Tell me about your must have foods for labour

[Kazriina]

Just that really, hospital bag is packed, food inspiration needed!

Tia

I ate a lot of chocolate eclairs, and we went out for chips from the chippie during pessary insertions whilst being induced.

I also took dairy lea Dunkers which were nice when the hospital food was awful.

Haven't ever eaten during labour, but I did stock up beforehand on easy to digest things like miso soup sachets, bread for toast with butter and jam, almonds, energy/granola bars etc

Mmm dairylea Dunkers, did they not go funny in the heat?

Nope, and it was 2006 when I had dd2 and it was a lot hotter than it is now.

Meant butter and honey, and I did eat several slices of toast with honey after our most recent DC's birth

Dextrose tablets were ace when tired , past it and needing energy but not wanting to eat...

I have never eaten during labour either - sorry!

Ok, so foods you would have killed for after labour?

Would not recommend a tuna panini, it was vile as it came back up.

I had lucozade glucose tablets in my bag but I don't remember eating them. I would recommend a massive box of jelly babies, not for labour but for after. They kept me going while breastfeeding and I ended up sending out for more.

did not either want or eat during labour.

Hmm maybe jelly beans, just seen on another thread someone recommending Percy pigs, not they are my absolute favourite and I'm trying to pursuade dp to drive me to the nearest m&s to stock up

I know I may not want to eat, but I don't want to be hungry either. Better for me to pack something and leave it, than not and want/need it!

Oooh its quite important - I even had a list, and DH wasn't allowed to eat any of the 'labour-food' before I actually went into labour!
I think picky-ish/snacky food is easiest for labour, things that you can just nibble at rather than a whole baguette or something.. there isn't always the time!

I took great delight in going shopping and just buying anything that came in individual packets, or small pieces! Oh and foods that don't smell lots too!

Things like raisins, mini breadsticks, popcorn is good, nuts, crackers (Tuck/tuc biscuits are nice!), little biscuits. Cereal bars are really good. We didn't get anything like chocolate much to my disgust because we thought it might melt if it got particularly hot. Nothing that needs going in the fridge (i.e might go funny if warm) as you don't know how long you will be in there for. But anything small and snacky is brill. Oh and boiled sweets are good too if not hungry.

I'd even planned to get some nice bite-size bits from M&S, ( ) cocktail sausages and pic-nicy bits like that, only DD1 was prem so ruined my plans!! Fortunately we'd stocked up on the above food items early.

I remember going into prem labour and freaking out - MW said we had a bit of time so sent DH home to get some stuff; I remember crying down the phone to him telling him not to forgot the food..

Do NOT forgot labour drinks - flavoured fizzy water is soooo good! You can get it in supermarkets, the big bottles for about 4 for £1.20 I think.

Oh dear, guess it's just me who had planned it all out like a picnic! To be fair, it was my first and so I had a lot of time on my hands to plan !

Didn't go into labour in the end, DD was breech so I had an ELCS. We had bought wine gums, jelly babies & some energy bars. Oh & dried apricots for high fibre snacks afterwards.

I found the hospital food very comforting - like nursery food - mash, cod, parsley sauce & peas was a favourite!

Oh, bottles of lucozade sport (flat not fizzy) were brilliant afterwards too.

kateshmate I think we may be cut from the same cloth!

Your lists sound perfect!!

Just had my DC2 2 weeks ago - big tuppaware box of almonds especially if breastfeeding because increase milk supply and babies apparently love the taste as it comes through in the breastmilk. Another big tuppaware box of dried apricots to help 'get things moving' after labour. Friends also brought in fresh fruit which was great, as hospital food OK - yes, comforting - but very meat and potato based!

I didn't want to eat, wish I had though as by the end I was exhausted and I'm sure some food would have helped me enormously (had a homebirth). This time round DH is on strict orders to force feed me throughout labour so I plan on having all my favourite foods stocked up in the cupboard at home. Of course this could mean an inordinate amount of weight gain in the weeks before hand.....

For afterwards I had a big bag of fruit pastilles, dates and apricots (to stop constipation!) and appletizer. Was awake scoffing all night!
Didnt eat in labour but took pouches of smoothie (Ella's kitchen), flapjack and glucose tablets.

I'm just not myself if I'm really hungry!

Oh, if you want more sweet things - get those tubs of mini-cake things from the supermarkets; you can get mini flapjacks/choc rolls etc. They're good too!

I wasn't allowed to eat during Labour with DD. I don't know why as it was a straight forward labour.

For afterwards I had hard boiled sweets, chocolate and some crackers.

This time I will be packing the Glucose Tablets, some crackers, hard boiled sweets and something nice to drink and some

Ignore the last "and some"

I was induced so spent the day before in the hospital hanging around, I didn't get a hot lunch because no-one had ordered one the day before and the sandwiches on the ante natal ward looked rank so we went out for chips.

I didn't do anything in labour other than hang off the sink in the delivery room and swear at my OH for getting me into this situation but I did labour through the night.
The food I took in I ate the day before and the day after. I also made my OH bring me food from the big work party he went to on the day I'd given birth.

I'd be packing my mandatory darjeeling tea bags :)

I never had time to eat with either of mine, but MIL brought me a bag of doughnuts both times after I'd given birth, and traded me the bag for the baby, and it was such a nice treat to eat them in peace.