foods to eat while in labor

[snoopy5386]

I am trying to come up with some light foods to eat during labor so I can have a little cooler packed to take with us to the hospital. What do you reccommend?
So far I've come up with Jello and applesauce. I'm thinking heavy foods might be a bad idea...but who knows, and that is why I am turning to the mamas with experience....

[Melaya]

All I wanted was juice, fruit (not just any fruit either, perfectly cut up fruit tray fruit), and oatmeal cookies. Does the hospital that you're going to let you eat while in labor?

[bellababy]

I got very nauseous as I went into transition, but was hungry because all I ate was a piece of toast after my water broke!

I got some organic fruit rolls that worked well--kept my sugar level up, but didn't make me want to barf! Drink as much water as you can stand to... that was the best thing, I think!

[wombatclay]

I had planned all sorts of things (and my hospital was very "eat what you like as long as your doctor sys it's okay") but then found that I threw up anything I managed to get down. :( So I guess I'd suggest things that taste and look more or less the same going down as they do coming up.

I had packed little toast squares, honey packets to put on the toast for extra energy or to eat alone, and a thermos of Tom Kah Gai (a thai coconut-chicken soup, very light but also very yummy!). I brought a few different types of tea bags, and a few cans of juice.

I also had preggie pops, three or four Luna bars (peppermint flavor, my fav) and frozen fruit bars. My hospital had a kitchen for laboring couples that they kept stocked with juice and little finger foods and a freezer/fridge to keep whatever you'd like during your "stay with them" (like those frozen fruit bars). You might want to find out if your hospital has something similar...I know my dh more or less lived off the freebie foods for a day or two!

Good luck!

[sciencemama]

I go with the same kinds of foods I'd eat before or during a hard workout (for me that means a long run). Water, diluted Gatorade, fresh non-acidic fruit like grapes or apples, a couple Harvest bars... I have a pretty strong stomach though... I've been known to eat brownies for breakfast before a run. :bag:

[yequanamama]

Just to throw all the usual expectations out the window, I didn't eat much of anything for about 7 hours before I went into transition with my first - threw up all the lasagne I'd eaten at 8:00 that morning (10 hours before.)

But with my second, I ate meatloaf at 8 cms. (that's what I wanted - frozen microwave meatloaf!) and never threw up. Go figure. Not that I recommend bringing meatloaf to the hospital, but if you usually like to eat heavier, don't be afraid of heavier foods in labor! Luna bars - or other energy bars - would definitely be on my list. Of course, if you time it right, you won't have TIME to eat once you get to the hospital! Good luck!

[stafl]

I had handy, and had planned to eat, all sorts of light, healthy snacks during labor. I think I actually ate cold pizza and leftover chicken, peanut butter sandwiches, stuff like that instead. :lol

[Cookie5765]

I had frozen fruits, gatoraide, applesauce and that type of thing prepared to eat but found in labour I didn't want to eat at all. I went into labour at 3:30 and had a bit of frozen fruit (just a couple peices) at about 7am. At about 11:30 I was nauseous and wanted to eat to see it is would help but I couldn't find anythind I wanted. I was close to giving birth so I had just water sips and tiny frozen gatoraide cubes when I was pushing for less then ten minutes but between each push I popped a cube into I mouth. I ended up hemorrhaging and wasn't allowed to eat after because they thought I'd need a D&C and when the OB finally saw me and told me I wouldn't the cafeteria was closed and it was too late for DH to go out to find me anything. The next morning the brought me a meal for someone on a liquid diet. I was furious *lol*

With my first baby I didn't think to eat at all. My pushing phase was VERY long at one point the aide natal brought me dry fruit and nuts and I though that was just disgusting. unfortunately no one thought to get me things to drink either so I couldn't have swollowed a nut it I tried. I was eating lasagna about an hour after the birth though!!

Katrina

I heard that soups are good to eat. I liked things that were cooler personally.

[3daughters]

I drank gallons of extra pulp orange juice (yum!). I wasn't warned about the acidic factor, and frankly, I don't get heartburn during pregnancy so it didn't bother me at all. I ate a few cinnamon pastries when my husband was helping himself since they looked so good. Other than that, food was far from my mind.

[NameThatMama]

I've packed dried fruit, granola bars (the hippy kind), trail mix with nuts and dried fruit, and several quarts of Vruit.

[Pandora114]

eat pears, they taste the same coming up as they do going down....

[sargasso]

I had a bunch of stuff planned, but the only things I actually wanted during labor were apple juice and Edy's popsicles.

[johub]

My doula ran out and got me Subway.
It was a hospital birth and you ought to have seen the look on the nurses faces! :lol
I brought all kinds of healthy stuff but didnt want any ofit.

[the_lissa]

I planned on making a pasta salad with veggies but I couldn't. I ate toast with jam, chees,e oatmeal, etc.

[artgoddess]

I never got hungry, and I had a loooong labor. But I wanted some flavor, so I would leave a lolipop in the pile of ice chips/water I had and give it a lick once in a while. Actually scratch that, I swirled it around the inside of my cheeks. :lol

After my sone was born I was so freakin' hungry I ate all of my crappy hospital dinner. It was cold too, cause the nurse had saved it for me since I was like 9cm, and I didn't get to eat until at least an hour after he was born.

[Anguschick1]

W/ds1 nothing from Wed afternoon until Sunday morning except 1 popscicle Saturday night (mag sulfate - not allowed bs)

I had an asiago bagel w/sun dried tomato cream cheese about 9am and watermelon chunks around 12. I had told dh to offer me water (w/a straw) between contractions. Ds2 was born at 4:20pm and I held him in one arm while sucking down an entire jar of fruit punch recharge right after he was born. Three scrambled eggs about an hour later. Best eggs in my life!

[rnasmomma]

With DS, I didn't get hungry and actually was dehydrated and ended up with IV fluids...he was 20 hours labor and 3 hours of pushing.

But before DD, I ate a large Qdoba taco salad when I finished, my MW broke my water (I requested it) and delivered in under 50 minutes. :) I wanted to have something substantial in me in case I was in labor for hours like I was with DS.

With the next one, I'll just see what I'm in the mood for. I'll likely pack pecans, almonds, etc. to snack on afterwards--if I get lucky with a short labor like DD. (My EDD is Sunday, so we'll soon find out.)

[chiro_kristin]

Ooh, I was sooo not hungry. But my MWs forcefed me smoothies, apples with almond butter, bananas, and scrambled eggs (a lot of food bc I had a 55-hr labor). Good thing they did make me eat or I wouldn't have been able to hold up.

[coobabysmom]

i labored at home for 24 hours and i had no appetite... i remember my husband trying to get me to eat a little pasta at one point and my sister try to force a bite of eggs into my mouth!!! :lol

between pushes (now at the hospital) i would take a shot of honey & drink tons of water.... liked honey because i didn't have to chew and it was a quick shot sugar/energy.

[lilyka]

mixed nuts. I wanted protien. nothing but protien. a little juice was good. I packed gator-aide type stuff (powder) ad cliff bars and goo (carb boosting stuff for athletes. Dh thought it would be good to have in case I needed boost. I have never been able to actually swallow the stuff.)

[Birth Junky]

I packed gator-aide type stuff (powder) ad cliff bars and goo (carb boosting stuff for athletes. Dh thought it would be good to have in case I needed boost. I have never been able to actually swallow the stuff.)

:Puke

Sorry . . . (*grin*) One of the members of our dance group brought goo to a performance to give the dancers some extra energy. Several of the dancers managed to swallow the stuff, but not me! UGH!

Good ideas on this thread, though . . . I am hoping to have a short list of labor snacks to shop from once contractions begin (or I may just send one of the support people to the store), so I am :eyes and :notes:

[SuperStar]

I've never had the desire to eat during labor.

[amybw]

great list!

Keep it coming!

thanks !

:)
Amy

[Thmom]

yep, I've also never had the desire to eat during labor, but maybe that's because my labors are so short... I do however always get ravinously hungry right before labor and for some odd reason I usually crave KFC (blech) I don't usually like the stuff but have requested it 3 out of 5 times just before labor hit...
As a doula I keep honey, luna bars and smart water with me all the time. Occasionally I'll add some fruit and mixed nuts and of course chocolate LOL

[chiro_kristin]

I did drink tons of Recharge too. Had to keep up the energy.

[Xiaguan]

Somthing that I loved when in labor with my son was chicken broth~ I also remember drinking water during the pushing phase~ His labor was so much different from my first in that they allowed food/liquids during labor~ My 1st was in a hospital with very little patience for natural deliveries~

HTH's
Melissa

[mariposita]

i had a quick labor but dh made me a chocolate protein smoothie when we realized it was real labor in case it was a long one...then together we made sushi (labor project) to eat right after. also, we made the srong red raspberry leaf tea that i read about here.

[sagewinna]

I ate all through my last labor... Hash browns, luna bars, asian pears, apples, I don't remember what else. I drank a lot of white grape juice and water.

[lacysmommy]

I went into labor during dinner, and I just avoided eating the meat. Everything else sounded good (I was still in early labor at that point, hard labor I didn't even think about food).

[carriedaway]

At my mw's suggestion, I made ice cubes out of juice and that was wonderful - it helped keep me hydrated and also gave me some energy. Grape juice works well for freezing since it doesn't freeze too hard because there's so much sugar in it :o

Afterwards, I had a bbq pork sandwich that was super yummy :)

carrie

[nova22]

Your baby is due on my birthday. :)

Anyway, I really didn't want anything to eat. I was thirsty, and I had a water bottle with me at all times, but I didn't feel up to eating or drinking anything of substance when I was in active labor. When I first started having regular contractions I scarfed down a bowl of fiber-rich cereal, but that's it.

[annakiss]

1st baby - toast, gatorade

2nd baby - I bought Luna bars, fruit leather, sesame seed sticks, that organic gatorade - what's it called? :scratch Ended up eating leftover quiche and pb&j.

[proudmamanow]

I'm normally a healthy eater, but ended up eating kd & grape juice, my ultimate comfort foods, spoon fed to me by my sweetie while I was in the birth pool.
yummmmmmmmmmmm

[mirandahope]

eat pears, they taste the same coming up as they do going down....


I appreciate this suggestion! :lol

Great list! Hope to get more ideas!!

[crunchymomof2]

eat pears, they taste the same coming up as they do going down....

:yeah: I still remember the pears I ate during labor fondly. I ate a sandwich right as i figured out I was in labor. Then ate two pears. They were cold and juicy. Just what I wanted. Then afterward I chowed down. I think I ate two sandwichs with all the trimmings and juice and TONS of water.

[be11ydancer]

Good stuff here, ladies. Keep it coming.
:notes2:

[SamanthaLizK]

ditto about not wanting to eat in late labor (although don't remind me since I don't eat meat that in early labor I got me some filet mignon!! Wow did it taste good!)... but super ditto about the recharge, before labor, I hated recharge, during... I couldn't get enough of it!!

[Susannah M]

Recharge - a natural kind of gatorade. Other than that, I was eating the same things I normally would by the same night. I did not want anything other than ice chips while I was laboring, but my labor was only 6 hours long, so I did not have a long time. . .