Feeding yourself through the fourth trimester

When all the days blur into one and your brain is just about ticking along, how do you actually keep yourself fed and watered? We’ve got a few ideas.

Writer

M&S Food

The first twelve weeks once baby has arrived are a time of huge adjustment for new parents. You're feeling your way from feed to feed, nappy to nappy, while trying to remember to eat and sleep in between. Newborns don't know the difference between night and day, so they don’t have established sleep-wake rhythms.

Time takes on new meaning as you find your feet and get to know this new tiny person, all the while hearing all sorts of things from all sorts of people. It’s a foggy, emotional, incredible time, and it’s important to pause and make sure everyone is healthy going forward – you must not forget to eat. Here’s how to do it.

No special diets required

There is no reason to eat any differently to normal in those early days. Even if you are breastfeeding, the NHS states that “You do not need to follow a special diet... But it's a good idea for you, just like everyone else, to eat a healthy diet with a variety of foods every day”.

How you actually do that in practice is a different matter, but you might find some calm counsel in our article: the new parent pantry.

Essentially, you want to prioritise simple meals like dahls and vegetable-packed pastas, as well as simple snacks like fruit (fresh and dried), yogurt, nuts and nut butters.

Shop mixed nuts

Aim for a good breakfast

This is the part of the day where you’re more likely to have a little energy to think (believe it or not) and you might be more likely to have a second parent around for this shift, too.

Try to get something substantial inside you so that – even if you make it to lunchtime later than planned – you have eaten.

This doesn’t need to be complicated; it could be an omelette, avocado on toast, overnight oats with yogurt, or porridge with nuts and seeds, maybe even a topper like our Get Going Berry Boost Good for Your Gut Topper, which contains hemp, chia and linseeds with goji berries, acai and banana. Perhaps some kefir or a smoothie on the side.

Oats and more

Trust the list

Your brain is holding so much information right now, you can’t expect it to hold on to shopping lists, too.

Jot down things you need whenever you get the chance, and take your own list as gospel. This could also be a good task for a helpful visitor – to pop out and get everything on your list.

And if you need a little inspiration, here’s a quick, non-comprehensive list of new-parent staples: biscuits, crumpets, cheese, yogurt, fruit and nut mixes, fresh pasta, sliced sourdough, eggs, avocados, apples, grapes, prepared Mediterranean vegetables (for roasting), cooked grains and lentils, smoothie mixes, chocolate.

One day, maybe you’ll get to shop Ocado for a good friend in the same boat. By then, you’ll know exactly what to buy.

Look for inspiration

Ask for help

Everyone tells you to ask for help, but in practice, what does help look like? Perhaps you can’t even think what to ask for. Feeding yourself is probably the easiest area in which to ask for practical support.

If anyone asks what they can do, the answer is food. Whether they make you a lasagne themselves, or send you a meal kit, it’s one night that you won’t have to think about dinner, which can be a big lift.

If someone suggests a lunchtime visit, ask them to bring something for everyone, whether it’s a whole sushi spread or just a sandwich. It means you won’t have to draw from your ever-dwindling supplies.

If your friend is a baker, ask for a large batch of oat biscuits, scones or flapjack – something to sit happily on the side and get you through the night feeds and the early mornings.

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Published 8.15.2024

Feeding yourself through the fourth trimester

No special diets required

Aim for a good breakfast

Trust the list

Ask for help

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