Why a Meal Train is THE best baby shower gift

Photograph courtesy of Scorpion Healthcare

If you’re looking for a baby shower / mother blessing group gift or just want to help out a new mama, you can't go past a meal train.

New mama’s should be spending their early postnatal days wrapped up with their newborns and recovering from the birth and not in the kitchen worrying about what to cook. A meal train is the answer and a fantastic way to help.

How do I create a meal train you ask…

a: Get a group of ladies to put their hand up. They don’t have to be gourmet chefs but its best if they can make meals with the same food philosophy as the mama. How many women? 7 is ideal but less is fine if they’re up for cooking 2 or so meals a week. Also think about whether you just want to do dinners or if you want to do lunches as well.

b: What should you make? Well, start with what you know the family will eat ie. don’t make spaghetti bolognaise for vegetarians. Allergies are also important to know. Other than that, anything wholesome and nourishing would be appreciated. Dishes that can be frozen are ideal and make it easy on yourself too and make in bulk and freeze them where possible. Work out with your friends what you’re all making so you don’t double up. If someone wants to help but can’t cook, no problem, pretty sure an occasional takeaway would be just as appreciated.

c: When should you deliver them? I believe the first few weeks with a newborn in the house are sacred and should be interrupted as little as possible. If the mama has a freezer, you could gift her a week or 2 on the baby shower day and follow up with a weekly drop off. Or, if you all live locally you could drop off daily—but don’t stay, drop and run. This also makes it lockdown appropriate which is very relevant at the moment.

d: How long should you continue the meal train? It depends how many in your train and what you can manage. The first 6 weeks are when breastfeeding is being established, bodies are recovering and babies are assimilating to the outside world, so if you can do 6 weeks that would be great. If there’s seven of you then one meal a week for 6 weeks is very do-able. If there’s only 2, then it could be a big endeavour.

If you'd like to make some meals more specific for post-birth recovery, 'The First 40 Days' has some wonderful recipes as well as why they're suitable. Click here to read an interview with the author.

Need a little help setting this up? Feel free to use this sign-up sheet to assist or jump on this website.

If you’re about to be a new mama and would like a meal train but don’t want to organise it yourself, then speak up when people ask you if there’s anything you want or need—tell them! If you'd prefer and you live in Sydney, I can provide a postnatal meal service.

Time is a great gift. More time with baby, more time to regain strength, more time to recover that sleep debt, less time doing chores and good food to boot - who doesn't want that?

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