Thread: labor snacks

I'm sorry if this question gets asked a lot, but I am trying to assemble a list of good snacks to have on hand at home for early on in my labor. My b/c encourages snacking and I know they keep juice and yogurt and some other stuff on hand at the center, but I figure I should have some too since I was 20 hours total with Adam and would like to try to eat. Of course with him I had a medicated birth, but I felt so good at the beginning that I ate a heavy lunch and then lost it all (pre-meds though).

So, besides yogurt, any suggestions?

This is a good question! My DH is a total foodie and has been pre-worrying about this already, hahaha. Our BC has a kitchen but some things I suggested he said but we don't know when you'll go into labor! What if it goes bad before then!

I feel like I want to have on hand a mix of things that feel like "real" food and some more snack-y things, since I have no idea how long it will be or what I will feel like eating. I would think soup is a good choice for the "real food" part (although for me it's gonna be HOT out...maybe gazpacho??)

We have two toddlers in the house who eat like teenagers, and we love food, so having a ton of food on hand is the norm for us

Special things that I got just for labor are coconut water and recharge, and I will brew up a large batch of RRL tea (cold) with honey close to 38 or 39 weeks. I will make sure that I have lots of pastine in the house too as it is a favorite comfort food for me too ~ (Just chicken broth and orzo or acine di pepe pasta with some cheese on top).

I will probably cook up something in early labor depending on the time of day, and I have planned a lot of freezer meals that that if labor comes on in the middle of the night again or I don't feel like being in the kitchen we will be able to just pull out some things.

I have already requested that my Mom make me the same dish she made the past two times I gave birth ~ Then she made it for me the day that I came home from the hospital, this time she can make it the day that the baby is born as we are birthing at home. My sister has also told me that she will start baking a cake when I go into labor and bring it over to celebrate babies birth day ~ And of course there will be a bottle of champagne on ice

Well last time I had all kinds of things, but could not stomach any of them since they were all solids, so this time I am sticking to liquider foods. But I pretty much jump into active labor, did not really have early labor with DS. I am planning to have:
drinkable yogurt
fruit juice popsicles
honey sticks
chicken and beef broth
and vitamin water on hand for labor.
This way I will have a variety.

I just bought some honey sticks today...my doula/childbirth class teacher swears by them. Haven't thought too much about other stuff yet...

Good question! I haven't even thought about that. All of my births were in the hospital, so I was either being starved, or sneaking bites of whatever friends/family brought in. Honey sticks sounds like a good idea, I'm going to go get some this week.

What a good question! I have had 2 hospital births, and they starved me with both.

I would assume that I would want the same foods that I normally eat, but hadn't really thought about it. I have a cranberry couscous recipe that is so good, but it doesn't have an overpowering taste so I would definitely want some of that made up. I wish I was due in the middle of summer that way the garden would be going strong and I could just have sugar snap peas right out of the garden. I love those things!

Can't wait to see all the responses!

Oooh, I would have never thought to get honey sticks. I will have to look for them! Nice and transportable, too.

The broth/orzo sounds like a good idea too. Maybe I'll get a few cans of chicken & stars in case the orzo isn't cooked.

I had yogurt and Emergen-C for my first birth, which was great until I lost them all in transformation! This time, I think I will probably have some frozen grapes and honey sticks on hand. Chicken and stars sounds really good to me right now as well, though you should keep in mind that you might have a really heightened sense of smell while in labor. I did (the first time around) and DH tried to get me to sip some beef broth. I almost hurled all over him!

I've been wondering this too. I will be in a hospital, but I don't think they will be giving me food until after. I also plan to labor at home as long as possible. Since I was induced last time "active" labor started and was intense within a very short time. I felt very nauseous and had zero desire for food. Luckily, I had dinner the night before and Z was born at 11:00am so I really only skipped one meal.

I'm thinking maybe saltines and almonds.