Introduction
Whether you are in the early stages of family planning or if you are expecting, you’ve likely considered whether a meal train is the right choice for your growing family.
Meal trains are coordinated efforts of friends, family, and community members scheduling out who and when meals will be brought to you following a major life event.
Usually, meal trains are offered during big changes like moving, having a child, losing a family member, or a difficult diagnosis (like cancer).
They are meant to lighten the burden for that season. When someone is already overwhelmed, the question “what’s for dinner?” should be the last thing on their mind.
Today I want to focus on the unique considerations around a postpartum meal train. I’m going to share some of the pros and cons of having one plus some alternatives you may have never even considered.
Pros of a Postpartum Meal Train:
Lots of families choose to do a postpartum meal train for the obvious (and sometimes not-so-obvious) benefits that they offer. Below are some of the main pros of choosing to have a postpartum meal train.
1. Convenience:
Because others are planning and preparing your meal(s) for you, you don’t have to worry about what to make for dinner, grocery shopping, or cooking.
The convenience of meal trains can be especially helpful for sleep deprived, exhausted new parents.
Also, the convenience can help make sure that, as a new mom, you get the physical rest that your body needs to heal.
2. Variety from Your Usual
Instead of your usual rotation of foods, you’ll usually see some meals that you wouldn’t usually think to make in a meal train.
During a time when sandwiches and your go-to quick-meals may be the staple out of necessity, it can be really nice to see some variety in your meal options.
3. Budget-Friendly:
A Meal Train is much cheaper than ordering delivery.
It’s also cheaper than shopping for your own groceries to make your own meal.
Becoming a new parent already has so many extra costs involved that a Meal Train can be a nice way to budget a little.
4. Saves Time:
Instead of the time that you’d spend shopping and cooking the meal, someone else is taking the time to do that for you.
That leaves you with extra time to get the hang of breastfeeding/bottle feeding, keep up with laundry, bathe, or simply rest!
5. Emotional Support:
Between the physical recovery and adjusting to life with your newest addition, parents may feel lonely and distant from their loved ones.
By allowing the kind gesture of a meal train, new parents can experience that emotional support earlier in their parenting journey than they might otherwise.
6. See Your Loved Ones Connect with Baby:
Even if friends only stop by briefly to leave your food, they might have a brief moment to meet your little one.
Watching people you love meet your newborn and adore them is one of the best experiences in the world.
Cons of a Postpartum Meal Train:
1. Health Concerns:
The idea of germs around a new baby may make you feel uneasy.
This may be especially true of parents whose babies have weakened immune systems, were born prematurely, or were born during cold and flu season.
If you can relate to this, you might consider asking guests to wash hands upon arrival or let them know that you aren’t planning on having guests come in (only drop off food).
2. Unpredictability:
If you don’t know that a friend is bringing spaghetti on Thursday night, you may have unknowingly had spaghetti on Wednesday for lunch and dinner and be sick of it.
Or maybe 3 guests in a row bring you enchiladas.
Then you also should factor in that some people may bring your food later in the evening than expected.
Or they may forget or cancel last-minute, leaving you scrambling for dinner.
3. Overwhelm:
You might find yourself overwhelmed by house guests or large quantities of food.
Many people who bring meal train meals will bring entire dishes so that you can have leftovers. This is great, in theory, until you factor in all the leftovers you have from other guests along with potentially breast milk storage and your other groceries/snacks.
4. Pressure to Host:
Knowing that a family is coming over to bring you a meal may leave you feeling pressure to tidy up and invite them in to meet the baby.
This can be particularly overwhelming when you don’t know your newborn’s unpredictable sleep and feeding schedule (because newborns don’t really have a schedule).
Of course, this may be another instance where you let guests know ahead of time that you only want a doorstep drop-off so that you don’t feel pressure to entertain anyone.
5. Dietary Restrictions and Food Preferences:
It can be challenging to ensure that people bring meals that meet any dietary requirements as well as meet the food preferences that your family may have.
You can make these requests at the onset of the meal train, but just remember that some people may fail to adhere to your preferences.
6. Privacy Concerns:
Many meal train sign-ups are shared among community groups. This could mean everyone in your book club, church, yoga class, and friend group gets the option to sign up for a meal.
But maybe the idea of your whole church congregation being able to sign up to bring you a postpartum meal feels too much like an invasion of privacy.
Or maybe you aren’t comfortable with the idea of a kind acquaintance from your book club bringing you a questionable casserole.
Your need for privacy may be heightened during your early postpartum days when you are still rocking adult diapers, navigating breastfeeding, and trying to bond with your newborn.
Alternatives to a Postpartum Meal Train:
Maybe you know that a postpartum meal train isn’t the right choice for your family. But you also know that you will need help when it comes to feeding your family in those early postpartum weeks.
Or maybe you aren’t sure about whether a postpartum meal train is right for your family and need some more “food for thought” to help you make the best decision.
That’s why I am sharing five alternatives to a meal train.
1. DoorDash, UberEats, and other delivery service gift cards.
Consider having your community sign up to provide delivery service gift cards instead of a traditional meal train.
2. Freezer Meal Train:
Have friends and loved ones sign up to do a freezer meal train before your due date.
A freezer meal train is where your friends and family sign up to bring frozen meals that only require thawing/heating, possibly cooking, and are ready-to-eat.
If you choose to do a freezer meal train, be sure to specify whether you have a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or want them to only bring stovetop/oven-friendly freezer meals. This will help your loved ones know what types of freezer meals you’re capable of making.
3. Stock the Freezer Party:
Invite friends and/or family members over to help you batch make freezer meals.
This alternative to a postpartum meal train will allow you more control over choosing the specific recipes you want and helps you use valuable freezer space wisely.
4. Meal Kits
You can ask loved ones to pitch in to help provide meal kits or simply purchase your own.
Meal kits are becoming more popular – I’ve seen most grocery stores in my area stock a section of ready-to-cook meal kits.
Online, you can find meal kit services that range from prepping and making your own portioned dinners, all the way to pre-made microwave meals.
Most of these options are health-conscious, offer a wide variety, and are convenient.
5. Coordinate Meals with Specific Loved Ones
Choose the specific loved ones that you feel comfortable inviting over and feeding you. Coordinate with them to find day(s) that bringing a meal over would work for your schedule(s).
While this has the added work of needing to first-hand coordinate with individuals to bring you meals, it has the benefit of letting you pick exactly who you want to come over and when (you can space out your over-bearing aunts, for instance, instead of leaving it up to chance on whether or not they sign up for the same week).
This also allows you to request favorite meals that some of your loved ones might make. Ask for your mom to bring her amazing enchiladas and that one friend to bring that pasta dish that you love.
Conclusion:
There are many pros and cons of having a postpartum meal train. The pros of convenience, saving time, or building community may push you to opt for a meal train.
The cons of health, privacy concerns, and pressure to host may keep you from wanting a postpartum meal train.
Maybe one of the postpartum meal train alternatives felt like a better option for your family – or better yet, a hybrid!
Regardless of what you decide, know that there are no wrong choices here. There is only making the best possible choice for your family in your current season.
For instance, I opted for freezer meals and coordinating with specific family and friends when I had my first baby (who arrived in mid-December). But for my second baby due in summer, I am planning on having a more traditional postpartum meal train.
What feels like the best choice for your family right now? Will you combine any meal train alternatives as well or stick to a traditional meal train?
