before the invitations even went out. A few days ago I knew this wasn't right. All gatherings as such require a little stress, but the amount of stress I was under wasn't right. I should be unbelievably happy and excited about my precious baby turning one. I shouldn't be weighed down and anxious.

This is when our decision happened. I came to my husband crying and upset and asked him, "Would it make me a bad mother if I didn't give Zaylen a first birthday party?" His response is just one of the million reasons why I adore him. He comforted me and let me know that it was the best thing. This was going to be a good choice and he would defend our decision to anyone who dared questioning it.

We got on the phone with a few people to let them know, and to ask if they would spread the word around so we wouldn't have to deal with everyone. Most of them were very understanding, and the others who weren't don't really matter that much in my book anyways.

This was a difficult choice to make, but once it was made I felt such a weight lifted off of my shoulders. I went from a crying depressed mess to a smiling happy woman in a matter of minutes. This is when I had complete confirmation we were doing the right thing.



Some people weren't going to like bringing canned food they were never going to eat over a $40 gift they would never see a return on. Others would be judge-y about my decision to have all vegan food since I'm apparently "so much better than them." Some would question the venue. I know what germs are and I know how they are spread, and that's why my one year old has only been sick once in his life. Look at your kids. I didn't want to deal with the people. That was a reason why we canceled, among several other things. You're probably saying, "But Cursty, you shouldn't let people's opinions affect your son's birthday party?" I'm not. We canceled it and I'm sure people have a lot more to say now. And to be honest, I could care less what they have to say. I am standing firm in our decision.

The stress was too much. Zachary and I are making a conscious effort to reduce the stress in our lives. We are decluttering and simplifying every aspect of our life together. A party would be nice, but cheese and opinions aren't worth it to me. The stress and anxiety factors are another big piece of why we canceled it. This is a prime example of why we are on this Amish journey. The life we were living was too much. Too much stimulation, stress, worries, pain, unhappiness, money, you name it. I got so consumed in planning a party for my one year old, that I didn't see the big picture. Zachary and I made this tiny baby. We brought him into this world. We have been beside him for his first bite of food, first crawl, and first melt down. We have had the privilege of learning from him. We have had the honor of raising him. This is a celebration! On his birthday we will celebrate his life. We will watch him, feed him, love him, show him new things, and soak in the moment when we will realize we have a toddler now. I won't worry over the amount of food or get stuck in conversation while Zaylen digs into his cake. I will not miss any beat of this special day.

Instead of a party, Zachary, Zaylen and I will be spending a great day together creating more memories than any party could dream of making. We will be saving our sanity, money, and time.

It may not be for everyone, but this is what we want. We aren't seeking approval from anyone. We simply ask that you will respect our decision.

"The more you love your decisions, the less you need others to love them." I love our decision.


Cursty

A few months ago I bought several containers of Charlie's Soap (my absolute favorite laundry product in the world!) on sale from a little hardware store in the big town of Reidsville, North Carolina. I still had a bit left, but wanted to stock up since they were marked down. I bought 200 loads which came out to be about $30. Not a bad price for such an amazing product. I thought the tubs of delicate powered angel wings would last a good while seeing that I do around 6 loads of laundry a week, but this isn't the case. I'm almost out of Charlie's.

I have been using their products for a little over a year now and just love them so of course I was going to order some more. I looked online a few weeks ago to compare prices. I looked at bulk prices, different website prices, and retail prices. And I came to the conclusion that I couldn't pay that much for detergent any more.

First off: What would the Amish do? They certainly would not pay that price for that product. They would make it themselves with good quality ingredients and save the money.

That's just what I did. I looked at countless homemade detergent recipes, most of which are very similar, but I wanted something that would be mine. So I took in a lot of tips and advice, kept those recipes in the back of my mind, and began creating.

This is what I came up with...I call it "Boober's Soap"



And yes, I bounced the name off of Charlie's Soap, super original.

Last month, I got rid of our satellite service. I fell asleep and woke up to a Monsanto commercial and I did what any rational person would do. I called Directv and closed our account. We didn't even have the money to cover the early buy-out fee, but you better believe I pulled it right out of savings that day. 

We have talked about getting rid of our television service for a few months now, but we never really had that push to do so, until this happened. I was sick to my stomach. My eyes were finally opened to the mind control we were under. But good news, our minds are free now! In fact, Zachary and I enjoy our non-tv life 100000000000x better than we ever did when we had it. Uhh the amount of time we wasted was unreal. 

You may ask, "well what do you do now instead of watch television?" And I'm glad you asked that! We do everything!! We read books, spend more time with our son, clean, organize, play cards, play games, spend time face to face, we talk with each other, take the dogs out more, and work on things that need our attention. 

The best part about it? We broke free. Our minds are free from any type of control the media had on us. Our moods are free from the shows we watched. We felt a chain lifted off of us the first night we didn't sit on the couch for 5 hours wasting away in front of a black screen. 

Did you know that 90% of the media is controlled by six corporations?! SIX!! Here's a picture for ya...


http://www.dcclothesline.com/2014/10/23/owns-media-6-monolithic-corporations-control-almost-everything-watch-hear-read/

Do you think this is just a coincidence? No, these companies know what they are doing and they are doing a great job at it. Do you ever really pay attention to the things you watch? 

Let's start with commercials. Have you ever caught yourself saying you've seen something before, but you're not sure from where? My money would bet it's from a commercial. What about this...have you ever gone out and bought something purely because you've seen it on a commercial? I have several times. As Seen On TV products used to be my weakness. Or maybe you're saying, "Cursty, I have never bought anything just because I saw it on a commercial, I don't give in that easily." Okay good point. But why then do we have commercials for toilet paper? Something that everyone buys and uses. Well, because if they put their brand out there enough you will begin to recognize it. 

Charmin verses Quilted Northern. I'm a Charmin type of girl, but I'm trying to convince my husband into family cloth. Some time last year Zachary and I made a trip to Sam's Club for some items, toilet paper being one of them. For some reason they were out of Charmin and panic started to set in. How pathetic was I?? Take a guess at which brand I went with instead. You guessed it, Quilted Northern. I could have chosen from Angel Soft, Cottonelle, White Cloud, or even Scott, but I didn't. Those brands don't appeal to me. Who are they and where did they come from? Charmin is owned by Proctor and Gamble. Quilted Northern is owned by Georgia-Pacific, which is owned by the Koch brothers of Koch Industries. Angel soft is also owned by G-P, but since Quilted Northern is in a huge race up against Charmin and those cute bears, there isn't a need to advertise it as much. That corporation will push Quilted Northern a lot more than their other toilet paper brands because it's such a big name. Follow the money. If you think commercials don't have any control over you, ask yourself why it costs $5 million for a 30 second slit during the Super Bowl. 

Commercials are useless garbage. I've never heard/bought/seen one thing from a commercial that really mattered that much. Ever. Seriously, the lint lizard and pocket hose have never performed a miracle in this household. 

Now on to television shows. I can name about two good shows that are worth watching. Umm. Well. Ehh. Okay, I can't even name two. Television shows are created to entertain. Entertaining is perfectly fine if it can be done in a good manner, which most shows can't these days. I used to be addicted to housewife shows. Do you know what it did to me? It made me want nice things. I wanted jewelry and expensive clothes. Those clothes and necklaces never made me happy. Those shows also made me want friends I could fight with. I know I sound really pathetic and stupid right now, but I'm just being real with you. I don't have friends to fight with, what's wrong with me?? I wished for a lifestyle we could never afford and one we would never fit in with or be happy with. All because I watched rich housewives every Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I watched every season of every city. Addicted.

I also used to love reality shows. The Challenge and Teen Mom, whoa we are talking about some shows! I would even watch Teen Mom episodes two or three times each because I was so wrapped up in them. I have even caught myself thinking about the possibility that I had gotten pregnant in high school. Would I finish school? Who would I live with? What kind of mother would I be? I was so stuck in "reality" that I couldn't see my own real life. I bet you're thinking I was a real loser when I watched television...and I was. 

Television shows rarely do anything good for you. Not even "harmless" shows like Andy Griffith, which programs you to think all cops are good. Kid shows aren't good anymore. All the violence, lying, not listening to parents, hitting...I don't want my son watching any so called children's programming on television these days. I've used to turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for him until I saw a few episodes I didn't agree with and a few commercials that should never have been allowed on the Disney Channel. Now if he watches anything, it's a Spanish or sign language tape. You may be getting a little upset right now at what I'm saying, but I'm here to speak truth, to share truth, and to open eyes and minds. I was a slave to it for so long and now I have a fire under me to share my story and open other minds to what's really going on. 

The news...this is the most dangerous thing about television. The news that we see today is nothing like what is really going on behind the scenes. Almost every story is scripted and specifically designed to put fear into your life. That's where this country wants us, living in fear. People in fear are much easier to control than people who are awake. When we fear things, we constantly worry. What do we do when the news station tells us a big storm is coming and we need to prepare? I don't know how other states do it, but North Carolinians go absolutely crazy!! We stop what we are doing, run to the nearest store, and stock up on milk, bread, and eggs. What on earth are we going to do with milk, bread, and eggs when the power goes out?!? We grab those things because that's what we are conditioned to get. That's what we are told we need. And half the time that we do go buy those things, we don't end up needing them. That huge storm hits us for all of three hours. Why were even worrying in the first place? Because the news told us to. 

When we worry, we doubt God. 

I stopped watching the news a few months ago. There was too much negativity, too much lying, and I honestly couldn't handle the amount of force they were pushing the flu vaccine with. So I just stopped watching it all together. I deleted my news apps on my phone as well. 

There are too many stories to count about how news channels and/or anchors get caught in lies. Those are just what people have brought to light, it doesn't include every story we are being lied to about. Look at Brian Williams right now (I know part of this story because I checked my AOL mail a few nights ago). Every big media corporation is funded by the same group of people who all share the same agenda. It all links back to the dollar and power. Fox news, CNN, MSNBC, local news...it's all the same. They rarely share the full true story, they don't show unbiased opinions or studies and they never give you real experiences and testimonies from honest people. 

The media has an agenda. It's a very dangerous agenda. It makes you fear, worry, and doubt. It makes you believe everything you are being told. It makes you believe we live under a good government that only has your best interest in mind. It will make you agree with what they say, what they do, and how it's done. It will make you scared of and target the wrong groups of people and wrong things. The media is conditioning you for something big. 

I don't want to cause any hurt feelings and I'm not here to rip apart your television set. This is something I feel very strongly for, I'm very passionate about it, and it's my job to share the truth. My mind was stuck in the "Fox news is the only news" mindset for my entire life, until a few months ago when I woke up and snapped out of it. And I'm not dissing the news, please don't get me wrong. I'm sure someone somewhere shares the whole truth about a story at some point. I believe we should generally know what is happening in our world. We need to know stories that may affect our rights. We need to have a sense of what is going on. But we should also be very cautious and not let the "big" stories blind us from the real stories. When there is a big story going on, please research what is really happening. 

Think about the Ebola story. It was on every news channel, 24 hours a day, for months. And then all of a sudden it disappeared. It's a distraction. Ebola is a serious disease and shouldn't be handled lightly, read The Hot Zone, great book. But if it were ever a real threat to us, why weren't serious measures taken? We are told about how we need to close down our borders and restrict air travel, but did that happen? No. We were told to stay inside and keep our kids home from school. Remember that? Did you happen to notice when Ebola disappeared from the news? A few days before Black Friday. Why did it go away like that? Consumerism, capitalism...it's all the same agenda. What you didn't hear on the news while Ebola was hot and heavy, was the severe drought California was under. What else didn't we hear? The letters and tapes from people in West Africa saying the story wasn't real and that the United States brought something to those countries so that we could take their resources, wasn't shown on the news. Those were probably just all made up to keep the conspiracy theorists talking, right? Or maybe they were just some dumb kids who wanted to cause some trouble? Read the book I mentioned above and learn about Ebola for yourself. Maybe then you'll see it's impossible to keep a disease like that so contained and orderly and then wipe it away so fast. I still wonder why we sent so many troops to "help with Ebola."

My point is, we shouldn't believe everything just because they said it on the news. We shouldn't allow the media to condition us to hate other races, fight against hurting mothers, or support wars that are made out of greed and power. If the media convinced you that Michael Brown was some thug kid who was looking for trouble, turn off the news. If they convinced you to attack non-vaccinating families and believe we should be put in prison for medical neglect, turn off the news. If the media has you so wrapped up that they convinced you to get a flu shot even after the CDC stated the shot wasn't effective, please turn off the news. We need to research for our own knowledge. Research, research, research. I cannot stress this enough! Dig deep and make your own conclusions about things. Look at articles, read different books, visit our history, ask questions and get the answers that satisfy you. Don't take someone's word out of convenience, especially not a multi-million dollar paid word. Do your research.



In light of all this, I am proposing a challenge to you. I am calling it the Wake Up Challenge. I directly challenge you to unplug for one week. Please, just give me seven days! Turn off your television set. If you have to unhook the cable cord, cut it, cancel your service like I did, or even take extreme measures like turning off your power, you do what you need to do to resist the temptation to turn it on. Leave your TV off for one full week. No movies, no news, none of your must have favorite shows, nothing. Delete any news apps you have on your phone. Don't leave them up there to check the weather or whatever, just delete them to resist the temptation. Don't call around and see what's going on. Turn off your radio or your Pandora. Completely unplug from every outlet you receive media from for just seven days. After the week is up you can decide what you want to do from there. 

It took Zachary and I one night to realize what we were doing was the only way to escape the mind control that media had us under. It may take you one night or it may take one week. It may never even affect you, but at least you could say you gave it a try. Unplug for seven days and see the miracle it will do for your family. Play games together, spend time reading, go to the park, pick up trash on the side of the road, volunteer at a soup kitchen, go to church, visit family and friends. You will have so much time to do things that matter. You will not be depressed with fear. You will not worry about tomorrow. 

Seven days. That's all I am asking for. Turn it all off, unplug, and spend time with your family and on things that truly matter to you. As I said before, after the seven days you can decide what is best for your family. You may want to cancel your service, limit TV time, set parental controls, or just go back to how you lived before. That choice is completely up to you. 

So there's the challenge. Seven days with no media influence. If you do accept this, please let me know how your week was. I want to hear stories. I want to see family lives transform and minds become open. Please leave a comment below, write to me on Instagram, or send me an email (zcboober@gmail.com) if you plan on taking this challenge, if you have any questions, and if you need any encouragement along the way. Also, let me know about the successes and failures (if any) that you faced during this challenge. Since I can't ask you to something and not do the same, I will also be taking part in this. I don't have television, listen to the radio, or watch any news in any form, but I do love a good movie at night sometimes so I will be cutting that off for the next week and participating with you.

Good luck, you've got this!!!

Cursty

In my last post, The Boobers Go Amish, I introduced the start of a journey my family and I are walking on. This post is designed to show how we are approaching and how we will adapt to our new lifestyle.

We are The Boobers.


And we are going Amish.

Okay, well as much as a tattooed, pierced, plaid wearing, crazy haired, free spirit family can get.

For a while now, Zachary and I have had conversations about moving towards a simpler life. We've done some small things like use our clothes line more often in the winter and baking more bread instead of buying it. Those things have really added up, but we could be doing so much more! We always pick with each other about becoming Amish. Actually, it's more serious than picking. We would thrive off of an Amish lifestyle. The Amish live such simple lives. They depend on each other, not the grid or the government. They don't have distractions, no television or cell phones. They live to serve, not live for themselves. Their faith is the center of their lives and community, not just thrown in there where ever it fits. They are such amazing people who live great, simple lives. Zak and I strive to have that type life.

Last week we were visiting our local library and I came across a book I absolutely had to read. Almost Amish.

I started reading it that day and it has been hard putting it down. From the very first word I knew I was meant to pick up that book. It's about a family who was too plugged in to everything and they made a journey to get back to the basics.

That's what we are doing. We are getting back to the basics; Faith, Family, and Friends. Just like the Amish.

Zachary and I were founded together on our relationships with God. Wow, we were both so strong in The Lord a few years ago, but we let that slip away. We let each other, jobs, a house, dogs, the baby, and just life get in the way, we got off track. Thank God for grace. We've remained Christians and still seek after God, but it's nothing compared to how we used to be. For a while now we have been barely hanging on. We haven't been running towards Him, we've been walking backwards...with our eyes closed and our feet tied together. We are barely hanging on. This has to change. This will change.

We have to get back to family. There have been some nights where Zak and I will sit on the couch together for hours and not say a word. How embarrassing?? Someone please tell me we aren't the only ones. We would be so consumed in our phones, Ipads, and television. Yes, all at the same time. Five different devices stood between my husband and I. Again, someone please tell me we aren't the only ones. Our relationship has gone through some serious low points because we haven't been connected to each other. I noticed last week that while Zaylen was in his room playing, I was on my phone the entire time. I missed those precious moments playing with him and talking with him. I missed seeing his smiles and his falls. I missed the little looks. I will never get that day back. That was the day Zak and I decided on our Amish project. We have missed so much with each other because we were so plugged in to other things. This has to change. This will change.

Zak and I don't have many friends. High school friends are far away, college friends have moved on, and we haven't had any interest in making any new ones. We don't put ourselves out there at church to make friends. We don't do anything in our community or with our neighbors (If you know where we live, you know why.) We don't make any type of effort to be social. We love the excuses about Zak working too much and me being tired after a long day with the baby, and those are completely valid reasons to miss a few things, but they don't give us an excuse to miss out on everything. We are comfortable. This has to change. This will change.

What type of life do we want to live? What is important to us? How do we want our son brought up?

These questions were raised during that long talk Zak and I had last week. After reading more of my book, we sat down and talked for the whole night. We discussed these questions and so much more. We weren't living the life we intended. We allowed things to replace people and relationships. We sorted through it all and figured out the route we needed to take. We call this lifestyle project...you guessed it...

The Boobers Go Amish.

Don't worry, we aren't getting rid of the cars, yet.

We are slowing down and ridding ourselves of everything that distracts us from God, each other, and other people. Technology, material possessions, money, there are so many things that cause distractions.

We had already canceled our cable service a few weeks earlier (thanks to a Monsanto commercial) so that wasn't a hard thing letting go of since it was already gone. We were in the process of getting wifi hooked up at our house so we could stream tv and movies, but I called and canceled that the morning after our talk. We don't need to add anything else while we are on a path to simplifying. Our cell phones and computers have been used less, but we still have to work harder on those and set limits.

The back of my truck is filled with things that are being donated. I have cleaned out my closet twice, I've gone through Zaylen's toys, and my next undertaking will be the garage. Wish me luck. I'm going crazy getting rid of things. It's all I want to do every day. We don't need this stuff. It's just stuff. We are cleaning out and simplifying our home.

We are decluttering our home and our lives so that we can fill them with good things. Things that have meaning and purpose. We want more time with our son, more time with each other and with friends, and more time with God. We can't have those with electronics in our hands, trash in our house, and cloudiness in our minds. It all has to go.

We are getting back to the basics; Faith, Family, and Friends. Just like the Amish.

I will be writing more about our journey to a simpler life. There is so much we are working on and working towards, I just wanted to introduce this to you now so that you can follow along this lifestyle project with us every step of the way.

If you would like to join us, I highly encourage that! You can start simplifying your life right now. Just think about what is holding you down and what is clouding your mind. Take small steps and follow along with us. And please let me know about anything you've done or discovered while on your journey to get back to the basics.

If you haven't already, please enter your email address at the top right hand side of my blog page. This will send you email updates every time I publish a new post. Stay tuned!


Cursty

Is the part where I tell you I beat my head against the wall? Or maybe that I hide in my closet and cry?

Teething is a normal part of every baby's life, but sometimes it can get the best of parents. Although I have yet to slam my head into anything or hide in a small room, I really have cried before. You know that helpless feeling when you've tried everything you know what to do and it still doesn't help? I've had a few of those moments. Teething is a terrible thing for everyone involved; the constant drool, the all day and night fussiness, and let's not forget all the chewing...




Oh all that chewing.

After six months of teething and eight beautiful tiny teeth, I think I finally have a formula that works pretty well for Zaylen and I. Here are some of my tricks for dealing with teething pain...

Hyland's

If you don't ever buy anything for teething pain but this, you're going to make it. I personally love Hyland's teething tablets best, but the gel works great as well! Unlike other teething medicines, Hyland's is a homeopathic remedy and it does what it says it will do. It won't harden little gums and make it more painful for those teeth to push through, it simply blocks out the pain. Seriously, this is the best!