Food and Snacks for Birth attendants?

[transformed]

What would you keep around to feed your guests at the birth?

[Peony]

I had just made a pot of soup the night before. I also had kept the fridge stocked with sandwich makings, hummus, tortillas, fruit, etc...

All that food and we ended up ordering a pizza.

[pixiepunk]

i sent DH to the store when i went into labor last time. he brought back the fixins for an awesome salad, a fresh pineapple and some other fruit. and some stuff to make sandwiches with.

i don't know if anyone else ate, i was sort of in my own universe, but that pineapple and that salad tasted like *heaven* after having a baby. i finished eating and leapt up out of bed to have a shower - i felt so energized!

i think stuff that's easy to graze on would be good, too, like veggies and dip or hummus, crackers and peanut butter, any kind of fruit but especially ones you can just grab and eat like grapes or an apple or banana.

this is making me hungry

[transformed]

pineapple is GREAT in labor. In fact, I think I may have induced labor with pineapple with my ds. Its waaaaay down on the list of "ways to induce" and completley not prooven, but I think i did! LOL

[calipigeon]

Ask them what they like. Veggies and hummus would be good.

I had next to no food in my house the day I pushed my baby out. I went into labor a week before I thought I would. My friend made eggs and corn bread around dusk and I throw it up soon after. Then she cleaned it up and said something like, "Good!" while I was still vomiting and wondered out loud why she had forgotten the puke bowl.

I did have diet coke for my friend who attended my birth.

[balancedmama]

I would just ask your birth attendants if they have any requests. My MW had a list. It included dark chocolate. I also made a really yummy soup for the freezer. But had lots of fresh fruit/veggies. Hummus, almonds, snack-y things.

[cornpicker]

We didn't do anything special. DH made lunch and dinner for us + doula, snacks were found as needed, and MW made us breakfast after DS was born and before she left (of course, my appetite didn't return until later, oh well!).

[elspethshimon]

I plan to have snacks on hand: hummus and carrots, cheese and crackers, chips and guac, yogurt and granola, pb and jelly, juice, tea, coffee, etc.

My big fantasy is that someone will bring coffee and donuts. I don't even like donuts that much anymore, I just love the idea of having coffee and donuts around during a home birth. But I'm strange like that.

[salt_phoenix]

Seems I lose my appetite during labor. :

With my first, pappa & m/w's ordered pizza. I got (and loved) juice popcicles and mountain dew. That seemed to be all I needed to get me through.

With my second, I don't remember them eating anything... but my kitchen was farther away from where I did most of my laboring. It was a short labor too, (4 hrs) so they probably didn't even get hungry. I had frozen juice popcicles again.

I remember being famished afterwards with both though. HUGE heaps of macaroni and cheese with tuna BOTH TIMES!!!

We usually have enough things around that are both nutritious AND easy that I won't do anything "special". 'Cept freeze the 50% juice otter pops. I've "graduated" to otter pops.

[Cookie5765]

I didn't buy food with them in mind. I had prepared a meal the day before there were left overs and one midwife who had come from an over night birth had that when she arrived. The other midwife who arrived in the night had toast and fruit for breakfast and I don't know if she ate anything esle. There were things like nuts and cheese for people to snack on. I remember Mike telling me that the one midwife that had come of the over night birth just ate and ate. I have NO recolition!

We all celebrated after with chocolate, fruit, and nuts.

[Oliver'sMom]

Originally Posted by transformed

What would you keep around to feed your guests at the birth?

don't worry about them. they can take care of themselves. you just think about you and your baby! everything will fall into place and be perfect!

[Eaglevoice]

Originally Posted by Oliver'sMom

don't worry about them. they can take care of themselves. you just think about you and your baby! everything will fall into place and be perfect!

Exactly what I was going to say!!!

For my first hb, I had made a big lasagne and frozen it a few weeks before. I had a watermelon and several snacky things on hand. For my second birth, I made a big pot of chili the night before and had some nuts and yogurt and hummus and veggies on hand. Have some coffee and tea on hand as well, in case it goes late into the night.

[Beppie]

Just curious, so many of you said you made things like soup or chili "the night before" --- But my question is, how did you know it was the night before?

[jencen]

I concur with the fruit popsicles-mandarin orange frozen fruit bars were the only thing I could consume during my 26 hour labor. My mom fixed sandwiches for my dp, the midwife and attendants. I also had yogurt and fruit on hand. I'm sure you have lots of good food for yourself at home right now, the others will make do.
mama to Jojo 6-17-07::

[homebirthing]

I don't remember what I had for mine. But as someone who attends a lot of homebirths, coffee is a must! With creamer and sugar. Yum!

I will probably have lunch meat, fruit (I was obsessed with having fresh fruit in the house last time) snacky food. Probably not soup, as it will be August! Maybe I can have someone throw a bunch of burgers on the grill and have fresh tomatoes and hamburgers and chips and salsa.

Yummy!

[akvtmama]

In my birth supply basket I had things like fruit leathers and granola bars that aren't perishable because i always feared I'd go into labor with an empty fridge to feed midwives. I was two weeks late with DD1 so it was hard to plan but both times they just helped themselves and didn't end up eating any of the "dry goods" in the basket

[mothragirl]

i had my friend grab fruit/veggie trays from the store on her way over. of course my labor was only a few hours and my MW was barely there so i ate them for the next few days.

[Maltagirl]

I'm sitting here, just waiting to go into labor (tonight would be fabulous)...

I have veggies all chopped up for lentil soup. I'll just throw it in the crock pot with lentils and water when I'm sure it's labor. We'll have soup in about 5 hours.

I've got some good snacks ready for my kids, too -- easy stuff like baby carrots and pretzels.

[NJ*Doula]

I don't suppose you could post a recipe for that lentil soup? :

[Maltagirl]

Sure! It couldn't be easier.

1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
a few cloves of garlic if you want (chopped)
1 bay leaf
1 lb. lentils, rinsed and picked over
4-6 cups of water (depends on how your crock pot works...I'd start with the 4 and add more liquid if you see the soup getting dry)

Put all of the above in the crock pot, turn on low heat if you want the soup in 8-10 hours, on high if you want it in 4-5 hours.

During last hour or so, remove bay leaf and add one small can of tomato sauce (8 oz.).

When the soup is done, add salt and pepper to your taste.

My family likes some alphabet pasta cooked on the side (just add to each dish), or rice. We also like grated parmesan or romano on top. Of course, the soup stands on its own without any help.

(This soup, minus the tomato sauce, also works great for a 9-month old baby -- we'd make it for ourselves, take out a portion before we added the sauce, and puree for the baby.)