Postpartum Meals

[LBNoble]

I live on a military post, a small close-knit community with a high birth rate . We generally do meals for a family that's just had a baby, for a few weeks- my standard offering is a smoked turkey breast, rolls, pasta salad, poundcake, & sparkling cider.

I'm altering my usual menu a bit-my neighbor, whose husband works with my husband, will have visitors (family & friends)in for a week or so, along with her husband, who will leave to go back TDY until April. So, I don't think the usual pattern of meals for a few weeks will work for her, since after this week, it will be just her & the baby till next month. I'll try to see if people will do meals next month.

I'm going to add some good cheese (Cabot cheddar), some fruit- grapes, strawberries, smoked salmon, a Greek veggie salad-tomatoes, cukes, gr. onions, feta, lemon & olive oil (I'm not happy with the pasta salad, it seems flabby), a fruit tart, & a nice Australian (my neighbor is from Australia) wine, maybe a Riesling (along with the n/a sparkling cider). Does anyone have any suggestions-if you were going to be cooped up with loved ones for a week (with a new baby) what would you like to have on hand?

[g.johnson]

Roast placenta, what else.

[Varmint]

Y'know, that may have been the post that made my skin crawl the most. Eek.

[LBNoble]

ok, that's pretty gross-I've heard of asking for your placenta to plant with a tree or something (not that I was thinking about this while giving birth), but roasting it-Yuck! While i was in the midst of labor, all I thought about was when I was going to get my next good Mexican meal (I ate out the night before my scheduled C-section & had my husband bring me some in the hospital) & how soon I could go home...Linda

[clb]

LBNoble, what generosity!

When I'd just had a baby, friends sent a big fish pie, a quiche, a shepherd's pie etc. These were very welcome and should be just the thing if your friend has a lot of people to feed.

But another thought: I hope the family and friends visiting will also be helping and cooking. Perhaps it would be good to concentrate on the few weeks the mother and baby will be alone. It's exhausting looking after a baby alone and it's important that the mother eat properly. Some treats for her then would probably be very welcome.

clb

[Marlene]

I'm sorry, but that is disgusting. LBNoble, to answer your question, maybe a nice lazagna, some fresh shrimp, definately cheese, cookies? Things that are easy to pop in the oven without too much energy. She's just had a baby, and she's going to have company, she'll be exhausted

[LBNoble]

That's just what I was thinking, that after everyone left was going to be the crucial time. I remember after I had my last child, we left the hospital on Wed. & my husband had a jump that weekend(he was gone) & it snowed (we were in CO), it was so peaceful. We live in the DC area & while I haven't found tons of amazing places to shop, the commissary always has very fresh fruit & veg (highest volume of any of the stateside commissaries), & I love the Swiss Bakery in Burke-my kids & I went there on Sunday & got lots of stuff-I thought I had enough pretzel rolls, but my son found them & devoured them, my daughter said, "Mom, why can't we have a bakery in our house?" & I thought, 'why not?' I do less baking now then before I had kids, but surely I can change that, for a while, nobody really wanted to eat bread, so I stopped baking. I need to gear up again...Linda

[Stone]

Roast placenta, what else.

I actually know two fathers who claim to have taken a bite out of the fresh placenta. G -- do you think you could successfully substitute corn flakes for the saltines? I do like the combination of old-time pagan ritual with down-home white trash cooking.

[LBNoble]

Ok, how many of you that eat placenta also change diapers? On a regular basis?

[elyse]

A lot of animals eat their own placenta.

I too would forget about it while the family's there and concentrate on what she'd like after they go. A token while they're there would be nice.

[suzilightning]

lb -

once hubby is back tdy casseroles, soups - probably something light since it's getting warm down in belvoir like a spring pea soup, since she is right next door one of the extra loaves of bread you're making for the kids.

hooh-ha!

[Andrew Fenton]

A lot of animals eat their own placenta. 

A lot of animals eat their young, too. My sister's dog eats his own vomit. But I don't think those'll be threads on eGullet any time soon...

[snowangel]

Once she's alone, gifts of food that are "snacky" and can be prepared and eaten with one hand are wonderful. I have a good friend who would show up a couple of times a week with stuff for ME to eat during the day when I was home alone with my various babies -- pre-washed (by her) salad greens, hard boiled eggs (peeled and in baggies), sliced chicken breast, great bread, cheese, fruit. She washed everything before she came over, and I had great stuff for sandwiches, salads and nibbling. (Oh, she also brought ice cream ).

What was especially nice about these things is that I was hungry often, and nursing, so things that I could prep and eat easily while nursing was wonderful. She also brough cases of bottled water. All of this stuff that one could eat morning, noon, night, and wee hours.

My mother and mother-in-law helped with stuff for dinner when Paul and the other kid(s) were around.

[Dana]

If I was a new mother with a houseful of company, the thing I would desire most would be a lock for my bedroom door!!!

Snowangels' suggestions were great, along with some hummus and pita, maybe a sun dried tomato spread, or something else that she's unlikely to fix for her family. Don't forget some wine - new mothers need to be relaxed and it's great for encouraging milk let-down. I wish someone had gotten me some wine 25 years ago.

[Pan]

Are you recommending wine for a nursing mother? If so, are you sure that's wise?

[hjshorter]

Once she's alone, gifts of food that are "snacky" and can be prepared and eaten with one hand are wonderful.  I have a good friend who would show up a couple of times a week with stuff for ME to eat during the day when I was home alone with my various babies -- pre-washed (by her) salad greens, hard boiled eggs (peeled and in baggies), sliced chicken breast, great bread, cheese,  fruit.  She washed everything before she came over, and I had great stuff for sandwiches, salads and nibbling.  (Oh, she also brought ice cream  ).

What was especially nice about these things is that I was hungry often, and nursing, so things that I could prep and eat easily while nursing was wonderful.  She also brough cases of bottled water.  All of this stuff that one could eat morning, noon, night, and wee hours.

My mother and mother-in-law helped with stuff for dinner when Paul and the other kid(s) were around.

That sounds great! I usually make a big lasagna, or something easy to heat and doesn't require a knife because a new mom usually only has one arm free.

I was lucky in that when I had my son last year my mother came for several weeks and did all of the cooking and cleaning for us, but several neighbors did bring food. Meatloaf, casseroles, salads, and some cookies. All of it was welcome.

[Miss J]

Are you recommending wine for a nursing mother? If so, are you sure that's wise?

It doesn't have the same implications as drinking whilst pregnant.

[LBNoble]

thanks for all the great suggestions, I'm going out to pop the turkey in the smoker right now...

Linda

[Pan]

Are you recommending wine for a nursing mother? If so, are you sure that's wise?

It doesn't have the same implications as drinking whilst pregnant.

I always understood that it was inadvisable for nursing mothers to drink alcohol. What you ingest is passed through the milk.

[Dana]

I'm sure if the nursing mother gets bombed , it would not be a good thing, however, the La Leche League has, for years, recommended a beer or glass of wine for a nursing mother as she sits down to nurse. Particularly for first time nursing moms, relaxing is key for milk let-down, and getting used to the whole process can be a bit intimidating. Taking care of a newborn, being sore, the fact the you can't tell how much milk to infant is drinking (am I starving the baby? is he getting enough from me?) all weigh heavily on a new mothers' mind. A glass of wine in the evening can be a boost to a new mom.

[sparrowgrass]

The alcohol content of your breast milk is the same as your blood alcohol--so unless you are drinking enough to get your BAC up to the moon, I wouldn't worry about the baby getting too much booze.

However, don't drink so much that you drop the little bugger, or put him down someplace and forget where he is.