Once you have kids, delivery has a whole new meaning, purpose and value.  The first delivery is usually the most painful, but once you get used to the whole process it’s a breeze.  And, no, I’m not talking about the hospital, birth center, home birth, water birth kind…I do mean food delivery.  It’s new, you might not be familiar with the website or system, there may be a fee, it’s not how your mother shopped, but you’ll see that there is a time and place for delivery…you’re worth it!

First of all, there are several types of delivery service.  I am typically a Whole Foods shopper, but I recognize that grocery chains now carry more natural and organic foods.  I love to shop locally whenever possible and there is a new delivery service that I am eager to try that will help with that.  You’ll find that at different stages of your life as a parent you’ll be interested in different services.  There are the classic grocery chain delivery services, and more recently there are some exciting and new delivery options. This week is all about these options and we’ll start with the basics.

Peapod is a service that I used a handful of times after my children were born.  I think sleep deprivation, recovering from the most important delivery in your life- your child, and caring for a newborn are individually reason-enough to warrant paying for a delivery service.  The first time I did, I also received coupons for the next four or five deliveries so it really was not a bad value.  In addition, one can shop more efficiently because the sales and coupons are all listed together, and can be browsed quickly. More importantly, you have until midnight the day before delivery to make changes and additions.   If you run out of wipes at 11:30 p.m. you can add them to your order!  You’re driving home in the snow and the salty slushy mess on your windshield won’t come off because your wiper fluid is gone, no big deal, add it to the list.  Peapod has a fuel surcharge whenever the price of gas is over $2.75.

This is not a service I would use regularly but for the first couple of months of parenthood it was worth it. The groceries are brought up to your kitchen and if you’ve had threedays of pouring rain and it’s not stopping soon this might be a good time to place another order.

Roche Bros. also does delivery for $9.95.  This is the same as Peapod if you don’t have a $100 minimum grocery bill but it’s easy to get to $100 with diapers, wipes, windshield wiper fluid, etc. Someone has to be home for delivery, but with a newborn (especially your first) this is usually not a problem.

Coming up next:  organic delivery, local farm-fresh delivery, and the NAP delivery service.

Bon appetit. ttyl your BFF (Boston Family Foodie).

For more info: The website for Peapod is:www.peapod.com/ .  The website for Roche Bros. delivery service is: shop.rochebros.com/.