Labour snacks

[KHR1]

Hi,

I'm in the process of getting my hospital bag ready and wondered what type of snacks people packed? I don't even know where to start!

Thanks 🙂

I didn’t pack snacks with any of my labours 😳 but did send dh to canteen to buy me lucozade which was a saviour! So I’m stocking up on that this time! Also wondering what snacks I should be packing though 🤔
I guess I was lucky with my other 3 dc because the midwives plied me and my husband and my mum with stacks and stacks of coffee and toast as soon as I’d given birth, we definitely didn’t go hungry! I guess times have changed and hospitals are cutting back on that sort of thing now with the cost cuts lol! I went home within 4 hours of birth with first 2 but went to postnatal ward with third and as soon as I got there they plied me with sandwiches as well (despite not long having had mountains of toast lol!) I find it strange they don’t provide food because the body needs food to be able to heal itself 🤔

An iPad with lots of things downloaded onto it - it was a total game changer! I was on the postnatal ward for a week & my baby was in special care, if I hadn't had my iPad (& a surprisingly amazing free WiFi connection) I'd have gone crazy!

I only packed haribo with my first labour. With DC2 (due in 2 weeks) I've packed haribo and cereal bars. You never know when you are gonna get food. When my lunch showed up with DC1 it was a jacket potato that I'd ordered but it looked and tasted like it had been microwaved within an inch of its life. It was disgusting. I wished I'd taken my own food in. I also took energy tablets which I'm going to do again this time too. They were the only thing I could keep down in labour.

In labour I drank lucozade sports drinks and snacked on chocolate bars.
After the birth I was offered tea and toast 😊

I've never eaten in any of my 3 labour's (the last two were too quick the 1st I was in too much pain) but I do remember the midwife sending my husband to get loads of lucozade sport as others have said. Will pack some again now you've all reminded me. Just wondering what bendy straws are?? Im thinking to make drinking easier but then don't want to miss out if its something else 😂 x

@Justus22 Yeah they're so you can drink while lying down

During was pretty much just lucozade and full fat coke. After however I basically wanted to eat the world. DS was born just after Christmas so my DH was sent to bring snacks in and came with huge boxes of Christmas chocolate biscuits, nuts, pringles, celebrations, selection boxes haribo etc. I don’t think I have ever loved him more than when I saw that bag

I had a quick labour (7 hours?!) and found the only things I liked were:-

those Rice Crispy Kelloggs bars...
jelly babies
Baby bels
flapjack bites

Chocolate and yogurt rasins and ice cold red bull got me through 23 hour labour with DS.

one word: flapjacks

sweet, soft, energy-giving, comforting, hunger-busting

For labour I second votes for the still sugary Lucozade. That was all I could manage.

For after the birth pack prunes and/or prune juice and copious delicious snacks and drinks for you and hubby, they may offer you toast after baby arrives but it very much depends on the time of day!

Make sure you stay well hydrated after giving birth and eat the prunes and lots of fruit and veg, if you start straight away it’ll make the first poo less scary.

I wouldn't bother too much. Take some but don't go overboard. I had loads packed and extra in the car. Didn't touch anything, it really was the last thing I wanted. I was in so much pain and away with the fairies on gas n air. Even after an epidural I really didn't feel like eating and was eventually being sick.

i agree with the jelly babies! i really needed the sugar boost and they absolutely got me through. At the time I couldn't have faced chewing anything as big as a cereal bar (hormones made me go really peculiar, right down to the orange jelly babies tasting completely unusual!)
I had an easy short labour and didnt' stay overnight - if I had I would have been grateful for all the snacks I had and then some. I think sugary things seemed best.
And sports cap water bottles!

Isotonic/sports drinks like lucozade sport incase they are monitoring you and you can't eat. Also, have hearty meals before you go in (if you're going to be induced for the same reason). It seems cruel but they don't allow you to eat during active labour sometime incase you have a caesarrean (not sure who to spell that!) X

I ate an embarrassing amount of Mini Cheddars and Fig Rolls. I was ravenous, I went in to hospital at 9pm and hadn’t eaten all day. They gave me toast and tea when I went in because there were ketones in my urine but I couldn’t face it.

Jelly Babies are a good idea, or Jaffa Cakes?

I ate more food after giving birth, as I was bill by mouth from Monday morning due to possibility of surgery. I gave birth alin the early hours and I was lucky enough to be offered toast, which they make 24/7. I was a bit obsessed with toast, one of the best birth memories. I packed granola bars.

If going in in labour- snacks really for afterwards- hospital dinner is about 6pm, breakfast is at 7.30am. That's a long hole when you're feeding all bloody night (thanks kids). My first was born at 2pm slept for about 7 hours and then fed obsessively from then on (once we had finished 2 hourly obs). My 2nd was born at 10pm, got down to the ward and then fed from then on.

Avoid chocolate because the wards are hotter than the centre of the sun - it gets sticky and horrible.

I was craving savoury - crisps and Jerky were my favourites between cereal bars

Lucozade sport was brilliant for labour.
I also packed small apple juice cartons with a bendy straw and water in a sports bottle.

As far as food goes, I'd suggest anything bite size and appetising. My DH ended up feeding me little morsels of food because I'd lost my appetite. The last thing I would have wanted is be faced with a big sandwich (for e.g.). I brought a 5 pack of mini fruit flapjacks from Sainsbury's (still love them!) and some Frusli bars.

I didn't eat in labour, but cartons of apple juice were brilliant for the day or two afterwards - the ward is so hot and they were a good boost of enerygy.

Other things to take include: mini handheld fan (there’s not always one available). The best fan I’ve seen is one you can fill up with water; straws or a refillable water bottle either with or without an inbuilt straw.

Snacks and drinks wise take things you can nibble on that won’t melt or spoil quickly as the rooms can get very hot. So take things like bananas/raisins/cereal bars/crackers ect. I know that some people have mentioned lucozade which is good to help keep your energy up as you probably won’t feel like eating however I suggest only taking a couple of small bottles as 1. A lot of women get nauseous and vomit during labour and they can make you vomit especially on an empty stomach 2. They’re not recommended if you want an epidural or if you need to go to theatre as you need to be nil by mouth and can only drink water.

Also if you’re planning on bottle feeding take the premade bottles with the teats as it’s much easier than having to faff around making up bottles whilst in hospital.

Also if you’re not a fan of drinking water take some cordial or cartons of juice as it’s important to keep hydrated during labour, as drinks out of the vending machines can work out expensive...

Also check out the car parking policy for the labour ward to avoid unwanted car parking tickets....

Apple juice and cordial sound good (I'm really not a fan of water!) I bought a load of your suggestions last night and now my husband thinks I'm on some strange sugar binge

@chickhonhoneybabe thanks for the bottle advice! I'm hoping to try BF but I know it doesn't always work so will get some more made bottles just in case!