When your body is still feeling somewhat foreign, your boobs hurt and you haven’t slept – trying to feed yourself (and the rest of the fam) is the last thing you want to be doing. If you can organise meals for the first 6 weeks before you have the baby your future self is going to be high-fiving you for sure.

I filled our freezer before we had Rory because I’d learnt my lesson first time round when I was too busy organising tiny nappies and outfits to think of anything as practical as food.

I got away with being disorganised for the first baby (oh to go back and enjoy how easy it was with one but you didn’t realise it because you were too busy being anxious about every tiny little thing). 

But this time, with two older (forever hungry) kids to feed, surviving on peanut butter toast is not something I want to repeat.

Now that I’m on maternity leave I’m going to use the next couple of weeks to get food organised for the first six weeks. I want to be able to spend my time breathing in his newborn deliciousness, rather than worrying about what the hell we’re going to eat for dinner or how I’m going to find food in our bare pantry to pack lunches.

You could definitely prepare all the food yourself but I’m all for making life easier, not harder. So here are 5 ways that I’m organising all the food now, so I don’t have to later.

How to easily organise meals

Host a cooking party instead of a baby shower

My beautiful friend Caitlin from Mother Down Under offered to throw me a postpartum cooking party. When she explained the idea to me I was like… “let me get this right. I get to sit and drink tea while my friends cook to fill my freezer?! Sign me up!”

You could definitely host one of these yourself if you didn’t have someone to throw it for you. Rather than having a baby shower with all the silly games, invite your friends around, put on some tea (or wine) and put them to work filling your freezer.

Cook double batches of freezable meals for the last few weeks of pregnancy

I’ve been designating a few nights a week to cook double batches of the meals I’m already making for dinner. I’ve specifically chosen freezer-friendly options so I can keep building up my stash. Things like lasagna, pumpkin soup (my kids would eat this every night if I let them), stews, curries, casseroles, etc.

Order a meal delivery service

I have to admit that this is not something I usually order because I like to try and keep our food bill as low as possible and I don’t love pre-prepared meals.

BUT … I am definitely making the exception for those first 6 weeks. I’m just going to order in advance for a couple of meals per week so that they can be on hand when (and if) we need.

Schedule online shops based on The Healthy Mummy meal plans

Grocery shopping is possibly my least favourite thing to do. Second on the list is actually writing meal-plans and shopping lists.

So I’m considering it a massive act of self-care for myself in the first six weeks to not have to do either of these things And sure, I could just send Andrew, but I’d still have to write the bloody list (Side note. If you haven’t already read this article on emotional labour – do it. Then get your partner to read it.)

Instead I’ll be using these meals plans in the The Healthy Mummy’s Busy Mum’s Guide to Weightloss to have lists ready to go in Coles online, so all I have to do is click a button and the weekly shop is DONE!

Also don’t be fooled by the title of this book. I have no plan to put ANY focus on losing weight but I really like how the weekly meal plans are already done WITH SHOPPING LISTS. Hallalujah!

It’s also a bonus that the meals in this book are super easy to make so once we’re past the 6 week mark I am confident I’l be able to make them one handed.

Stockpile non-perishable snacks in the weeks leading up to birth.

Breastfeeding makes you hhhuuuunnnnggrrryyyy. Also I have two boys who pretty much snack all day long. (Tell me I’m not alone in this!) Life is always so much easier when snacks in our house are plentiful and easy for the boys to grab by themselves.

I’ve been stocking up on non-perishable snacks every time I go shopping these last few months (dried fruit and nuts, muesli bars, dates, pre-made lactation biscuits, rice crackers etc). Spreading it out over time has also helped to cut the huge upfront cost of getting it all in one go. And yes I have been hiding them up high in our pantry because otherwise they would have lasted about 3.5 seconds max.

Oh and I also made this (four ingredient!) chocolate muesli slice (from The Healthy Mummy Cookbook) with the intention of freezing it for the first 6 weeks but it was too good and we ate it all instead.  Another batch is on my list!

So that’s how I’m getting food organised. Not too much extra effort really, except for buying and cooking double batches of things and a few sessions on the computer making ready-to-go lists.

How did you organise food for the first 6 weeks? Any tips for me?

** The opinions in this article are entirely my own.  I was gifted The Busy Mum’s Guide to Weightloss but was not paid to write any of the ideas expressed in this article. **