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ADVICE RATING

4.65 (Highly recommend) from 61 votes (1392 Visits)

Please Send Food

(July 2006) (rank 13th)

After my first daughter was born there were lots of things that came in handy. All the baby items I got at my shower, the things I bought, the practical stuff, all helpful and very useful. When we first arrived home from the hospital people sent gifts and flowers and

came to visit and it was so kind of everyone to be so supportive. But looking back I think the most helpful thing anyone ever did for us was bring us food. And when I say food, I really mean MEALS.

My mother-in-law brought us 3 or 4 homecooked meals for us to either eat right away or freeze (SO HELPFUL). My neighbor (whom I barely knew at the time) delivered one hot meal and one to freeze (SO GENEROUS) and we had some friends come over one night and make us a huge dinner to all share together (SO KIND). And my dad had a really nice restraurant deliver a meal to our home (YUM).I honestly had no idea how far down on the priority list making a meal falls when you have a new baby in the house. The baby can't miss a meal but the parents sure can, which isn't a real good idea. And fast food gets old, well, fast.

So, the next time a dear friend or family member brings home a new baby, consider cooking them up something delicious. You'll be giving them the best gift of all!

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ADVICE RATING

4.65 (Highly recommend) from 61 votes

Thankyou for your vote (you can change your vote at any time). Please leave some helpful comments about this advice using the box below.

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	July 15th \| Shepthegazelle

Re: Please Send Food

I know how great it is to have people bring dinners over when you have a new baby (I have had three in the last four years). Between all my friends who have had babies in the last few years, and also other friends and family who were ill, on bed rest, etc. it feels like I have coordinated a hundred meal schedules. Since I was doing this so often for people, and organizing is a tedious process, my husband and a friend of his took the time to design a website that helps make the process of organizing people to bring meals so much easier. The website is www.foodtidings.com and it's free for anyone to use. It gives the key information to everyone you invite to help, keeps the schedule updated, and sends reminders when it’s their turn. This has eliminated extra phone calls and emails that have always demanded more time than I had. I hope this can be a help to others as well.

Sincerely, Lisa

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	August 2007 \| FremantleDocker

Re: Please Send Food

My mum cooked me meals with all 5 of my kids. I love her cooking.

Reply

	5.00 (Excellent) \| May 2007 \| exquisite-flower

Best new baby gifts

... ... ... are the ones we wished we had when we had our babies. hampers of 'must have items' and dishes of food, a voucher book to claim baby sitting, coffee where someone comes to your home and brings coffee and cake and you get to have a bath instead of socialising....etc.
Peace
EF.x

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	5.00 (Excellent) \| April 2007 \| mumof2b

Please send food!!

I go to a great play group and we all do this whenever one of us has had a baby, it's such a relief to not have to cook a meal every night especially if hubby isn't home from work.

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	5.00 (Excellent) \| April 2007 \| madmelsBACK

Please bring meals!

I never even thought of this!! Thanks for sharing :) I sure could have used some meals when I had the boys :)

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	5.00 (Excellent) \| February 2007 \| mumof1girl

Great idea

Looking back to when i first bought my daugher home, we needed food ourselves, and half the time we or i would forget to eat.

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	5.00 (Excellent) \| February 2007 \| blackwidowkate

Food glorious food

Hi
Isn't it amazing that in times of trouble something so easy as food can be such a comfort
Birth of a baby....death of a loved one
Moving house
these and lots of other times.....
If in need of a gift jsut bring food......
Sometimes you would love a home cooked meal but don't have the energy......
Excellent article
Luv Deb

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	5.00 (Excellent) \| November 2006 \| Chrysalis

Nice one!

Oh this is so true- same with moving house- there is nothing nicer than receiving a gift of a cooked meal!

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	5.00 (Excellent) \| October 2006 \| dolphins30

thats true

Yeah, we hardly ate when miss3.7 came home. All that we were worried about was getting her fed, bathed, dressed etc. Youre spot on with your advice and you just do forget about the food wise of things for yourselves.

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	4.74 (Excellent) \| September 2006 \| VioletsAreNotBlue

Send Food

I had this done for me also. What a wonderful gift it was to receive a homecooked meal that I didn't have to make. I have done the same things for friends. I also included a few "gift certificates" for a Parents Nite out where I offered to watch the baby and they could either go out for dinner or just stay at home and enjoy each other for an evening. This went over really well and has caught on as many of my friends have also done this. It is an inexpensive way to help out and is usually appreciated.

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	5.00 (Excellent) \| September 2006 \| Jessgore

Fantastic.....

That is great.. I don't know how many times I went with out eating because I just did not think about it and was preoccupied.... Thankfully my mum was here for the first three weeks of our sons life so she did most of the cooking (when she was not gooing and arrring over her first born grandchild.

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	4.79 (Excellent) \| August 2006 \| muchmorethanamom

Oh, how I agree!

I filled my deep-freeze over-full when I was pregnant and had to eat some that wouldn't fit! And still, the best gifts were meals! I got sick of what I had made and it was so nice to have other hot or cookable meals that we didn't have to make. That way, we got at least one meal per day!

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	4.73 (Excellent) \| August 2006 \| samantha

frozen meals

in the last month of my pregnancy's i would alway's make alot of soups stews ect to put in the freezer, ready for when i'd be in hospital for hubby and the kids to enjoy, and also when i got home so i only had to add a salad or some steamed vegies

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	4.74 (Excellent) \| August 2006 \| mewannaboy

send food

Thats a very gret idea, and if you have good food and prepared dinners theres more time to focus on baby.I would have appreciated magezines too because at times when bub is sleeping you have something to read while you await the next feed.

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	4.48 (Good) \| August 2006 \| BebeBuzz

send food

That is such a great idea!! I dont know anyone that wouldnt appreciate that! No one sent food to us when either of our kids were born and we spent a fortune ordering in food for lunch and dinner for the first 2 weeks after the births.

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	4.74 (Excellent) \| August 2006 \| rusha

I agree!!

My church delivered meals at the end stage of my pregnancy and then my mom cooked them when she was here for the three weeks after my son was born. LIFESAVING! Who has time to cook with a baby around?!? Not me! :D

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	5.00 (Excellent) \| August 2006 \| JadieLady

I only wish!

I unfortunately was kept i nteh hospital for a whole 2.5 days after Liam was born- by accident! a chart mix up or something, but The only people I had around at the tiem were my husband and his sister. she is an apprentice baker, so she would sart work at like 3 am and come home around 11 and sepnd time with her nephew while i would catch up on sleep. i don't function without 8 hours every night lol. luckily my husband is the main cook in our house, and it was ahrd on him to go to work and then come home and cook instead of spend tiem with our new little baby. my parents came a week or so later, but i just wanted them to either clean my house instead of criticise it, and make me some food instead of telling me im not healthy and pouring water down my throat! His parents were great though. they flew down from cairns after a month or two, and his mum would pop into the kitchen to cook, and i would only figure it out when shesang as she did the dishes. :) even now i forget to feed myself :S

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	4.83 (Excellent) \| July 2006 \| Susan

cassrole shower

When my girlfriends started having their second and third babies, we had casserole showers for them--instead of a traditional baby gift, guests brought either a frozen casserole or a gift certificate for one of several local catering places that provide take-out. We also organized meal deliveries for the weeks after the grandparents had gone home.

Last summer, we did the same thing for a friend whose father is dying of cancer; it was an easy way to help she and her family really appreciated it.

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	4.57 (Excellent) \| July 2006 \| MonkeyDad

That is true

Good advice. When my wife had our first baby my parents came up for a week and did all the cooking. It was great for my wife to only have to worry about the baby's schedule because that was a lot for her to handle at the time.

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	4.52 (Excellent) \| July 2006 \| allyp

so true

That was excellent. I agree. That's what people should do more often to new parents/mothers/fathers.. bring them meals.. it is hard to cook the first few days.. i found anyways!!

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	4.85 (Excellent) \| July 2006 \| hrs2004

New baby and food

I remember that on my first day home with the baby (she had arrived at 1830, we got home 0200 the next morning), we had THIRTEEN visitors, including a doctor and assistant, not including people coming to view the house as we were trying to sell it. Did we eat? Nope. We finally managed sandwiches around 10pm. My other half had been running around getting tea and cake for his assorted family but no one actually wondered if we might want at least some time for lunch. So, not only should people provide food, but I think they should SEND it - and then disappear! I always advise people to try and keep visitors to a minimum. It is hard enough getting used to the complete change in your life without a whole stack of people looking on and making you wonder if you aren't doing it right. I don't think I would be able to cope with someone moving in (well done Izzy!) but I would have loved meals dropped round on an occasional basis.

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	4.59 (Excellent) \| July 2006 \| Izzy

Absolutely!

This is a great gift to someone who had just given birth. My mother in law stayed with us for 2 weeks after I gave birth. She asked me to tell her what to do (laundry, cleaning, etc), but it wasn't in my upbringing to tell an elder, especially a guest, to do these things so I just asked her to cook meals. She said she felt like she was not much of a help, but oh she was! If not for her, my husband would have fed me fast food everyday... not so healthy and definitely not so yummy.

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	4.74 (Excellent) \| August 2006 \| cheleinkal

Absolutely!

My Mum was with us for about 3 weeks prior to the birth and 2 months after. Before the bub came, she was sooooo helpful, helped cook and did dishes, I did all the other cleaning because thats not her thing and I don't mind house work, but I don't get an urge very often to cook, just a chore so when she did it it was a true gift. Unfortunately after the bub came Mum did less and less until she didn't even rinse her own coffee cups just watched me do everything. It ate at me for a week and so I eventually had to say something which was very very hard to do as I've never really had an issue with my Mum EVER before. But she copped it on the chin and there was no problem after that......thank goodness.

But you're right, Minti should put a book of suggestions together to sell to the friends and family of impending parents.
More practical gifts than those expecting will expect.............catchy.

Reply

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Any contributed content above is the subjective opinion of that member or external author, and not of Minti.com Pty Ltd. If you are searching for health related advice we strongly suggest you seek professional medical support. View our Terms of Service for more details.

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