fave foods for early labor?

[aweynsayl]

What have you or do you think you will like eating during early labor?

Oooh, and, what have you had on hand for your supporters for during labor? My "early labor" activity is going to be baking.... so I want to have things on hand to make both for me, and for the MW, DH, and anyone else who makes it to Baby's Birth Party!

TIA!

:love

[mommy_milky]

I knew that if anyone was going to throw up during labor, it would be me (and I was right!), so I chose food that come up easily, mint chocolate chip ice cream and applesauce! Don't worry about what your attendants will eat, that's someone else's job. My best friend was in charge of food, and I have no idea what she did. I guess it worked though, since I didn't get any complaints.

[wombatclay]

I second the "taste the same going up as it does going down" school of thought! I love Tom Kah Gai (a thai coconut milk and chicken soup) so that's what I had. Tasted wonderful, gave me a good blend of quick energy (from the coconut milk) and lasting ooomph (from the chicken), and looked/tasted more or less the same when some of it decided to rejoin the outside world. :lol

I also had some tater tots, some jello, and some hot cocoa with whipped cream. Sounds funny, I know, but these are my "comfort foods". So if you have a favorite food or foods that you like to eat when you feel a bit "off" these might be good to have on hand. Not that I think labor is the same thing as feeling ill, but it's a good time to have all your comfort options lined up and ready to go. So if chicken soup and ginger ale (or cocoa and tater tots :) ) makes you feel loved and cozy, go for it!

[CharlotteSometimes]

Ok, this is weird, but with dd I ate 1.5 lbs of spaghetti with tons of sauce in the span of 6 hours (which I also promptly pooped out). Then an Italian Sandwich. Then later I had chicken noodle soup and was spoon fed my greatest comfort food, Edy's Ice Cream Sandwich Ice Cream. The whole time I drank a lot of RRL tea.

I would have been so screwed if I had puked. But over the span of a 42 hour labor, I guess I needed the energy!

[witchbaby]

the boy and my midwife had to FORCE me to eat. i had a really early aversion to food it seems. i had a little chocolate milkshake, some recharge, chicken broth and two bites of toast. afterwards though, woooo! :lol i ate anything in sight!

[Melaya]

Not the healthiest. But last time it was all about apple pie, oatmeal cookies, fresh fruit (had to be really good and party tray style), and lots of juice. I must have needed sugar. :) Toast with some butter was really nice afterwards.

[HomeBirthMommy]

My labor started in the middle of the night and it was pretty intense from the start. All I could manage to eat was about half of a banana. I also drank a lot of half water/half gatorade during the labor. Afterward, I was absolutely starving. I ate 2 breakfasts of eggs and waffles :blush and then I was craving pineapple so my dad went a bought a pineapple and cut it up for me. Yum!

[peilover010202]

I actually wanted pizza and any type of soup. I craved apple juice and pineapple jucie - so I drank lots of those.

Afterward, fresh black bean burrito with cheese, sour cream, salsa and applesauce and milk (I'm not a milk drinker usually.)

[Llyra]

Don't take my advice!!! Guess what I during my labor with DD? A big piece of fried (yea, FRIED-- :scared ) fish, a baked potato with cheese, and broccoli, and a tall glass of orange juice. The labor nurse asked me what I'd eaten, and when I told her she got really quiet for a minute and then went and got a bunch of barf bags. :lol Honestly, I wouldn't have eaten all that if I'd known it really was the real thing, but I'd been through so many bouts of preterm labor and days of prodromal (sp?) labor, and I guess I just figured it was more of the same, so why bother getting ready.

I didn't barf, though, although I felt really queasy right after DD was born.

[aguacates]

I ate some feta walnut dip early labor(before I knew for sure that I was in labor), which was so not a good idea. I probably won't ever eat that again.:rolleyes

And after that I just had Recharge until after the baby came, then we all had Mezze plates with tabouli, hummus, baba ganoush, pita and veggies. Super yummy. My plan for this baby is to make some soup in my crockpot tomorrow, that can be pulled out to feed those attending my labor, but knowing myself, I probably won't even try to eat anything. I do want to make some Red Raspberry leaf tea popsicles though, either mixed w/fruit juice, or some honey for energy. In fact, that sounds really good right now...

[blissful_maia]

It looks like soup is a popular favourite and I whole-heartedly agree! I drank soup in early labour with Ayla too. It's good because it has fluids to keep you hydrated, veggies and meat (if you eat it) which will give you lasting energy.

[amyro]

I didn't have much in the way of early labor, but I ate watermelon throughout active labor, plus a little bit of smoothie (almond milk with banana and mango) and sportswater (or whatever that electrolyte water is called) mixed with a small amount of juice. It was sooooo great, and I still have a fond place in my heart for watermelon! I gave birth on the fourth of july, so it seemed fitting. (Wasn't going to go for hotdogs and hamburgers LOL!)

[Chicky2]

honey and banana sandwiches on whole grain bread! Yum! Also ate orange slices, drank a ton of water, and was fed yogurt. Um, one labor I ate bacon and eggs in the birth tub, lol!

I think i"ll have soup on hand this time (home made of course!), and baked oatmeal. I'll have some home made calzones, bierocks, etc.. on hand for the midwives, along w/home made granola bars, and salad fixin's. My best friend will just have to help, lol.

btw, I have never puked in labor.

[riverundine]

quick little lead up...
i'd been having irregular contractions for weeks, slowly getting closer and closer...decided to have dh take me an hour and a half away, to some hot springs (went in the regulated tub) to see if that would get things moving...on the hike out i was 8 minutes apart and regular...so, since it was late and nothing else was open we picked up a jalapeno and pineapple pizza that i ate in the car on the drive home. super yummy :yum. by morning i tried to eat some oatmeal, but couldn't do it...so i had tons of org. recharge, water, RRL tea, and juice...for hours and hours and hours...i was so ready for something to eat when it was over. my mom made everyone grilled cheese and tofu sandwiches. yum-yum :D .

[Citykid]

what is recharge? a lot of you have mentioned it...

[rachdoll]

umm, well, my early labor food of choice was my favorite crap food - jalapeno poppers. I had some stuffed with cream cheese when I had the first inkling that this might be labor, and then I had cheddar cheese-stuffed jalapenos as I was packing and getting ready to go. I never once thought about the possibility of puking it all back up, I was hungry and only wanted my poppers! :lol

Right after labor I had toast with PB, and really wanted fresh fruit, but L&D didn't have any (doesn't that seem strange to you?).

[Chicky2]

Yeah, what is recharge? I wanna be in the loop, too!

[CharlotteSometimes]

It tastes pretty good:

http://www.knudsenjuices.com/products/detail.aspx?groupID=10&categoryID=56&flavorID=175&productID=245

[Chicky2]

thanks!

[grace's voice]

I didn't plan any foods for early labor last time, I just kept the house stocked with melons and berries for the birth team. When I first went into labor, though, I ate 2 1/2 cheeseburgars, at least one full cob of corn, and several full glasses of juice (which I normally don't drink). Not exactly light snacking! I would have never thought I could eat that much, but I was HUNGRY! It all stayed down, too, topped off with several quarts of juice and many glasses of water. :D

I don't know what I plan to do this time, other than the fruit again (which tasted like heaven after birth!). I think maybe it would be a good idea to have some quick, high protein food on hand, like maybe some turkey burgars or something. My birth team was only here for 2 hours, and they keep telling me it might be even less this time, so I haven't been too concerned with heavy food for them.

[Stayathomemommy]

CARBO LOAD!!! I was long distance runner for most of my life so in order to get in the zone i do the same thing i did the night before a big race..........Spagetti and meatballs, garlic toast...........oh gosh now i am so hungry!!!

i did throw up with #1 but not #2,#3. we will see this time. i wont plan too much ahead but just eat what i feel like when the time comes. as long as its enough to get me through and provide a bunch of energy.

[maguire708]

Italian ice... popsicles... COLD COLD COLD!
I am not a puker, but just couldn't even look at protein (though for a 12 hour labor I probably needed some) and the warm things (Itallian chicken soup, toast) and fluids (rapberry leaf tea, gatorade, water) I'd planned on just made me feel like gagging when I even looked at them. Frozen stuff went down and stayed down and kept dehydration at bay and even afterwards I wasn't hungry, though I forced myself to eat some yogurt so I didn't get a bloodsugar headache.