What are good food ideas to have for laboring?

[Fluffhead]

Hey mamas....
my DH is getting ready to hit the market for some watermelon (craving) and a few other items in case we are truly about to begin laboring.....I cant even fathom the thought of a meal but I do think having a few things on hand to eat during peak moments when I may get tired will be very beneficial. I like the idea of watermelon (and mw suggested it) because its got juice for hydrance and isnt heavy on the tummy. Any other good suggestions? TIA!

[rainbowmoon]

:

[Artisan]

Fruit, granola, yogurt, JUICE. Non-citrus fruit juice. I think I drank several quarts of it.

It is nice to have more substantial things to eat for after the birth. Something dense and calorie-laden, along the lines of lasagna. After my DD was born, my DH made me a giant plate of toast, eggs, bacon, juice, and fruit, and I could not get enough.

[annakiss]

I have granola bars, Recharge (all-natural gatorade), sesame sticks, cinamon toast... Things that are high in carbs, low in flavor. Oatmeal cookies would be good. I've also got a couple of Luna bars. My things seem to be sweet. : Last time I ate cinnamon toast and drank gatorade. Then in transition, I threw it all up. But it was perfect.

For after, like reader said, dense, calorie-laden food. And champagne!

[Spark]

Even though I never really get hungry during labor, I usually have a lot of liquids on hand: SmartWater (plain with electrolytes), Recharge, white grape juice, tea, pop sicles. We had food on hand, but I never asked for any of it. During my son's labor it was a 17 hour job, my husband brought me canned peaches. I didn't want to eat them. I ate them and instantly puked them. During my DD's labor I was much firmer... I DID NOT WANT FOOD.

I'm usually not a big eater during labor, but afterwards... HAUL OUT THE FOOD!!! We kept 2 take out menus (one that delivered 24 hrs a day and the other that we really liked, but only did normal hours). Since we didn't choose to have many people around to cook for us after the birth, we ordered out. YUM!

[phathui5]

I'm planning on taking:

Tofurkey jerky
honey sticks
watermelon chunks
juice

[Pandora114]

eat Pears, at least they taste the same *good* coming back up as going down.

Honestly, Soda crackers, fruit juices/gatorade, good ol h2o, My IL's have these REALLY nummy crackers from Dare I think, Simple Pleasures Cinnamon Biscuits. YUMMEH!!!

I think, for my after labour feast *whenever that'll be*, I'm gonna send my hubby over to the Purple Pig for a nice huge arse feed of Baby Back Ribs!!

[captain crunchy]

Well my freezer is stocked for the days following labor (I am weirdly prepared like that) but some things I have for labor are:

nice vegan soup --- can drink more broth during labor, but afterwards can eat more of the *hearty* part (veggies etc)

all fruit popsicles --- good for hydration, something cool if you are sweating, nice fruity flavor

granola bars-- to nibble

water/gatorade -- I put emergen-c in there too for vitamin c to fight infection and to give energy...

also, just whole wheat toast with a bit of margarine for complex carbs (energy) and it is easily digestable...


I think anything that is easily digestable/light -- but also gives you energy (like complex carbs) and hydration are the most important things...

Then after I imagine you will be really hungry (so I've heard)

Good luck and take care!

[Kleine Hexe]

I had all sorts of stuff for labor and I wanted none of it. I had no appetite.

My midwife finally made me eat which I did throw up several times. When I know I was in beggining labor hubby made a big dinner of steak, potatoes, gravy. Threw it all up later on. Midwife gave me a few spoonfuls of honey. When she told me I had to eat I choose strawberries. I say fruit is the best choice during labor. High in natural sugar, juicy, not too strong flavor, and the *best* aspect of fruit is that it tastes just as good coming up as it does going down. Except for oranges and the like. :LOL

I drank tons of water. I had recharge and even froze some into popsicles, but I wanted water. A ton of water. I was thirsty.

After the birth I was famished! I could not get enough food.

Have fun planning your menu.

[MamaHippo]

When i was in labor with contractions 6 mins apart, i felt like i needed to feed myself so I had some good dense whole grain toast with natural honey and a cup of cool raspberry leaf tea. It settled the butterflies in my tummy and gave me some energy. Of course, my labor stopped at 6 mins apart and never really started again until i was induced 3 days later, but...

Mmmm, watermelon would be great for labor. Natural sugar, fluids and tastes good to boot!

I'd say for afterwards get some good hearty casseroles, pancakes, and something you can keep with your by bedside so you can nest with your sweet babe. I loved the Luna bars, and Carrot Cake Clif bars. I kept them in my bedside table when i was in bed with DS after my c-section.

Lisa

[seven_lux]

i ate sacchetti (a type of filled pasta) in between contractions while in the bath. about half an hour i think before my son was born. gave me plenty of energy for pushing, unlike during my dd's birth where i was totally buggered, starving and felt close to death

[MamaTaraX]

Grapes Portable and yummy and like the pears comment above, not so bad coming back up
I had these lofty plans for labor foods with baby #2. Then labor came on hardcore and all that flew out the window. I got to the birthcentre and scarfed everything they offered me. The best thing in the world were these chocolate shakes. OMG they were the bomb!! (yeah yeah, I'm living in 1996, so shoot me )
Other foods for labor that I intended to have were watermelon, granola, oatmeal, toast, bagels, lettuce (that was a crave), and juice (non-citrus). Cheese cubes were a good idea though now that I think about it, puking those up would have been mighty gross. I like to plan foods that won't be so gross if I have to throw up. Speaking of that, a semi-funny story regarding food: When I had baby #1 I did the hospital thing where they told me no eating. Before I went there all I wanted was Taco Bell, so I had a bunch. While I was there my labor team went out to get some Arby's. Against the hospital's "good judgement", I ate that too. I ate all kinds of stuff. Anyway, I hit transition and threw up. Of all the things I ate that day the ONLY thing that came back up was green popsicle that I'd eaten nearly 12 hours before. HOw wierd is that??
Namaste, Tara

[lucyem]

I thew up most of my labor until they gave me some sort of shot to stop it because I was loosing too much fluid. But the hospital did have a full kitchenette next door. They keep mostly fruit juice, popcicles, ice, ginger ale, crackers and jello on hand. I guess a few other things but mostly think lightweight with sugar. Once I stopped throwing up I had a few cups of juice.

[Llyra]

At the beginning of labor, I ate a piece of FRIED : fish, a baked potato, and some steamed broccoli. Oh, and a glass of orange juice. The labor nurse asked me what I'd eaten, and she was horrified when I told her.

I never had a bit of nausea.

All I ate once things really got going, though, was diluted apple juice and Rice Chex. Rice Chex were the only thing I could eat during the first trimester, and so I figured they'd be nice during labor. They were. Slatines would have been fine, too, but I figured at least Rice Chex had SOME nutrition!

[MamaFern]

i went into labour on chrsitmas day, so i ate some mashed potatos and veggies and stuff.. but i couldnt eat anything from about 10 hours before my son was born.. i did drink tea and water and juice because my midwife forced me and i only threw up once.. but eating durring labour is not my thing.. if i could eat it would probably be fresh fruit..stawberries and blueberries and things like that..

my first meal after the birth was homemade vegetraian sushi.. it was sooo good.. a big fat roll with all sorts of yummy goodness.. yams and carrot and cucumber and tofu and sunflower sprouts and tamari and flax oil..im sure there was more, but that food tasted better than anything ive ever eaten in my life..

[Belle]

I had pineapple and grapes when I was in labor. I've never had anything tastier than those grapes were right then. I didn't feel like having a lot of them, but the ones that I did have were so good. Afterwards I think I ordered everything on the menu and ate it all.

[fiddledebi]

I had two enormous Jamba Juice Protein Berry Pizazz smoothies during the first 12 hours of labor. After that I'm almost positive I ate nothing else for 17 more hours. In the days following my daughter's birth, I remember being almost panicky with hunger. I ate the huge hospital meals they brought AND had my husband bring bananas, juice, Luna bars, and chocolate soy milk to keep in the room for between meals.

I would recommend (and probably do again) the smoothies, though. I would have had more of them if we hadn't been at the hospital for that last 17 hours and not been able to access them.

[hubris]

I ate apples and cheddar cheese during my early labor with Griff. After that, I didn't want anything. Somebody gave me some Sprite to drink at some point and it came back up later, I didn't like Sprite much before but pretty much hate it now. :LOL

What I have on hand this time:
- some seed/honey bars (sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, honey)
- almonds
- milk and juice (but not OJ)
- I'll ask DH to make some herbal tea with a little bit of honey
- apples
- Luna bars

[mwherbs]

most of the food and juice suggestions are great
I say steer away from oj because it is very acidic--- easily causes heartburn

I will also put in another vote for soup or broth-- many people remember the sugary part of electrolytes but soup being salty and often with potassium , fluid and usually a bit of protein makes it often a excellent choice
I also like to see a gal with a bit of chocolate on hand-- for some gals much easier to get down than that spoon full of honey-- and has that bonus feature of producing good feelings

[hubris]

Mmmmm, chocolate.

I also have bananas on hand right now, they tend to go down easily and have a decent dose of potassium. If you can stomach peanut butter during labor, putting some on the banana would give you a very nice, well-rounded snack.