How many meals should I make in advance?

[Lilly24]

So my first baby is due at the end of next month and I'm starting the meal prep tomorrow (planning to cook a couple of meals in bigger batches every week until he's born so that I can freeze the excess in preparation for having a newborn). I'm making hot pot tomorrow (should hopefully make enough to feed us tomorrow and then be able to freeze 6 portions 🤞) and then a curry on Tuesday (which should leave me with at least 4 freezable portions).
In the coming weeks I'm planning to make chilli con carne (should have 6 portions leftover to freeze), chicken and broccoli potato topped pie (should also leave 6 portions to freeze), lasange (again, leaving 6 portions to freeze) and some breakfast burritos (makes 16 little burritos so probably 8 portions). So altogether if I follow this plan we should end up with 14 evening meals (28 portions) and about 4 breakfasts 🤔
Should I be aiming to do more than this? How many would you aim for?

We batch cooked too, plus I cooked things like mince into portions so I could just add it ready cooked to a sauce, I batch cooked sauces like tomato or arrabiata to have with pasta. We also had shove it in the oven stuff like chicken kievs or pre frozen salmon portions.

I hate the phrase but "dump" meals for the slow cooker such as curries etc meant I defrosted the prepared bag of frozen food overnight and then just emptied the bag into the slow cooker in the morning and put it on low. It also stayed warm so I could get to it when I could.

This woman is amazing with all the stuff she comes up with www.youtube.com/channel/UCvXSXS_pSElJH-4n2BsXpag and even if you feel like cooking you at least know on the days you don't that there is food available. Also do an online delivery order every week.

Ds1 was hospitalised within a week of being born, Ds2 had severe reflux and ended up under a paediatrician, he was attached to me pretty much all day for months. Having food ready prepared was a blessing.

We did loads of batch cooking for before baby arrived and will be doing it again this time around. I'm surprised at how many people have said they don't think it would be that helpful!
My husband cooks most of the time but he was very hands on with the baby and so meant in the evenings he could help with baby and other chores instead of cooking and I could rest. We didn't eat the meals every night but were handy for the nights we didn't want to cook/shop and stopped us ordering takeaways.
I think it sounds like you've got enough but if you have the time and freezer space why not make more??
Also you will still be able to eat meals with a knife and fork!!

Totally depends on your baby. With my second who was chilled, we could cook no problem. With my first she was a Velcro screamy baby and we barely managed to eat at all some days! So I would stock up in case you get that type!

I also found slices of healthy-ish cake helpful (froze in finger chunks) for a quick snack while bf (expressing in my case)

Also if your budget stretches to a Tripp Trapp with newborn set (Hauck do a cheaper one and I'm sure there are others) we found it invaluable for having the baby at the table with us while we ate. Bouncy chair on the floor wasn't the same at all apparently

Finally Cook frozen ready meals do a new parent discount or Mindful Chef are also good. Both are 'posh' comparatively healthy ones that can be delivered.

My husband was perfectly capable of holding our baby while I ate. We took it in turns if she was awake and not able to be put down at the time. I certainly didn't eat one-handed with only a fork for the first month

Also for those saying your husband should do the cooking - maybe we were both rubbish first time parents but it needed both of us in those first couple of weeks to achieve anything! While one person was holding the baby, the other was running loads of laundry from poo namis, running to the shop for spare vests, doing dishwasher etc so leisurely cooking was a luxury we didn't have!

My husband was also off work for a month so he just did all the cooking. The house has never been so clean! But accept we had an easy baby. She just slept a lot and I read books or watched Netflix and he tidied the house and did the cooking. We have a toddler this time round so probably will do a bit more food prep, even just for her meals.

Good to be prepared but it's not always the case you can't have a spare second. I actually found the first few weeks the easiest; it got more difficult when she started being awake for longer periods and my husband was back at work, so you could always keep the food for a month or so if you find you don't need it right away.

@CraftyGin how are you making Bolognese and chilli that quick?? I find a frozen batch of either takes under 10 minutes to defrost in the microwave then a further 10-15 minutes to heat through properly on the hob.

Sounds great, I would add a batch of flapjacks

@Elune My husband was perfectly capable of holding our baby while I ate. that’s nice, unfortunately my dh doesn’t lactate.

I don’t think you need a lot but if you have the time, great idea!

And you don’t need to hold the baby to eat. Put it down.

Fill your freezer, no rush to use it. I can certainly eat pie and lasagne with one hand!

[quote EdithGrantham]@CraftyGin how are you making Bolognese and chilli that quick?? I find a frozen batch of either takes under 10 minutes to defrost in the microwave then a further 10-15 minutes to heat through properly on the hob.[/quote]
I take dinners out of the freezer first thing in the morning. And reheating takes as long as the pasta or rice takes to cook.

I honestly didn't find the newborn stage that difficult - other than sleep deprivation - with either of mine, found my kids much more demanding as toddlers!

I think having quick food options is nice but we were totally capable of quick meals - filled pasta and roasted vegetables, quiche and salad, stir fry, that sort of thing. But my DH cooks just as much as me so it wasn't all down to me.

I am old and I don't recognise the plight of today's mothers. I had a section, cooked and cleaned, breastfed, flew 5000 miles on my own with baby who was 3 weeks old, and apart from weekends when my husband took over everything except the bŕeast feeding did everything as normal.
Repeat with 2nd child except I flew 5000 miles with a toddler and 3 week old baby.
It really isn't that difficult.

@reluctantbrit I do the same when I remember but even if I don't my point is that defrosting in the microwave is much quicker than if I had to do the whole Bolognese or chili from scratch.

You sound very organised, OP!

Don’t wear yourself out, pasta, a Lloyd Grossman sauce jar and a salad will do fine on many nights.

Stock up on some healthyish snacks you can eat with one hand while feeding, e.g individual bags of popcorn. You can get v hungry and thirsty when feeding, if you are breastfeeding. Flapjacks, granola bars.

@Esspee

I am old and I don't recognise the plight of today's mothers. I had a section, cooked and cleaned, breastfed, flew 5000 miles on my own with baby who was 3 weeks old, and apart from weekends when my husband took over everything except the bŕeast feeding did everything as normal. Repeat with 2nd child except I flew 5000 miles with a toddler and 3 week old baby. It really isn't that difficult.

How lucky for you to have had births you recovered well from. For some of us, either we or our babies are unwell after birth. There is literally no way I could have travelled three weeks post birth with either of my babies, for different reasons each time.

I knew I was having a section with #2 so batched 2 week's worth - DH could've cooked but his working hours would've meant knocking Autistic #1's routine which wouldn't have ended well!

HOWEVER, DH helpfully left the freezer door open for 48 hours when I went in to hospital (he stayed with my Mum to help with childcare) so everything defrosted and I ended up coming any way. Tbh I quite enjoyed taking some time out with baby in the sling cooking simple meals.

I’m also surprised at how many people are saying not to bother. Maybe I just don’t like cooking that much so if I can do it once and get 3 or 4 dinners out of it then all the better! I did this even before I had a baby. I now also have a 5 week menu rotation so I guess some people on here would think I was nuts! Anyway that’s not what you asked. Personally I’d fill your freezer with as much that’ll fit!

That's very dramatic IMO, you aren't constantly holding the baby

I think it depends on the baby.

OP I think it's best to be over prepared than under prepared. DC1 I did about 12 meals. It wasn't enough. DC1 was a velcro baby and I had birth injuries. I couldn't stand long enough to cook and once DH went back to work I needed him to hold baby

Accidentally hit send.
I needed him to hold baby when he was home as I was so touched out. So he needed stuff he could just put in with one hand and we got sooo many take aways.

With DC2 I had 4 weeks of meals done, plus friends bringing some and we didn't eat them all. I had a c section but was happily cooking on day 3 whilst DC2 gurgled away in the bouncer and DH played with DC1.

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]**@Elune* My husband was perfectly capable of holding our baby while I ate.* that’s nice, unfortunately my dh doesn’t lactate.[/quote]
Mine didn't either but somehow we managed! ;)

Honestly I think it's so off-putting to make breastfeeding sound like you are absolutely chained to your baby and can't ever have any respite or a break. I breastfed my DD but I could still easily take 10 mins to eat my dinner while DH held her. Your husband really couldn't hold your baby for 10 mins while you ate your dinner so you had to breastfeed and try to eat at the same time for every meal? Really, truly? Mmhmm.

@Elune Mine didn't either but somehow we managed! ;) oh well done , gold star for you

What IS useful is some “food for company”. If you have room, huge lasagnes/pies etc so you can have guests to “see the baby” without the hassle of cooking. Large cakes and biscuits are useful for the ones that come to tea.