My friend just had her second baby and I'm going to stop by with a gift. Her mom is staying there so I'm hesitating to bring dinner. Should I bring something like banana bread? Lactation cookies? Snacks? Or stick with a dinner?
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I loved single-portioned meals; totally appreciated those ones. Many people bought whole lasagnas or casseroles that I would eat a few bites of and then I'd had to cut it up, find tupperware to put it in, and the whole process was a hassle. Single-portioned meals were really convenient.
Or, even fruit that was already cut up for me!
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My mom stayed with us for a month and we all wished that someone would drop by with dinner. She cooked all our meals for us and was exhausted too. Everyone needs a break sometime!
One of my favorite things to bring is curry chicken salad in a container and then lettuce and a fresh baguette with it. I just wanted something healthy!
Another idea is to assemble a lasagne and then not cook it. Drop it off with instructions to cook - they can freeze it and pull it out when grandma leaves, or bake it when she's there, but at least it gives them a choice.
Finally, call before you go and offer to stop at the grocery store. One of my girlfriends was desperate for creamer!
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I would have loved someone to bring by dinner! That's so thoughtful!
I would have loved something like a roasted chicken with all the sides. I'd bring that plus a few cleaned carrots, sticks of celery and onions to make a broth from the carcass. Chicken broth in a mug was my favorite thing to drink those first few weeks. Plus, no dairy or tomato sauce in case of breastfeeding/intolerances.
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Lactation cookies are great! Ask if shes been craving anything?
My Sil wanted a cold sandwich and chips when we dropped by
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What if you get the cheap tupperware from the grocery store and when you drop off a dinner, bring it in that? Then she can freeze it in there.
I loved all the meals I got. I received a TON of pasta meals and kinda got sick of it - pasta, pizza, lasagna.. yeah it was a lot of carbs. I loved when people made big beautiful salads, my favorite meal was steak, guac and mashed potatoes! Chicken, rice and veggies. I didn't mind casseroles either.
In general, I think an entree, veggie, salad and bread item/dessert is typical.
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I just brought pot roast to a friend last night and will take her pulled pork sandwiches in a few weeks. I would first check to see if she is craving anything and if not, bring her a dinner and maybe a dessert (brownies, lactation cookies, etc). If you do bring dinner, maybe bring it frozen or cold so they can heat it up at their convenience.
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There's a local deli in town that offers "homemade" meals all ready to either freeze or bake, so usually I give a gift certificate and a menu of their frozen meal options to new moms or dads. The deli delivers (and will even leave it in your garage in a cooler if you provide your door code) - you just have to order 24 hours in advance. Their menu is extensive - I think there are four different enchiladas on there, as well all kinds of other ethnic foods.
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With our first our neighbors brought us pasta and salad and bread. It was really nice of them! Some would bring larger portions of pasta and we would divide it up and freeze it for my husband to bring to work since I wasn't eating anything but my mom's postpartum cooking which consists of lots of soups and bland tasting food.
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I was grateful for any food. I loved lasagna, pasta, salads, fruit, soup and snacks!
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A few people brought us dinner, which was great. But the thing we loved was a gift card to a local sandwich place down the street that did takeout. Even thhough my mom stayed for a while, like pp said, there were days when it was way too hard to cook, so sandwiches with the gift card was our go to easyoption..
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Seriously, you all are so sweet! I don't know if it's a cultural thing or not, but my in-laws have never brought us any food (or even offered) even when LO was just born. They visited us during her first week and were considerate enough to leave after 3 hours but in their next visit expected lunch (which DH was so kind to prepare). I say this because they're really the only ppl that we know around here. BIL, a single guy in his 20's brings us home baked goodies, often. So it can't be all a culture clash?!
But seriously, any of the things you mentioned are wonderful, thoughtful gifts. You make me miss my friends back home! (LOL! I just woke up from a nap and emo!)
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We didn't really get too many meals, so I was always so thankful for anything! I'm sure she would be appreciative of whatever you bring, but maybe you can ask her of she's been craving anything?
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I have done frozen breakfast casseroles and that seems to be good because I think most people do dinner stuff. Also, I've had pizza delivered-easy for me, and convenient for them! Other than that, I've done frozen beef stew, flat packed chili, lasagna, etc.
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I have a friend whose church friends decided to bring meals every other night for the first 3 weeks. She got some variation of pasta every night. She was about to to crazy! of course it's sweet of them to bring dinner, but no one wants spaghetti every night for 3 weeks. I think any kind of chicken dish would be good, since most people like that. Or, I like the suggestion of a delivery or take out gift card. That gives them the option of choosing exactly what they want.
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I always make a chicken pot pie and bring it uncooked and unfrozen so they have the option to make it right away or freeze it for later. I like chicken pot ie since a little different than what people typically bring.
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I looove the gift card suggestion! I'm sure people will bring us some meals, but if I'm not feeling hot/in a weird mood/having a craving, I wouldn't want food to go to waste if I didn't eat it right away. I would LOVE if people brought us gift cards to order in!
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We just baked up a bunch of homemade waffles and brought them over to friends with a new baby, along with maple syrup. That way, they can freeze them and just pop them in the toaster oven when they want them. So many people bring dinner, but they forget that moms and dad need breakfast too! They loved it because it's something easy and brainless for when they're hungry and delirious in the morning.
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@Pink Champagne: omg YUM! that is such a good idea!
@artbee: some other ideas that just popped to me with the mention of breakfast: you could bring fruit (whole or cut-up platter), fresh baked breads (cinnamon bread or regular wheat/white, if you were up to it!), maybe even something that seems odd - like if you know that she has a keurig machine, a box or two of k-cups. those are so quick and easy to make when you're busy!
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Go healthy! We received so many sweet and thoughtful, but extremely heavy meals. One of my friends brought us a quinoa salad, it was my favorite. We also got a dozen homemade breakfast burritos which was really nice and convenient.
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Friends of ours made us stuffed shells -- with ricotta and spinach!! -- but didn't bake it, and brought it over in a disposable tin. We baked it when we were ready, then broke it up into single portions for leftovers.
The best part was not having to wash a pan. I loved being able to throw the tin away!
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That is so nice! I agree, ask what she is craving. I would have loved chicken and rice with roast veggies.
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It's so easy to make chicken taco meat in the crock pot. I then bring over all of the fixings along with it (tortillas, cheese, lettuce, salsa, etc.) and a 6 pack of beer. I've also made muffins so that she would have a quick snack.
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Thanks for all of the ideas! They were all so great it was hard to decide what to go with! I decided to do a freezer slow cooker meal so they can make it whenever they want, and I know she loves her slow cooker. I found a chicken recipe on pinterest, it's also convenient because it's in my freezer now and I'm not exactly sure how soon I'll be able to get over there so I don't have to rush. I have bananas in the house so I'm thinking I'll make a banana bread too because I love the idea of bringing something they can have for breakfast also.
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I tend to give brownies or some sort of cookies
I'm more of a baker than a cook and a few sweet treats always seem to be appreciated!
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