Something that our friends often do for one another when they have a baby is deliver a hot meal to the new parents' house. When Jerry and I had Gardner our friends got a us a gift card to the grocery store, which was incredibly thoughtful! This time, however, we had two different people deliver hot meals to our house. The first was the Monday after Caitiejane arrived home and I can't tell you how grateful we were to have a hot meal ready! Knowing that we didn't have to cook a meal that first night was the biggest blessing.
I didn't realize how wonderful this was until hot food arrived at our door. Adjusting to life as new parents can be incredibly difficult. You go from uncomfortable sleeping as a VERY pregnant woman, to not sleeping more than 2 or 3 hours at a time. Talk about being hit with a ton of bricks. This drastic change can shake you to the core. I know it did me when I had Gardner.
This time around I had to adjust to having two kids. So while I was used to being sleep deprived already, life with two kids was certainly a change too. Naps are few and far between and to get two kids sleeping at the same time can be a challenge.
In addition, Jerry opted not to take paternity leave and instead went back to work the day Caitiejane was born. We were both exhausted by the time we got home from the hospital, and now we were parents of two kids. The hot meal was a life saver.
A few days later we had another hot meal delivered to our door, which was just so amazing!
I encourage anyone that are new parents to accept any offer of a hot meal and those that know new parents, take over a pan of lasagna or pork chops, mashed potatoes, and salad, or anything you can whip up in your kitchen. Trust me it will be appreciated.
Thanks to those that brought us meals during the first few weeks we had Caitiejane! You don't understand how much it meant to our family!