If you’re new to this blog and are vegan and/or not so much a dairy eating then I need to give you a bit of a heads up —- I LOVE CHEESE. I mean, we are in a long-term committed relationship and have been since I was about 6 years old. Since I’m a kosher-keeper (and therefore, don’t mix dairy with meat), I can’t have cheese at every meal, which is probably a good thing. I don’t want to jinx anything, but it is a wonder that I’m not on the floor in the fetal position suffering from a kidney stone right about now . . . that’s how much dairy I eat. For us Jews, the holiday of Shavuot is upon us and it’s traditional to dig into the dairy for our Shavuot meal. As such, I thought it’d be fun to put out the call to my fellow food bloggers for some vegetarian recipes featuring cheese! I’ve got some of my own thrown in there for funsies and I do hope you enjoy.
Also, don’t forget! Jewhungry swag is up on Etsy and running! I’m getting a restock in in about 10 days with bonus toddler sizing for the Israeli version. Click here to check it out — there’s still time to get your order before Father’s Day.
As you may or may not know, depending on how closely you follow this here blog or my Instagram feed, I am pregnant with our 3rd kiddo. As of this writing, I am just about 8 months pregnant. I still cannot believe that we are having a 3rd kid. I know I’ve mentioned that before but I still cannot believe it. When I was 8 months pregnant with our first kiddo (who is currently 5 1/2), I was so full of excitement and joy. I don’t so much feel that now and not because I don’t feel excitement or joy for my kiddos (if you know me at all, you know I probably love my kids a little ‘too’ much) but because the newborn stage isn’t my favorite. The first newborn stage I went through was marked by a 3 month-long bought of postpartum depression. The second newborn stage was actually kind of awesome, if I’m being honest. I knew what to expect in terms of the sheer exhaustion and, you know, the part where you’re terrified that if your baby even remotely looks at you weird it means they’re sick and/or don’t love you. I leaned into it, made a lot of espresso and allowed myself to binge watch a looooooooooot of shows (I love you, Homeland). But now I’ve got 2 others kids and, oh yeah, I GAVE ALL MY BABY STUFF AWAY. That’s right. I was so certain that we would only be having 2 kids that I sold off or gave away all our baby gear so now we’re back to square one. Thus, the impetus for this post.
If there’s 2 things I know about preparing for a new baby to enter your life it’s that above all else you need to have delicious, ready-to-eat food on hand AT ALL TIMES and you need baby gear that helps make your life easier (such as sleep systems, instant swaddles, easy-to-use thermometers and washable rugs). Therefore, I combined these two certainties to present to you this epic post of ‘Must Haves’ for both food and gear for new parents. If you are about to have a baby, send the link to this post to all your friends and family with an email that reads simply:
Dear Loved Ones,
We’re gonna need some help. See all links and items in this blog post (and here’s where you’d insert the link to this post).
Love,
Me
Trust me. They will respond. Ultimately, your loved ones will want to help! I hope you enjoy this post. I picked the baby gear items based entirely on items that I have been my ‘must haves’ for both kiddos and will be for this one save for the amazingness that is the DockATot (which was not yet on the market when our 2 year-old was born) and the Lorena Canal rug, which is also new to the market and has been a life saver for this type A cleaner.
First, the DockATot. DockATot is a multi-functional lounger, co-sleeper, playtime lounger. When Siona, our oldest was born, we tried every kind of co-sleeping or bassinet on the market (I mean, not really, but it felt like it). Eventually we just gave up on co-sleeping as the co-sleeper we had didn’t fit our bed and it only fit on one side of the bed so only one of us truly got to co-sleep. With Eden, we gave up entirely and swaddled her and set heron a pillow in between us (I’m sure you’re thinking we are negligent parents for doing so but I’m happy to report that little infant is now a healthy, sassy 2 year-old). Because I was terrified of rolling on top of her, I barely slept when she did. But now the Lord has brought us the DockATot and I am so thrilled for this item to be on the market. For safety reasons, the DockATot is meant to be placed in the middle of the bed, which allows for husband and I to both feel like we are co-sleeping with our newborn. It’s made in Europe and designed in Sweden, tested for breathability, hypo allergenic, machine washable and OEKO-TEX certified, which means it was independently tested and certified so you can feel safe knowing the folks at DockATot truly believe in baby safety. Seriously, all that’s left is for the folks at DockATot to figure out how it can do my taxes and it would be THE perfect all-encompassing parent tool.
The DockATot
2) Lorena Canal Rugs is also a product I only recently discovered and, honestly, even if you don’t have kids, it’s an amazing product. First and foremost, you need to know that they are machine washable and can be dried in the clothes dryer. I repeat: THESE RUGS ARE MACHINE WASHABLE! In addition, the colors used in these handmade rugs come from all natural dyes, eco-friendly and contain no VOCs like most carpeting and rugs. And if the fact that all parents can now breathe easily when their kids are handling washable paint around rug wasn’t enough, you can also feel good about the purchase of a Lorena Canal rug as proceeds from the sale of their products go towards the Sakula Project, a school the company founded in Haryana, the North of India. Dudes, seriously, it’s a win-win.
Lorena Canal Rugs
3) A Diaper Clutch (one featured is from Skip Hop). My dear friend, Rachel, went off registry when she got me this as a gift when our first baby was born and I’m SO glad she did. This is the item I get all friends who have their first baby. Seriously, I NEVER go off registry but for this one, I do. It’s an all in one — carries the diapers, the wipes and is the clean thing you lay your baby down on for a change. I have legit laid this puppy down on the floor of an Anthropologie and changed a baby’s diaper on it. We use it to this day. It’s come in handy on planes, trains and in automobiles. I can’t tell you enough how this has saved our tushes!
4) A GOOD sound machine – I use the same sound machines for drowning out my loud Jersey husband as I do for blocking my confidential conversations with students as a school counselor. I learned my lesson when I bought a ‘cute’ sound machine rather than a functional one when our 2nd kid was born. Though the sound machine was adorable, the actual white noise sound it made sounded like a broken TV. The one pictured is the model I recommend. Therapist grade, baby!
5) An ear thermometer – OK, we have gone through every kind of thermometer possible and an ear thermometer is the best. I learned this when I started supervising a school nurse and she ‘schooled’ me on the best products for adolescent health care. We had received a digital forehead thermometer with the birth of our second baby and, to this day, I still can’t work that thing and husband is convinced it’s always a degree or two off, which counts! And so, I say to you, get thee a good digital ear thermometer and be done with it!
6) A SwaddleME Swaddle – or really ANY swaddle that is user-friendly and doesn’t require you constant access to maternity ward nurses who can swaddle a baby in just about anything. I gave up on trying to achieve the perfect swaddle about 2 weeks into the birth of our 1st born and have been in a believer in velcro-based swaddles ever since. Seriously, DO IT.
7) The Backpack Diaper Bag – Oh, you think I give a crap about the latest designer, over-the-shoulder diaper bag? Cause I don’t. I started using backpacks as diaper bags when the oldest was 2 (about 3 years ago) and haven’t looked back. I started with a standard backpack and then upgraded to a yoga backpack within 6 months. Next thing I know, the market is being saturated with diaper bag backpacks. Now, I’m not saying I STARTED the trend, necessarily. But I’m also not saying I didn’t. Seriously, every time I was out with the kiddos and had the over-the-shoulder bag on and bent down to help my toddler with something, I would knock her in the face. Backpacks do not facilitate the toddler knock out PLUS, they’re better for the back.
8) The Wubbanub – I don’t know what it is with our babies and Wubbanubs but they love them. Our kids aren’t pacifier kids (they’re usually done with it by 6 months of age) but as infants, they love the Wubbanubs. I can’t point to what it is about them, except they’re super cute and harder to lose because they’re bigger than a standard pacifier that doesn’t come with a plush animal attached to it.
9) A Portable High Chair – Holy cow! Honestly, to this day we do not have one of these and we NEED ONE! We suffer through it as semi-constant roadtrippers and it’s a nightmare. Ultimately, we end up sitting the kiddo in her carseat, which is on top of a table, or one of us ends up with the baby on us the entirety of the meal. #neveragain
10) A Plush Sloth – Do I really need to explain this one? It’s a plush sloth! GAH! I want one!
So it’s officially summer though, to be honest, I wouldn’t know it. I’m knee-deep in teaching summer school health. It’s actually not as bad as it sounds. While I’d REALLY LOVE some time off, I rarely get to be in the classroom teaching students subject matter that I’m so passionate about. I mean, what’s not to love about spending 2 hours a day, 5 days a week talking to high schoolers about topics such as consent education, mood disorders, and sex education!? Fun, right!?
In the midst of all of this, my husband has been out-of-town for a week and a half (half a week to go!) and while I’m really loving having all this time with our girls, mama is in need for a little ‘me’ time. As it is, I’ve been getting up at around 5am just so I can enjoy a hot cup of coffee and a fresh episode of The Great British Baking Show before the girls get up and it’s ‘go’ time. I don’t know about you, but as a parent, I struggled with anxiety when it came to the weeks leading up to being alone with the kids for an extended amount of time. When Eden was just 4 weeks old, husband had to go to Miami for a few days in order to complete some research for his PhD and if anyone is a proponent of exposure therapy for anxiety, it is me as that time alone with an infant and a 3 year-old truly taught me that I can do it. Now that the girls are older and Eden is at one nap a day, I’m able to actually enjoy my alone time with the girls. We can get out, explore this great city with my little buddies and, dare I say it, have fun. Our absolute favorite activity is to head to the beach with sand toys and picnic in hand. I’ve been trying to up our picnic game as lately it’s been day-after-day of pb & j sandwiches and cucumbers. Therefore, I put a call out to some food blogging buddies and the result is the recipe round-up below, which is chock full of vegetarian and vegan options for your summer picnics! I hope you enjoy and don’t forget your sunscreen!
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