MSE baby on the way - frozen meals and OS baby tips please!

count_rostov

I've just started maternity leave (first child) and have promised myself that I will be really productive and not just sit around on the sofa reading and taking afternoon snoozes whilst I wait for the baby to arrive. I've got six weeks to go until my due date. In four weeks time Absolutely Fabulous - Absolutely Everything box set will be released so that is when my sofa time starts!
Everyone tells me I will have no time for anything once the baby is born so I thought I'd do some batch cooking for the freezer. I really like cooking and make everything from scratch. However, I've never cooked for the freezer so am looking for recipe ideas and tips. What works well? What kind of containers do you freeze things in? Is it possible to buy oven-ready containers like supermarket ready meals come in? Do you have to partially cook things before you freeze them? For example, with lasagne, would you part-cook it or freeze it with the sauces cooked but the pasta still dry? How long do home-made ready meals stay good for in the freezer? When you cook them do you have to defrost them and then cook/heat to piping or do you put them straight in the oven? (I don't have a microwave but love my two-oven Aga which has a hot and slow oven)
Also baking - I always make my own bread and figure that this must freeze quite well as the supermarket I work in (worked in! yes!) sells 'fresh' bread which comes in frozen and is baked in store. But how do you do it - do you half-bake the bread or do you freeze it once it's proved? Does anyone have any recipes for cakes/biscuits/traybooks/puddings which freeze well? My husband has a real sweet tooth and if he doesn't have something sweet in his piecebox every day he wastes money on Mars bars which drives me crazy.
Also, does anyone have other tips for MSE ways to prepare for the baby? Over the next month I plan to:
- spring clean the house
- sort out all the benefit & tax credit applications
- decorate the baby's bedroom (er, currently a walk in cupboard but I figure a baby is very small so it will think it lives in a palace!)
- hem old worn bed sheets to make cot sheets
- batch cook
- knit baby clothes (not MSE but I love it)
What else would be useful to do before the arrival?
I have been given lots of baby clothes, a baby bath, car seat, push chair, moses basket, cot, baby monitor, sling/carrier thing, washable nappies and a changing bag/mat thing. I like sewing - is there any other kit Old Stylers would recommend? Did anyone swaddle their babies or are blankets better? Are those towels with hoods any good or just a chi-chi thing for nappy valley?
Sorry for the long post - I have lots of questions!

helyg

Firstly, congratulations!

I've got 3 kids (now aged 3, 5 and 7), and the first thing I would say is that you don't need half the things that the baby magazines would have you believe you do. Yes it is nice to be organised, but sometimes it is better to work out what you actually need as you go along.

In the beginning the baby needs to be warm, fed and clean. Mine all lived in sleepsuits (nothing fancy, multipacks from Mothercare which wash well at high temperatures) and hand knitted cardigans, which weren't as trendy as the little GAP/Next ensembles the yummy mummies at baby group dressed their little darlings in, but my kids don't appear to have been scarred for life by the experience... Anyway as time went by the yummy mummies clearly felt sorry for me as they started to pass their hand me downs on to me, so now I have a whole load of Next and Gap too... :rotfl:

I used the towels with hoods, but only because I was given them, not sure I would have bothered otherwise.

I swaddled mine to begin with, but then was given some baby sleeping bags which are fab as they get older. Swaddling depends on the baby, DS1 hated it and would wriggle out like Houdini but DS2 and DD loved it.

I breastfed and cloth nappied so that was all pretty cheap, again with nappies it may be worth trying out some different styles as different types suit different parents and babies! I swore by pre-folds as I could fold them to fit my differently shaped babies, and I hated all in ones as they took an age to dry without a tumble dryer, but I know a lot of people who are the opposite. Find out if your council has a scheme, ours gave us three different types to try plus liners etc. I was also a big fan of fleece wipes and still use them now for wiping mucky faces.

I made lots of stuff and stashed it in the freezer before I had my three, just basic stuff like stews, pasta sauces, chillies etc. I tended to just make the sauces and then do some pasta/baked potato/rice etc on teh day as that isn't very hard work. They stay fine for a couple of months. You have to defrost them before re-heating, and make sure you re-heat thoroughly. Sponge cakes, loaf cakes, tea breads etc all freeze well, although I wouldn't decorate them before freezing.

Hope that helps! x

esmf73

Hi - I did the same - made loads of things and my boys were both charity shop babies - still are really!!! You mentioned Lasagne specifically - well I cook all the meals all the way through, then freeze. You can freeze in any combination of container. I use foil trays from supermarket, freezer bags, used margarine tubs etc.

Just take one day as it comes with your new arrival - and if I could say just one thing - sleep when your baby sleeps - who cares if it is the middle of the day! Enjoy your first one, as you never get the same opportunity!!

ubamother

Others will come along with brilliant and practical advice i am sure. This is mine - do be careful not to set yourself up to do so much you are have no choice but to fail. If life gets in the way of your plans - you are not a bad mother. If you have a day when you live on digestive biscuits you are not a bad mother. If you sleep when your baby sleeps you are not a bad mother. Etc.

tillymama_2

Hi there,

Firstly, congratulations on your impending arrival.

We had our first baby 8 weeks ago, so it wasn't long ago since I was in the very boat you are! Baby was also 12 days late, so I had a LOT of maternity leave to fill!

I'd recommend spreading out the stuff left to do, as I ended up with nothing left and still 4 weeks til I was due (6 weeks until baby actually arrived!)

I batched cook a LOT of meals, still got tonnes in the freezer now. But they were a lifesaver. We also kept cooking up big vats of bolognase and chilli and lived off those for lunch & dinner for a day or two. When you're exhausted and hungry, you really won't care that you're eating the same thing 4 meals running!

We got plastic food containers at our local pound shop to freeze stuff in, but foil ones would be better for you if you're oven cooking stuff. My tip would be to freeze individual portions, as you won't be eating together for a good few weeks! That way, one of you can eat while the other looks after bubs and then you can swap. You don't need to worry about portions going cold if you can just cook one portion at a time.

I'd wait and see if your baby likes swaddling before getting any swaddling blankets. Not all of them do, and some (like ours) only like it for a short space of time. We found the swaddling blankets great as they always stayed wrapped up tight around baby...I just couldn't get sheets or normal blankets to stay put! But DD only liked it for a couple of weeks and then decided she hated it...so don't go out and buy too many swaddling blankets!

We've got the towels with hoods and I quite like them as it's easy to make sure DD has her head covered when she gets out of the bath. She hates getting out unless you're speedy and get her completely covered within 2 seconds flat! You probably could get away with a normal towel I'm sure, but the hooded ones do make things easy.

I'm new to OS, so there are probably others better placed to advise on that side of things, but shout if you have any general questions!

Helen x

nickyc_2

Hi- congratulations. Just a quick post of things I batch cook....

Lasagne
chilli
bolognase sauce
potato topped fish pie
roast potatoes and parsnips (I tend to cook loads and then freeze what I don't eat for that meal, they reheat & crisp up fine in the oven)
sausage hotpot
curry sauce http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=456767&postcount=38
Pork fillets in cider (Delia's receipe)
chicken soup


I blanch vegetables - green beans & sweet corn

I've loads of cooking apples at the moment so they've been stewed and frozen (cover bun tin in clingfilm, laddle in apple, freeze. when mixture frozen remove from clingfilm and put in a bag. You then have lots of individual portions.)

I bulk bought a large number of cheap plastic boxes as I batch cook a lot, but also use tin trays food has come in.

valk_scot

Congratulations on the baby.

Now, listen to some advice. This is going to be your last chance for 18 years to lie around on the sofa doing nothing ...longer if you have more than one child. Yes, do some knitting and sort out some clothes for the baby. Read a couple of books and magazines. Sod the rest. The house isn't going to be clean again for years anyway.

As to fretting about your OHs lunchbox (I tried writing this several ways but gave up) I would suggest you buy him a basic cookbook or give him the grid reference of the biscuit shelf in Tesco. After the baby arrives it's going to be a moot point as to whether he gets anything to eat at all that day, let alone a packed lunchbox!

Strangely enough, it does get easier after the second baby arrives.....:eek:

earthmother

My three are 8.5, 6 and 3.5, so it's a while since we did newborn, but I agree with what's been said already about letting things happen - don't push yourself - if you get stressed, so will the baby, so put your feet up whenever you get the chance, and enjoy the little one when they arrive.

My three liked the hooded towels - but I had big babies so they outgrew the normal ones very quickly - Vertbaudet do a bigger size that will see them into toddlerdom (and then become a superhero cape ) - might look a bit pricey, but you only need one or two, and there are some great codes out there.

If you still need bedding for the moses basket, use flannelette pillowcases - far cheaper than the 'proper' sheets and do the job just as well. We never tried proper swaddling blankets, but my eldest wouldn't have anything over or around him, so thick sleepsuits were in order, middle one didn't care so he ended up with his brother's castoffs, but youngest loved being wrapped loosely, so he ended up in grobags.

And don't spend a fortune on wipes - cheap flannels kept in a tub with some chamomile and honey tea solution work brilliantly (only discovered this for youngest - and he was the only one never to have nappy rash). The other important thing about nappies is - make sure Daddy does the very first one

Afraid I can't help with the food though as I'm still working that one out myself

Good luck

mambury

valk_scot wrote: »

Congratulations on the baby.

Now, listen to some advice. This is going to be your last chance for 18 years to lie around on the sofa doing nothing ...longer if you have more than one child. Yes, do some knitting and sort out some clothes for the baby. Read a couple of books and magazines. Sod the rest. The house isn't going to be clean again for years anyway.

As to fretting about your OHs lunchbox (I tried writing this several ways but gave up) I would suggest you buy him a basic cookbook or give him the grid reference of the biscuit shelf in Tesco. After the baby arrives it's going to be a moot point as to whether he gets anything to eat at all that day, let alone a packed lunchbox!

Strangely enough, it does get easier after the second baby arrives.....:eek:

never a truer word said!

I am not shouting at you but this is importants OP.......
[EMAIL="BU@@ER"]BU@@ER[/EMAIL] THE HOUSWORK...... ENJOY THIS TIME OFF AS IT IS THE LAST PEACE AND QUIET YOU WIL HAVE FOR A LOOOOONG TIME!

You will need all your energy for labour and then looking after baby so store it up now!

Oh, and good luck!

mambury

earthmother wrote: »

The other important thing about nappies is - make sure Daddy does the very first one



Good luck

ahem! Like mine (DH that is!) did the first big poo at the hospital and DD decided that she might as well finish the job while the nappy was off, DS ended up with poo on his tshirt. At 2.5 yrs he was not impressed by the new arrival!:D

Bargainloverbec

Congratulations on the expected arrival! I am in the same position as you (currently 11 days late and still waiting) and have totally filled my freezer in anticipation that I'm not going to be bothered to cook for a few weeks when the baby arrives.

The things that I've cooked and frozen are:

Chilli
Bolognese sauce
Stew
Chicken cassoulet
Hungarian goulash
Sweet and sour chicken
Lasagne
Lots of home made soup
Stewed plums (A bit random but we got given a carrier bag full)
Also lots of loaves of bread (mainly snaffled up from Mr T's when they are reduced), and a few frozen pies and pizzas when on sale.

If you have a Wilkinson's near you they do the foil trays 97p for 10 small ones, I didn't have enough plastic boxes so I've bought lots of those and they also stack well.

Hope that gives you some ideas - but do rest up as well! Enjoy your mat leave.