When a woman is pregnant, the old cliché about eating for two applies. No matter how athletic or petite she is, the mother-to-be is expected to stuff her face with anything calorific within arm’s length for her entire term.

Once the birth is over and the last of the congratulatory chocolate has been devoured, the long road back to pre-pregnancy weight must be traversed. Meanwhile, the hope is that your pride and joy gains weight as fast as you manage to lose it.

The little man was a model of efficiency in this regard, willingly opening his cute, tiny mouth for whatever we chose to allow him to eat. Anything was appealling. One new food per week in case of allergic reaction: it was as easy as (pastry-free) pie.

Or not. The once-foolproof eating habits of Jasper are a thing of the past. He has now become, for want of a better word, a slightly fussy eater.

Texture has always been an issue. Anything stringy or chunky has JD gagging in a manner sure to win him nominations if anybody dedicates an Oscar to Best Pre-school Supporting Actor. The only problem with this theory is, we’re not sure if he’s capable of pretending to dislike something in order to get us to offer him something more palatable.

Ignoring these signs is a bit of a risk. Right at the start of his first trans-Atlantic flight, we found ourselves with little option but to feed him from dreaded jars of prepared baby food – our preference being for small amounts of freshly-cooked adult food, preferably organic, blended for the boy.

Jasper began his gagging routine in the airport departures lounge and we decided it was better to make sure he wasn’t going to go hungry. Sure enough, 30 seconds later we were covered in foul-smelling chicken casserole vomit, the exact colour and consistency of salmon mousse.

The frustration sets in when a meal he was fine with a week, maybe even a day before, suddenly tops the gag list. Certain favourites never meet with this reaction: pineapple and blueberries in oatmeal being his all-time best dessert, and we all know how dessert is the best part of any meal.

For now, he has to eat and grow, but Carolina and I are bracing ourselves for the dinnertime battles that seem destined for our future! Sleep well.

Return to the Jasper's Dad archive menu