A fussy two-year-old and a (small) success story

[NotQuiteCockney]

For the last year or so, my DS2 has been quite difficult about food. He will eat plain carb. He will eat cake etc. He will eat fruit. He will eat some meet. But he does his level best to not eat vegetables.

But over the last month or so, he's started to climb his step ladder in the kitchen, and eat raw ingredients. He now likes raw carrot, and red pepper, cooked or raw. He likes tofu now, too.

And the other day he put some lettuce in his mouth! Ok, he spat it back out and said 'yucky!', but I don't think he's put lettuce in his mouth before. And he finally understood me when I said 'you need to eat some more pasta to have dessert', and he ate the pasta!

This is a great relief to me, because he's been wearing me out. I know he's quite a good eater for a two-year-old, but I'm sure his brother was better.

I've just been ignoring how much it annoys me, offering lots of food, letting him have bread with meals (to dip in things, like pasta ), and just keeping cool.

The fat duck is pretty hard to book, tbh - it took DH months to get a place, and that was with some weirdo concierge service (belonging to a friend) calling them every day!

In our house, DS1 mostly eats apples. DS2 was on apples, too, but has moved to pears, and always eats bananas. Mangos are very popular (and although frieghted, aren't necessarily sent by air - ours come by boat) with them both. Oh, and DS1 likes kiwis, and blood oranges.

Yes, it does get booked up. I think lunch is better especially if you go on a random day, like tuesday or something. My BIL just got in on the day he was down there. His boss was a regular though, so that probably helped. I suppose the best thing is just to go when they can get us in. We stayed at a hotel in Edinburgh for DH's birthday last year and I had to book up nearly a year in advance!

DS eats grapes. Maybe I should try kiwis again, DS used to love them from being weaned until about 3. I would cut them half and spoon them into his mouth which was open like a little bird - before all this BLW thing took off, although kiwi might be a bit slippy for a baby to grab.

and nqc, if my ds eats it I don't care if it has come from Mars! Did you read recently that eating Organic food is worse for the environment ridiculous if you ask me!!!!!!

We tell Ds that he is only not allowed to not like a set number of things (actual number a bit vague to suit our purposes) and if he wants to start not liking something, he has to readmit something else. So fine, don't eat mushrooms, but you have to start eating tomatoes.

Bizarrely it seems to work (he's 5).

It's funny how bizarre things work with kids!

The baby monkey has eaten most of today's lunch. We had corned Beef hash from Tana Ramsey's cookbook (which is a great book and I use it all the time so if you don't have it - buy it!!), peas, a bread stick, blackberries, blueberries, and a yoghurt. And then a smoothie (which was mine but he nicked it) made with frozen red berries,frozen raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and pomegranate and apple juice. He had no snacks this morning so I was hoping he'd be hungry. He did have to feed me quite a bit but he let me feed him at the same time. No more snacks today and hopefully we'll have a decent dinner too! Fingers crossed!!!!

My 2 year old is a pretty good eater, but won't eat certain vegetables - broccolli and lettuce and spinach. He eats tomatoes and carrots and beans and celery and eats lots of other foods besides so I try not to worry about it - after all he is eating a varied diet like yours NQC, and I don't like all foods myself! I reckon that some things are just acquired tastes and if I force the issue (say with the broccolli) he will make it a matter of principle NOT to eat it rather than just a taste that he has to grow into.