The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But the
Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving the
new parents requiring assistance.

There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
undeternined if they will be eating out or in.

I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
need to be.

My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing. Immediate
candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.
Have to supliment with salads and starch.

If anyone else has gone thru this and recalls what they prepared or
how they planned, I'd appreciate hearing about it. - Mike

Good on you for volunteering! It sounds like you have a good start on
things, I usually send soups and casseroles.

The only recommendation I have is if she is going to nurse take it easy on
spicy / gas-producing foods or you may have 2 very fussy babies!
Beth


"Mike" > wrote in message
...
> The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
> limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But the
> Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving the
> new parents requiring assistance.
>
> There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
> hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
> undeternined if they will be eating out or in.
>
> I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
> need to be.
>
> My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
> into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing. Immediate
> candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.
> Have to supliment with salads and starch.
>
> If anyone else has gone thru this and recalls what they prepared or
> how they planned, I'd appreciate hearing about it. - Mike

Mike wrote:

> The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
> limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But the
> Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving the
> new parents requiring assistance.
>
> There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
> hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
> undeternined if they will be eating out or in.
>
> I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
> need to be.
>
> My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
> into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing. Immediate
> candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.
> Have to supliment with salads and starch.
>
> If anyone else has gone thru this and recalls what they prepared or
> how they planned, I'd appreciate hearing about it. - Mike

If the new mom is going to be breastfeeding you will need to be careful
about spicy foods and things like cabbage, beans and broccoli. Also,
she's liable to be seriously overwhelmed and may need to be reminded to
eat and especially to drink. Even if you're not breastfeeding it's easy
to allow yourself to become dehydrated, which in turn saps your energy
and makes everything hurt that much worse.

Homemade smoothies are nice but need to be drunk fresh or they separate
and get icky. There are bottled smoothies and yogurt drinks in the
dairy section of the supermarket that will help boost her fluid intake
as well as providing quick nutrition.

"Mike" > wrote in message
...
> The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
> limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But the
> Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving the
> new parents requiring assistance.
>
> There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
> hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
> undeternined if they will be eating out or in.
>
> I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
> need to be.
>
> My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
> into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing. Immediate
> candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.
> Have to supliment with salads and starch.
>
> If anyone else has gone thru this and recalls what they prepared or
> how they planned, I'd appreciate hearing about it. - Mike

Good for you, and congratulations.

I assume you have a full kitchen, outdoor grill etc.

What do you cook on weekends?

Is it still hot in your area?

How many people are you cooking for?

How about going to the local deli getting an array of sliced meats and
cheeses and have a salad and sandwich buffet ( Do it your self)?
Grilled burgers where people can create their own "perfect burger" also
works.
I don't think there are many who don't like a nice pot roast.
The smell of Italian Gravy ( Pasta/Spaghetti sauce) will cause the salivary
glands to start working.

If the mom is going to be nursing you should spend a few minutes looking up
food NoNo's and YesYes's for nursing moms.

Most important have fun with your immortality and legacy to the world.

Dimitri

"Mike" > wrote in message
...
> The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
> limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But the
> Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving the
> new parents requiring assistance.
>
> There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
> hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
> undeternined if they will be eating out or in.

Your new grandkids may not require a stay in the NICU after birth. Mine
didn't.


> I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
> need to be.
>
> My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
> into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing. Immediate
> candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.
> Have to supliment with salads and starch.

That sounds like a good plan. Really, *anything* you can do to assist the
family--cooking, grocery shopping, doing laundry, taking care of the older
siblings, etc. will be much appreciated. Newborn twins are a LOT of work.
Bless you for volunteering to help out.

Congrats, Grandpa!

Mary--mom to "a pair and a spare"

Dimitri wrote:
>
> If the mom is going to be nursing you should spend a few minutes looking
> up food NoNos and YesYess for nursing moms.


A note on this.
The lists that you will find about not eating cabbage or hot peppers are
guidelines, not rules. Some breastfeeding mothers find that their
infants tolerate those foods quite well. Others find that their infants
are sensitive to entirely different foods. It's all a matter of trying
something, seeing if the baby gets fussy or seems to have trouble
burping, and making adjustments from there.


--Lia

On Sep 17, 5:49*am, Mike > wrote:
> The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
> limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But the
> Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving the
> new parents requiring assistance.
>
> There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
> hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
> undeternined if they will be eating out or in.
>
> I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
> need to be.
>
> My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
> into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing. Immediate
> candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.
> Have to supliment with salads and starch.
>
> If anyone else has gone thru this and recalls what they prepared or
> how they planned, I'd appreciate hearing about it. - Mike

Make things that can be eaten with one hand. She's going to be
nursing a lot and new borns are never on a schedule.

Susan B.

"Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
. ..
> Dimitri wrote:
>>
>> If the mom is going to be nursing you should spend a few minutes looking
>> up food NoNos and YesYess for nursing moms.
>
>
> A note on this.
> The lists that you will find about not eating cabbage or hot peppers are
> guidelines, not rules. Some breastfeeding mothers find that their infants
> tolerate those foods quite well. Others find that their infants are
> sensitive to entirely different foods. It's all a matter of trying
> something, seeing if the baby gets fussy or seems to have trouble burping,
> and making adjustments from there.

Yep. Trial and error. The mom will find out how different foods she eats
affect her babies. If the OP sticks to standard meat & potatoes, casseroles,
etc., the family should be fine.

Mary

sueb wrote:
> On Sep 17, 5:49 am, Mike > wrote:
>> The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
>> limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But
>> the Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving
>> the new parents requiring assistance.
>>
>> There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
>> hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
>> undeternined if they will be eating out or in.
>>
>> I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible
>> I need to be.
>>
>> My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
>> into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing.
>> Immediate candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.
>> Have to supliment with salads and starch.
>>
>> If anyone else has gone thru this and recalls what they prepared or
>> how they planned, I'd appreciate hearing about it. - Mike
>
> Make things that can be eaten with one hand. She's going to be
> nursing a lot and new borns are never on a schedule.
>
> Susan B.

I'm surprised at how many people assume she'll be nursing. There is no
reason to assume that.

One-hand food definitely impacts bottle-feeding, too, though, because the
mother will be feeding the child/children. And I agree completely with the
assessement: make sure the mother eats, too. A friend of mine pretty much
stopped eating (without thinking) while making sure her child could drink
goats milk (due to allergies). Doesn't do the child a bit of good if the
mother collapses.

Jill <--who doesn't have to have children to recognize these things

On Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:49:55 -0700 (PDT), Mike >
wrote:

>The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
>limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But the
>Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving the
>new parents requiring assistance.
>
>There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
>hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
>undeternined if they will be eating out or in.
>
>I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
>need to be.
>
>My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
>into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing. Immediate
>candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.
>Have to supliment with salads and starch.
>
>If anyone else has gone thru this and recalls what they prepared or
>how they planned, I'd appreciate hearing about it. - Mike

What lucky twins to have such a helpful grandpa.

I'm a mom of twins and what I wanted to eat the first few days at
home was easy to pick up bites of food -- cheese and crackers, fruit,
muffins, pigs in blankets, crudite, bagels and cream cheese. Any
volunteers helping out might like sandwich fixings, chips, pretzels.
I really didn't want to deal with a plate of food for the first few
days. I just wanted to pick. After that, the brisket, turkey, and
casseroles sound great. Whatever you like to cook and the parents
like to eat will be appreciated. Remember things like paper plates,
plastic utensils, napkins, paper towels, dish soap, and cleaner wipes.
The disposable stuff is a necessary extravagance for a few weeks.

Tara

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
>
> I'm surprised at how many people assume she'll be nursing. There is no
> reason to assume that.

The majority of moms I know personally (I'm talking about moms of my
generation, not of past generations, when formula-feeding was considered by
many to be better than breastfeeding) at least attempted to breastfeed their
babies. Some were successful, others were not. But most of them at least
wanted to try. The OP is talking about what types of food he can prepare
when the babies are brand new, so it would not be unreasonable to include
breastfeeding in the equation at that point in time. (If he were talking
about paying these people a visit later on, when the twins were, say, six
months old or something, then I would agree with your statement above.)


> One-hand food definitely impacts bottle-feeding, too, though, because the
> mother will be feeding the child/children.

Well, unless she's going to exclusively nurse them (yes, I actually know
women who were able to do that with twins, believe it or not!), then others
will also be feeding the babies.

Regardless of how the babies are fed and by whom, though...both parents are
going to have their hands full with these twins and just need food of
sustenance that's quick to prepare and easy to eat!


> And I agree completely with the assessement: make sure the mother eats,
> too. A friend of mine pretty much stopped eating (without thinking) while
> making sure her child could drink goats milk (due to allergies). Doesn't
> do the child a bit of good if the mother collapses.

It's especially important that the mother eats well (and eats enough) if
she's breastfeeding--particularly with multiples--since breastfeeding burns
up so many calories.

Mary

On Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:49:55 -0700 (PDT), Mike >
wrote:

>
>I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
>need to be.
>
>My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
>into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing. Immediate
>candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.

Make it easy for yourself -- whatever you are cooking, just cook a
double batch and freeze. Think about meatloaf, soups, chili, grilled
meats. Grilled chicken breasts are nice to have in the freezer.

It would be helpful to stock the parent's refrigerator with some easy
proteins -- boiled eggs, cooked chicken, ham, cheese -- and some easy
fruits and veggies -- grapes, baby carrots.

Tara

On Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:49:55 -0700 (PDT), Mike >
wrote:

>The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
>limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But the
>Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving the
>new parents requiring assistance.
>
>There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
>hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
>undeternined if they will be eating out or in.
>
>I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
>need to be.
>
>My initial thought is to begin cooking main dishes, seperating them
>into 4 person serving portions, vacuum packing and freezing. Immediate
>candidates are a brisket, turkey, casseroles.
>Have to supliment with salads and starch.
>
>If anyone else has gone thru this and recalls what they prepared or
>how they planned, I'd appreciate hearing about it. - Mike

Hi Mike,

Haven't gone through it, and the way my gals feel about men in general
I'm not likely to do so any time in the near future... (The 17 year
old sez "the boys at school are SO STUPID!" That's my girl!)

On topic: Sounds like you've got the right plan, though a plan that
runs two weeks of meals is likely to be appreciated by mom & dad when
they get home. Lasagna is easy to make and freezes/microwaves well.
Go heavy on the sauce for the vegetable content. Chicken/turkey divan
is pretty easy and provides a hefty portion of veggies. Enchiladas
and burritos. Shredded beef/pork in BBQ sauce for a fast sandwich
(much better if you can smoke that meat but that's a time-consumer).

Hope this helps -- Terry

"Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
. ..
> Dimitri wrote:
>>
>> If the mom is going to be nursing you should spend a few minutes looking
>> up food NoNos and YesYess for nursing moms.
>
>
> A note on this.
> The lists that you will find about not eating cabbage or hot peppers are
> guidelines, not rules. Some breastfeeding mothers find that their infants
> tolerate those foods quite well. Others find that their infants are
> sensitive to entirely different foods. It's all a matter of trying
> something, seeing if the baby gets fussy or seems to have trouble burping,
> and making adjustments from there.
>
>
> --Lia

IIRC in the olden days Chocolate was a NoNo and Beer or Ale for the Mom Was
yes Yes.

Dimitri

On Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:48:40 -0500, Terry wrote:
> Hi Mike,
>
> Haven't gone through it, and the way my gals feel about men in general
> I'm not likely to do so any time in the near future... (The 17 year
> old sez "the boys at school are SO STUPID!" That's my girl!)
>

tell your daughter to prepare herself, because most of them won't get much
smarter.

your pal,
blake

"blake murphy" > wrote
>
> tell your daughter to prepare herself, because most of them won't get much
> smarter.
>

"You're not very bright, are you? I like that in a man." Kathleen Turner to
William Hurt, in "Body Heat." Sometime in the 1980s.

On Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:49:55 -0700 (PDT), Mike >
fired up random neurons and synapses to opine:

>The Grandfather Guide book says my upcoming responsibilities will be
>limited to holding the infant (due 29th) and handing him back. But the
>Guide didn't say what to do it it turns out to be twins- leaving the
>new parents requiring assistance.
>
>There will probably be a 5 day period when the new mommy is in the
>hospital, the twins in the NICU and 3-4 folks at the house,
>undeternined if they will be eating out or in.
>
>I opened my mouth and offered to cook. But I don't know how flexible I
>need to be.

<snip>

High five, Mike! We have 1 yo twin grandsons and when we were back
east after their birth, I spent most of my time cooking. I mainly just
shooed everyone out of the kitchen for hours at a time and whipped up
stuff the new mama and daddy would be able to live off for a while,
separated into disposable double portion-sized containers: spaghetti,
beef stew, navy bean soup, meatloaf, a chicken casserole, etc. As for
the family that was either in residence or in nearby hotels, they
could either eat out or help themselves to the kitchen when I was
done, but they should keep their mitts off those disposable
containers!

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
--
"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "meatloaf" with "cox"

On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:23:55 -0700, Terry Pulliam Burd
> wrote:
>
><snip>
>
>High five, Mike! We have 1 yo twin grandsons and when we were back
>east after their birth, I spent most of my time cooking. I mainly just
>shooed everyone out of the kitchen for hours at a time and whipped up
>stuff the new mama and daddy would be able to live off for a while,
>separated into disposable double portion-sized containers: spaghetti,
>beef stew, navy bean soup, meatloaf, a chicken casserole, etc. As for
>the family that was either in residence or in nearby hotels, they
>could either eat out or help themselves to the kitchen when I was
>done, but they should keep their mitts off those disposable
>containers!
>
You sound like a mother bear, Terry. My mom was always sick with
something or other (that I didn't catch) when I had my babies. She
stayed with me as moral support (I guess), but I cooked, cleaned and
changed diapers - so I will never relate to the pampered mother
syndrome.


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

sf wrote:

> On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:23:55 -0700, Terry Pulliam Burd
> > wrote:
>
>><snip>
>>
>>High five, Mike! We have 1 yo twin grandsons and when we were back
>>east after their birth, I spent most of my time cooking. I mainly just
>>shooed everyone out of the kitchen for hours at a time and whipped up
>>stuff the new mama and daddy would be able to live off for a while,
>>separated into disposable double portion-sized containers: spaghetti,
>>beef stew, navy bean soup, meatloaf, a chicken casserole, etc. As for
>>the family that was either in residence or in nearby hotels, they
>>could either eat out or help themselves to the kitchen when I was
>>done, but they should keep their mitts off those disposable
>>containers!
>>
>
> You sound like a mother bear, Terry. My mom was always sick with
> something or other (that I didn't catch) when I had my babies. She
> stayed with me as moral support (I guess), but I cooked, cleaned and
> changed diapers - so I will never relate to the pampered mother
> syndrome.
>
>

My mom (an old school RN, BTW) came by the house several times a week
for a while after I had my daughter, supposedly to help. She stressed
me out.

She'd do things like do the laundry and count and comment on how many
t-shirts my husband owned (the guy likes t-shirts, BFD!). Load the
dishwasher wrong so things either got melted or came out still dirty.
Invite her best friend over to the house when it looked like there'd
been a tornado and I looked like something from "Night of the Living
Dead" and I'd just gotten the baby to finally take a nap, and then
expect me to roust the child so they could hold her. Tried to make my
dogs stay outside (where they barked their heads off), when what they
(and I) needed was for them to cuddle up close while I nursed the baby
so they could get used to the interloper while being reassured of their
continuing status in the household.

She also criticized my decision to breastfeed, insisting that it was
simply too much to be expected of a new mother (!), never mind the
health benefits to the child, especially given our family history of
allergies. I know what that was about, though. She was envious. *She*
wanted to feed the baby. She also tried to demand that I weigh the baby
before and after each feeding so we'd know exactly how much she'd
consumed, given that my boobs didn't come with convenient markings
showing ounces.

I know she wasn't deliberately trying to sabotage the critical
transition period in all of our lives. She was born to a different
generation with different values and ideas.

By the time my son came along I was 4 years older and wiser and I
insisted that the most helpful thing she could do was keep his big
sister for a couple of weeks while I got him settled in. And by that
time, Mom was also a lot more relaxed, seeing that my daughter had not
only survived my parenting, but was thriving.