The age-old tradition of bringing a new mom a meal is still alive and well today. Any mother will tell you that the last thing she wants to do after giving birth is figure out what to make for dinner to feed herself and the rest of the family every night. This tradition received a modern upgrade with the development of meal registry websites designed to easily organize meals for new parents. Learn how to organize a Meal Train for a new mom and help take the stress out of cooking for the family.
Side Note: This is not a sponsored post. I just really love Meal Train and want to share the info with you!
What is a Meal Train?
There are several meal registry services out there, but I have the most experience with how to organize a Meal Train for a new mom. It seems to be one of the more popular services, and it’s incredibly easy to use.
Essentially, Meal Train is a digital platform designed to organize meals for an individual or family. Recipients include families with a new baby, individuals who are post-surgery, etc. It’s a way for multiple people to sign up to bless a family with food.
My experience with Meal Train
When I gave birth to Little Man, a dear friend organized a Meal Train for us. We had so many people asking if they could bring us a meal, and it was really hard to tell them what days would be best. After she created it, she sent me the shareable link and I shared it on my Facebook page and sent it to those who had asked to bring meals. It was really great to have so many people stop by and feed us and see the baby.
In the past two years, I’ve either organized or participated in at least five Meal Trains, and the moms have been very happy with the experience.
What I like about Meal Train
I love to organize Meal Trains for new moms because the process is fast, and easy. It does require you to create an account, but it’s not that big of a deal. The organizer can choose what dates the family wants to receive meals. Participants view a calendar of available dates and sign up to take a meal on whichever day works for them. They can then choose to receive a reminder email before the date so they don’t forget. The organizer and family gets a shareable link so they can add it to emails, text messages, and social media.
As the organizer, you can add (at the family’s instruction) meal preferences, favorite meals, meals they aren’t fond of, things to avoid (gluten, dairy, spicy foods, etc.). You can also include any special instructions (call before delivery, please don’t ring bell, etc.). You select a time the family wants the meals delivered (between 5-6 pm, before 8 pm, etc.).
For participants who live out of town, can’t cook, or just want to be involved without actually delivering a meal, Meal Train has options to gift online gift cards to restaurants, restaurant delivery services like GrubHub and Seamless, and grocery cards.
How to organize a Meal Train for a new mom
Organizing a Meal Train for a new mom is super easy. Simply create an account, start a train, and get the following information from the mom: email address, physical address, good allergies and preferences, dates they want the Meal Train to run and any dates they want to omit (like weekends), the time they want the meals delivered, and any special instructions.
Meal Train walks you through the entire process, and it’s incredibly easy. You can organize a Meal Train for a new mom in less than ten minutes.
Proper Meal Train etiquette: dos and don’ts
There are several dos and don’ts when it comes to organizing a Meal Train for a new mom that you should be aware of, and even pass on to participants if appropriate.
Do
Do: try to deliver the meal in the specified time frame. A new mom probably chose that particular time because she knows she likely won’t be breastfeeding and baby will be awake and ready to be held.
Do: take the food in disposable dishes or containers you don’t want back. The last thing a new mom needs is to try to remember whose casserole dish is whose when they all look the same.
Do: include a drink and/or dessert item if you can. A new breastfeeding mom needs to stay hydrated, and water gets old after a while. A fun dessert will bring lots of smiles to new parents, and for some reason, new moms in particular love ice cream. Not sure why, but it’s true.
Do: wash your hands before holding the baby. Because, germs.
Don’t
Don’t: make anything too spicy. A new moms likely has a sensitive stomach, especially if she had a C-section. Also, spicy foods are transferred to breast milk and the baby might have an aversion and refuse to eat.
Don’t: get offended if the new mom doesn’t offer to let you hold the baby. I know, you want to see the new addition, and that absolutely fine! Every mom is different, and while some may jump at the chance to hand over the little bundle for a few minutes so she can run and pee, other moms (especially first-time moms), may have a hard time with a bunch of people holding the baby. Try to understand that new moms experience a huge dose of hormones and maternal instincts, and she might be super protective.
Don’t: overstay your welcome. A new mom probably won’t kick you out, especially because you just brought her family dinner! But try to read the situation. She may need to breastfeed the baby and probably doesn’t want to do that in front of people. Understand that she’s incredibly grateful for your dinner blessing and would love nothing more than to visit, but having a new baby is stressful as you try to figure out the parent thing.
Meal ideas
Every family has different tastes, but here are a few tried and true Meal Train dinner ideas to bless the new parents with:
- Lasagna and salad with dressing
- Stew and cornbread
- Casseroles
- Pot roast, potatoes and salad
- Chicken, rice, and veggies
- The parent’s favorite takeout
- Soups and bread
Another good option if you can’t physically deliver a meal: get the family’s favorite pizza order and have it delivered (pay online or over the phone). A friend who signed up to bring us a meal had a stomach bug hit her house and didn’t want to bring it over, so she ordered Pizza Hut for us and had it delivered. It was so nice of her to consider us that way.
So if you want to bless someone, organize a Meal Train for a new mom. You will likely never know how much she truly appreciates it because there are no words to thank someone enough for bringing food when you have a new baby. And, of course, you get to spend a little time with that precious little one!
Do you have any Meal Train tips? Let us know!
Do you wait till baby is born to create and send one out? Or can you try and plan ahead a bit? Thanks for your help.
Bianca, thank you so much for reading! I find it’s best to wait until the baby is born, just so there aren’t any “wasted” meal slots. Generally, mom and baby will spend at least one night in the hospital (I’ve never spent fewer than three), so there should be some time to plan and set up a Meal Train. And honestly, from my own experience, I prefer to have a few days home to get settled before having people stop by. Hope this helps!