I recently had my own first baby and was blown away by the thoughtfulness of friends and family. We received so many delicious meals and felt so loved and cared for as we adjusted to a newborn.

As we received meals and thoughtful gifts I took notes in the hopes that I would be able to bless others in the same way.

We always want to help but sometimes we’re not sure how so I hope this is inspirational.

Offering Help

Accepting help can be difficult for people so instead of saying “Let me know if you need anything” or “Let me know what I can do to help” something like “I’d love to drop a meal off to you next Tuesday” takes the pressure off of the one accepting help.

Food Tips

Food is healing and is the first thing I think of when I want to help someone who’s celebrating a birth or grieving a loss. My best advice is to have some tried and true recipes on hand. Keep the experimenting for family and make a meal that’s easy and delicious.

Make a DOUBLE batch of the recipe so you can feed your family as well!

Check for food allergies, diets, or aversions.

Label food containers with cooking instructions and storage.

Use disposable pans and trays or better yet, pick up some casserole dishes at a local Goodwill. Chances are the casserole dish will be cheaper than buying trays at the grocery store. Make sure to let them know the containers do not need to be returned. Throw in some paper products like paper plates to keep cleanup simple.

Confirm place and time for delivery and keep your stay short and sweet. Depending on the circumstances (postpartum mum in sweats, running off of 2 hours of sleep and in diapers herself) it can be stressful having people coming to the door.

Ingredients like bone broth (rich in collagen), iron rich proteins like grass-fed beef, and fresh colorful veggies can provide extra nutrients and healing benefits to mamas.

Recipe Links to Easy Meal Ideas

Tuscan Chicken with Polenta or Mashed Potatoes from Downshiftology

Chicken Spaghetti from The Pioneer Woman

Chicken Pot Pie

Shepherd’s Pic

Additional Gift Ideas

•Add a little handwritten note to a meal drop-off

•Emailing an Amazon gift card to new parents

•Gifting a Cleaning Service

•Paper products-paper towels, toilet paper, and paper plates can be super helpful

•Uber Eats gift card

Midnight Snacks

Middle of the night hunger is a real thing for breastfeeding mamas and bottle feeding dads. My girlfriend, absolutely one of the most thoughtful people I know, brought me a bag of snacks (RX bars, chocolates, etc) and an Uber Eats gift card. I kept the snacks on my bedside table and we used the Uber Eats gift card one night when we were completely exhausted. What a gift to have these on hand!

Lactation Brownies or Protein Balls

I had difficulty finding time to eat an actual meal with a newborn so having these on hand were a lifesaver. The main ingredient in most “lactation” treats is Brewer’s Yeast. Brewer’s Yeast comes from a fungus and is a highly nutritious supplement. It is rich in protein and iron which is vital for milk production. It’s also a good source of B vitamins and trace minerals like selenium and chromium which can support breast milk quality and production.

Here’s an easy no-bake Energy Bite Recipe that takes about 5 minutes to make.

My favorite Lactation Brownie Recipe can be purchased for a couple dollars. I LOVE this recipe and make these brownies for us year round with or without the Brewer’s Yeast. You can also google “lactation brownie recipes”.