{It's a good thing babies need to be burped! That way, everyone can feel useful. And grab a cuddle.}
I'm checking in on the fly, because apparently it just doesn't matter whether you are traveling with nine people, some of whom are barfing babies, or three people, all of whom are tidy adults — you still have massive amounts of laundry wherever you go!
If you travel in the winter, the clothes are moderately not absolutely disgusting, but there is a ton of them. If you travel in summer (to the DC area no less), maybe there aren't that many items but wow, they need to be washed.
Okay, enough of that fascinating topic.
On to other important matters.
I have it from a good source (a mom with nine kids) that muffins with flax are the way to go after you give birth and have, you know, issues… (Oh yes, you see how I'm elevating the discourse now!)
I never really paid much attention to all that myself, not that I recommend denial as a course of action. Not at all.
So while I was doing for Sukie after Freddie was born, I made her these muffins from the King Arthur Flour site. I love their baked goods, don't you?
Their muffins are always a bit better than all the others. I realized why after I made the Classic Blueberry Muffins for the first time last year. When the directions say, “cream the butter and sugar,” you are well out of quick bread territory and smack in the middle of the Land of Cake.
For these “muffins,” I added about 1/4 cup or more of sesame seeds (which are high in iron, and poor Sukie is in need of, and taking, big honking pills and also just good foods with iron in them — Natasha recommends these cookies, which are very good — I ordered some for myself!).
Very tasty!
Seems like these and a big salad are the way to go. Do you have any postpartum foods you swear by?
Kathy@9peas says
Blueberry muffins are my go to for such gifts of food. I also have delivered them when a family has lost a loved one, they are a comfort for breakfast when the last thing someone wants to think about is how to feed everyone.
Mary Lou says
Senna Leila, she can take it in capsule form ~ helped immensely!
Caitlin says
Timely topic for me, as my second baby is just a few weeks older than Freddie. My saviors thus far are homemade hummus (the tahini and the garbanzo beans are great for pp, and it’s SO easy to make) and this banana bread recipe that I kind of made my own from “Mother Food,” which is a book all about foods to encourage lactation. As I have a low supply and a baby who just loves to eat every minute I need all the help I can get. The kicker about this banana bread is that one of the ingredients is cooked oatmeal, which helps keep the bread super moist and helps lactation as well. Seems a very easy thing to change up the ingredients and add some sesame seeds! I can certainly share the recipe if anyone is interested!
Kate says
Magnesium for the first issue, preferably at bedtime. When she gets up, she should drink about a quart of water and not eat for about an hour. I guarantee results. I’ve taken chlorella to help my iron. It’s also important to have sufficient B vitamins to facilitate iron usage, so a good B complex is helpful – Twinlab makes a B complex with vitamin C that is very good. My first OB told me to drink a good beer daily to help with the B’s, milk and relaxation. My husband willingly kept me company for this RX.
Josie says
love it! my MIL (had 8 children) always tells me how they used to bring her a beer in the hospital after having a baby-not sure if “they” means the nurses or the visiting kind!
Charlotte says
I have a super duper bran muffin recipe that I use. It’s wonderful because you can mix it up and let the batter sit in the fridge for weeks only scooping out what you need to make a batch here and there.
Sarah says
I appreciate this post very much as I’m expecting my I third baby in September and have started hashing out some meal ideas to freeze. I plan to make these muffins now and freeze them for myself after our little man arrives. Thanks again! I hope more people comment with postpartum ideas so I can take notes.:)
stclementmom says
Love by way of muffins. Brilliant.
Ellen says
Margaritas!
Leila says
LOL, Ellen! At least beer, right??
Maryanne says
Timely for me as well as I am nursing my 2 week old baby girl and have 2 yr old twins napping. Can I say that blueberry muffins (or zucchini bread or banana bread, I am not picky) is the best gift for any new mom. Add some fruit and you have a healthyish and quick breakfast Or a quick snack. These look delish!
Tarynkay says
I really believe that every new mom needs a nice stash of cookies so that when she is up with the baby at three a.m., she can just grab a cookie. I like to make a batch of oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies for new moms. They are hearty, and a little bit healthy, and they have chocolate. I think this is the perfect postpartum food. They can be made with brewers yeast for ladies needing to boost milk supply, it is easy to add some ground flax seed for other issues- really the chocolate hides a multitude of healthy additions.
Wendy says
I had someone bring me something called breakfast cookies after my babies were born. I had never heard of them before, but they were sort of a cross between oatmeal cookies, granola bars and muffins… they were filled with dried fruit, nuts and seeds, and were delicious and easy to keep by my bedside for a middle-of-the-night nursing snack.
Rebekka says
Nettle leaf supposedly has a good supply of iron and is often found in lactation teas. Remember to take iron along with foods high in vitamin C and at a different time than dairy as calcium inhibits iron absorption.
I just went right to the prunes.
Muffins are good for everyone!
Lisa says
Watermelon! A great solution for summer time deliveries. Full of lots of vitamins and iron, plus it helps with hydration.
Andi says
This is really more for a fall/winter baby arrival (which mine was), but hearty lentil soup! I make one with chopped sweet potatoes in a chicken broth base, flavored with curry and a little something spicy (half a jalapeno is good). Topped with sour cream and chopped avocado if it’s handy. So tasty, and the lentils and sweet potatoes are full of potassium, fiber, and all kinds of other goodness.
Danielle says
Liquid chlorophyll is good for iron, as recommended by my midwife. I’ve gotten it at Whole Foods. You can’t really take too much. I take 1-3 tablespoons/day when I’m low on iron. I often put it in a cup of OJ for the vit. c., or with some water with lemon.
And, of course red meat is a great source of iron.
Rachel says
The best way to get iron levels up quickly is Floradix, a liquid iron supplement. I am not sure if you can get it in the US. It absorbs much more quickly than tablets and tastes nice, doesn’t cause constipation.
Love the muffins!
By the way, flax (linseed) either as seed or cold pressed oil is very important for the good functioning of the female reproductive system. Supplements of B6 and flax (5mls a day or a teaspoon of seeds) solved my friend’s secondary infertility, after 8 years.
Becky says
I second the floradix recommendation! It is green and plant-y for the pharmaceutical-phobes out there (like me).
Roslyn says
I second the Floradix! The only thing that has ever worked for me, after trying all the different forms–it’s good as gold AND helps with the other issue, too. And delicious homemade muffins fix everything else that’s wrong with the world. Congratulations–another beautiful baby!
lisa says
After the birth of my fourth, someone dropped by and brought a basketful of breakfast food. No one ever thinks of breakfast, she said! And she was right. I try to remember that when I plan to bring a meal for someone!
Anitra says
That’s fantastic! I wish someone had done that for me – instead we got more than a week’s worth of dinner meals. We had enough leftovers to last us almost another whole week… meanwhile, trying to get breakfast made while it was still morning was really challenging!
Siné says
My husband is a fantastic maker of soups and stews. He made a really hearty beef stew to eat after my youngest was born at the beginning of January. Eating beef stew for several days in combination with taking placenta pills definitely restored my iron. For lactation purposes, oatmeal every morning is my go to.
Nicole says
I don’t know if this a traditional Palestinian thing or just something our family does, but new moms are told to eat lots of almonds and dates!
Amy says
Looks so yummy…but when does a new mama find time to make…anything? My little sweetie is eight weeks old, and her two older brothers (6 and 11) also have big appetites…some says I find myself not to have eaten hardly enough while keeping up with the boys and caring for the baby.
Tarynkay says
I took this to be a list of food that a person (a person who had not just had a new baby) would bring to a new mom, not a list of foods for a new mom to make.
Congratulations on your new baby girl!
Leila says
Amy, the thought is that this is what you would bring to a new mama so that she doesn’t have to think about it. Meals for the family are wonderful, of course. And then there are a few little things that the mama alone needs for fortification. She has a big job!
Amy says
I’m so sorry, I see that I may have come across in a way I did not intend. Yesterday was the sort of day where my baby needed me all day and my easy to grab and eat food was all gone…lol…I saw the picture of the muffins and they looked so good…I think I was just hungry and despairing a bit that I’m not in a place that I’ve got it all together yet to make them, and like the post below, we were done with meals being brought quite some time ago.
Anitra says
I hear you Amy, I’m in the same boat – my baby is just 2 weeks old and I have two kids a bit older (preschooler and 1st grader). We are done with the meals that were brought to us the first week, and I’m back to cooking for the family. I seem to be in the kitchen any time I’m not sitting down to nurse baby. Someone is always needing to eat! For now, I’m letting myself buy more packaged ready-to-eat snacks and LOTS of fruit and some snack-y vegetables – preferably things that only require a quick rinse, not chopping or pitting.
Josie says
this isn’t the least bit healthy but I recall that one of those huge target containers of “monster mix” I think it’s called with nuts and chocolate and dried fruit got me thru the last baby when there was hardly a spare hand around to help while Dad’s at work, but you are still in baby bootcamp and need lots of calories all day long! I figured it was better to have that handy than let the energy level drop too low. Wish community came in a package sometimes!;) I pine for it especially when a new baby arrives.
Hafsa says
Thanks for the muffin recipe, I have a friend expecting in a few months and now I have a baked good that is also healthy to bring to her!
Lenni Corser says
Long time reader. First time leaving a comment.
I know you asked about food and not iron supplements, but would like to share what worked for my daughter.
She had iron issues after the birth her 3rd baby in 3 years. She used a product called pur Absorb. It is a low dose liquid iron that is easy on the tummy. Taking it with orange juice every morning helped her iron levels get back to normal in no time.
Kristi says
Thank you for this! And the comments are helpful info, too. I need to bookmark this in case we are blessed with another baby — I could have used it last time!! 🙂 Plus now I have a nice idea for a friend who is expecting …
Sue says
I’ve been using a liquid vitamin and iron supplement for several years now called Vitabiotics feroglobin, which I highly recommend. Since I live in the UK, I have always thought it was just available here, as I could never find it when I went back to the States to visit family. Would then buy Floradix, which I found at the health food store. I’ve just looked on-line and Vitabiotics Ferglobin is available thru Amazon. Although my youngest of four is now 12, kiwi’s have always gotten me thru that rough few weeks after giving birth along with nettle leaf and raspberry leaf tea. The blueberry muffins look divine! I look forward to making these for my family, and gifting these to a new mom.
Becky says
Coconut rice, chicken (skin on), sweet potato, and mango. The fats are very nourishing for a new mom, everything is very easy to digest, and nothing to cause gas for baby. This is my go-to meal in the first few weeks postpartum.
Ashley says
I had read about potassium broth postpartum so I made some before I had my baby last year – it’s from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook – basically potato skins and carrots simmered in water. Honestly, I don’t remember much from that time period but those muffins would have been wonderful.
How about liver or steak for the iron issue? I also second the nettle tea recommendation.
BTW – did you know that King Arthur has a whole grain cookbook? I’ve enjoyed all the recipes I’ve made from it thus far.
s says
Not really something with any major health benefits post partum but when my 2nd child was born my brother made m e a quiche which was the perfect food..easily repeatable, loved by both my husband and myself, and can be eaten for any meal – breakfast (paired with fruit), lunch, or dinner (paired with a salad). Also wonderful to give to elderly parents especially if a spouse is having any health issues since it is so easy to reheat a slice and if you put in a little ham, spinach or peppers you get a good hit of protein and a little bit of vegetable. I like to include a few pears or seasonal fruit if gifting a quiche or any meal as a quick snack.
Patty says
Yup. Big salads. Worked for my, um, issues just two weeks ago.
Patty says
Oh, also hamburgers. I always crave one or three the day or day after I give birth. This time, once I was sure I was in labor, I had hubby pick up a few Culver’s Butter Burgers to put in the fridge just in case it was the middle of the night by the time she hot herself out.
And it was. So glad I had the foresight.
Meredith_in_Aus says
I’ve had 8 babies and always took a bag of trail mix into hospital with me. As soon as I was a little hungry post-labour, I’d be into it. Never had a single “issue” (IYKWIM). Bonus: all the protein helps build your milk supply.