Foods for during labor?

[LZP]

Does anyone have suggestions for foods that are good to have during labor? We'll be laboring/birthing at a FSBC, and they encourage mamas to eat and drink (as much as is possible) to stay hydrated and keep up energy levels. We'll have to plan ahead and bring these foods with us.

What would be good to bring?

[porcelina]

I would love to hear people's suggestions. I had not eaten well the morning of my first labor, and ended up dehydrated and with no energy. I snacked on walnuts on the way to the birth center, but it was not enough. I have been thinking that this time I should be inspired by marathon running, and go for a powerbar or gel thing or something, but not sure if I'd really tolerate that in labor. I think popsicles are a great idea (preferably ones with real fruit). Gatorade is supposed to be good for the electrolytes, though I wasn't interested in that last time.

[jessica_s]

For me personally I couldn't eat much of anything solid because I was sick a lot during active labor. I went from nothing to active in about an hour! So you might think of things you could eat when you were dealing with ms (I can't remember if you had it a lot) but those things might be helpful.
I think anything that you could eat quickly with your hands would be good. I had honey sticks that helped. I drank a lot of water because nothing else sounded good but anything that won't dehydrate you further is good!

Now for afterwards I was STARVED. I could have eaten anything. I made quiche and nearly ate half of a 9" pie a few hours later. Something restorative is good for after.

[LZP]

Originally Posted by porcelina

I would love to hear people's suggestions. I had not eaten well the morning of my first labor, and ended up dehydrated and with no energy. I snacked on walnuts on the way to the birth center, but it was not enough. I have been thinking that this time I should be inspired by marathon running, and go for a powerbar or gel thing or something, but not sure if I'd really tolerate that in labor. I think popsicles are a great idea (preferably ones with real fruit). Gatorade is supposed to be good for the electrolytes, though I wasn't interested in that last time.

I thought about gatorade too, but I dont love it normally, so I bet I'd hate it during labor- might just be regular old water with a slice of fruit for me! I do have Kashi protein bars on my list to pick up... or something similar like Luna or something. I generally love them, and could have a few bites at a time. also love balance bars, though they're more processed.

Originally Posted by jessica_s

For me personally I couldn't eat much of anything solid because I was sick a lot during active labor. I went from nothing to active in about an hour! So you might think of things you could eat when you were dealing with ms (I can't remember if you had it a lot) but those things might be helpful.
I think anything that you could eat quickly with your hands would be good. I had honey sticks that helped. I drank a lot of water because nothing else sounded good but anything that won't dehydrate you further is good!

Now for afterwards I was STARVED. I could have eaten anything. I made quiche and nearly ate half of a 9" pie a few hours later. Something restorative is good for after.

I had no MS, so that's why I'm having trouble I think. All i want to eat right now is chocolate cake (or cookies, brownies, etc...), and I'm forcing healthy foods down instead - mostly...!

hmmm... what foods are restorative? Im having a really hard time using my brain today.

[CherryBomb]

I can't eat in labor, it makes me really naseous and I can barely get food down to begin with. I try to eat high calorie high protein food early in labor (my favorite is whole wheat toast with crunchy peanut butter and raw honey) and then just drink juices and broths as I get farther and don't want to eat.

One of the first things I did after dd3s birth was ask the nurse to bring me a big turkey sandwhich So I agree, make sure you have food on hand after birth too, because you'll likely be ravenous!

[ThisCat]

Once I hit active labor, I was not at all interested in eating or drinking anything other than lollipops, water, and ice. So I suggest you bring some lollipops. I got some delicious organic ones called Yummy Earth at Whole Foods.

Like others here, I was absolutely starving (like hungrier than I have ever been in my life) immediately after though. I swear with my second I might have been a wee bit more excited about eating some food than the fact that I had a new beautiful baby boy. So definitely don't forget to bring some of your favorite foods for after.

[~Adorkable~]

The most amazing think I can think I'm going to want is pure coconut water. It has great electrolytes and is light and refreshing. This is very different from coconut juice that has sugar and stuff usually in it and seems thicker, certainly very far from coconut milk which while I love in food, I can think of drinking straight, yuck.

[Ellen Griswold]

Originally Posted by ThisCat

Like others here, I was absolutely starving (like hungrier than I have ever been in my life) immediately after though. I swear with my second I might have been a wee bit more excited about eating some food than the fact that I had a new beautiful baby boy. So definitely don't forget to bring some of your favorite foods for after.

Yes, yes, and yes. (Except my second was a girl.)

I also have no interest in food during labor.

[PrettyHippie]

In my case I got to the point I was throwing up every hour or so of my 26 hour labor. What did sound good to me before much of that started was noodles cooked in some chicken broth with a little organic butter. I remember it tasting so good...only for it to come back up later. Anything starchy sounded good to me during labor. As labor went on I got to the point water was coming back up from labor pains. I actually would get queezy when I got the worst of period cramps too, so this wasn't a huge shock to me. They got to the point they were feeding me straight honey since the body absorbs the sugars pretty fast just to keep me going. It tasted great. Let me just put it this way...when I went into labor I had horribly swollen ankles. By the time Willow was born all the fluid was gone. I had been loosing so much liquid that my body just leached off that extra fluid. It was my own internal IV! So yeah, starch and honey will keep you going!

[nova22]

I couldn't eat during labor, either. Most of my labors started with hard contractions, 1 minute long, 3 minutes apart, with no prelabor at all. During those, I knew I was in for an interior workout so I made myself eat a bowl of cereal in hopes that the carbs would help keep me going. I think the only thing I've ever been able to stomach beyond that first few minutes of labor has been water or really cold iced herbal tea.

[Mommy2Austin]

Well I can suggest you don't eat peanut butter crackers and OJ It does not taste good when you throw up during transition!!!

[finnegansmom]

I wasn't really hungry the day before I went into labor and was in no form eating anything once I went into labor (5-6 hours from 1st contrax to babe in arms).
I don't remember even drinking anything in labor. I was in no mood.

BUT I was thirsty and starving after nursing. We brought a cooler with some juices and waters and some Kit Kats (LOL). But I ate a big breakfast as soon as we could get take out.

[jessica_s]

Originally Posted by LZP

I had no MS, so that's why I'm having trouble I think. All i want to eat right now is chocolate cake (or cookies, brownies, etc...), and I'm forcing healthy foods down instead - mostly...!

hmmm... what foods are restorative? Im having a really hard time using my brain today.

Lucky you!! Ok with ms you want things that are bland and that won't taste horrible throwing up. Things with a lot of water in them usually do well (think low acidic fruit, Popsicles, smoothies w/o milk or yogurt). I can tell you the things you DON'T want to throw up which would be anything acidic like tomato based sauces, meat, dairy products, vinegar-y stuff, spicy things, you get the idea.
Think comfort food for afterwards. A lot of HB moms do hearty soups it seems. Things with protein, lots of good fats, carbs, things that give you energy. I also wanted like a big giant glass of something that wasn't water. I think I chugged a big thing of OJ! Juice seems to be a popular request!

[rhiOrion]

My situation was different. I ended up with a hospital induction for medical reasons, and lost my FSBC birth.

So I wasn't allowed to eat in labor.

The thought of a grilled cheese sandwich is what I attribute to my actually pushing my baby out.

WHILE pushing someone asked me how I was doing. I snapped, "Fine. Just hungry!"

That was the best grilled cheese EVER. So now that's all I can think of when I think of labor food... how badly I wanted that grilled cheese!

[FurElise19]

Originally Posted by rhiOrion

My situation was different. I ended up with a hospital induction for medical reasons, and lost my FSBC birth.

So I wasn't allowed to eat in labor.

The thought of a grilled cheese sandwich is what I attribute to my actually pushing my baby out.

WHILE pushing someone asked me how I was doing. I snapped, "Fine. Just hungry!"

That was the best grilled cheese EVER. So now that's all I can think of when I think of labor food... how badly I wanted that grilled cheese!

This sounds awesome. Note to DH: sneak me in a grilled cheese!

[Addie]

I didn't eat much during labor, just a few bites of Lara bars and some hard candy. It just didn't sound good. I ate a big meal beforehand though... I arrived for my 41 week appt. with my midwife after having contractions for a few days, and found out I was 5-6 cm dilated. I was still pretty comfortable so she advised me to walk around a bit and get something to eat, since it was late afternoon and I hadn't eaten since lunch. So, DH and I walked to a cafe and I had a huge chicken sandwich, broccoli, a smoothie and a cookie. We have very fond memories of that meal together. By the time I got back to the hospital, I was 7 cm. I labored all night and DS was born the following morning, and I credit that meal with getting me though. I was also starving after delivery, and also had a grilled cheese! With tomato soup. It was yucky hospital food, but man did it hit the spot.

I did drink a lot during labor, though. I thought I'd want something with some taste and some calories, so we brought along some Vitamin Waters. Yellow and red. DH got me one of those big hospital mugs and kept filling it with ice and diluted Vitamin Water. It was a good choice because it is less strongly flavored than Gatorade but still had some calories and electrolytes. I didn't have an IV and I felt totally hydrated the next day, it was great. I also had to pee a lot during labor, which was sort of a good distraction!

[jessica_s]

I thought of you while reading this! Good suggestions for labor/postpartum foods
http://www.squidoo.com/homebirthprep

[2sweetboysmom]

Originally Posted by rhiOrion

My situation was different. I ended up with a hospital induction for medical reasons, and lost my FSBC birth.

So I wasn't allowed to eat in labor.

The thought of a grilled cheese sandwich is what I attribute to my actually pushing my baby out.

WHILE pushing someone asked me how I was doing. I snapped, "Fine. Just hungry!"

That was the best grilled cheese EVER. So now that's all I can think of when I think of labor food... how badly I wanted that grilled cheese!

I have wanted/eaten/LOVED a grilled cheese after every birth so far. Actually planning on it this time.

[Theia]

I wanted to add to the chorus... I was able to eat and drink normally, well, what is normal for full term the day before. The morning of birth I was woke early by contractions and anything I ate or drank came right back up. For me it was like the first tri all over again. If anything, have some comfort food, drinks available, but be OK with the possibility that you might be sick from it. My labor was 21 hours start to finish. Let me tell you that when it was breakfast time the morning after I was ravenous! I could have eaten twice, suddenly there was all this "extra" room that my stomach had access too! At that point I didn't even care too much what it was, I just wanted to eat!

DC was born exactly 40w1d

[LZP]

First, I want a grilled cheese NOW. and it's not even 10 AM.
Second, thanks for all of your great suggestions!

I totally forgot about vitamin water, and that would def be a better alternative to G-ade for me, since I like VW!

Now to start my list.