when do you progress onto proper meals (BLW)?

[curlyLJ]

DD is 8.5 months and has sort of got the whole eating thing... Some days she will, for example, polish off the majority of a slice of toast with philly and some fruit etc. Other days, she just seems to play and nothing (or not much) goes in.

As a result I haven't really got onto 3 meals a day yet - I always give breakfast and some days we do lunch and dinner, but mostly just one or the other.

If we have something appropriate for dinner, then I usually save some for DD the next day (some roasted veggies for example) but if it's something she can't really have I usually just offer a snack. If it's lunchtime, I often just share a bit of my sarnie with her...
Sometimes I make the effort to make her an omelette or some pasta or something for tea, and she doesn't really eat it, hence the toast - which is always easier!
DH gets home too late for us to all eat together, so I usually make something for DD about 5.30ish and then we eat later.

My question is, when do you move on from 'snacky' type things like toast with a topping, a bit of fruit etc and give more balanced 'full' meals? (ie protein, carbs + veg) Should I be offering her more food now? I know it's only for fun until she's 1, but I am having one of my BLW wobbles and wonder if she is getting enough food and/or variety.

We're doing blw and DS is nearly 7 months. He has toast or fruit or cereal for breakfast. Pretty much just plays with toast and cereal though any fruit is gobbled up. I eat lunch with him and he has dinner with DD when she gets in from school. I give him what we are having. Eg, yesterday we all had salmon, new potatoes, carrots and broccoli. Just put it on his tray and he picked up the bits he wanted to eat. Other things include pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs - just slice up the meatballs. Roast dinners. Pasta and bolognase sauce (easier for him to pick up than spaghetti!). Risotto on loaded spoons. Stir fry chicken and vegetables. Sandwiches. Hard boiled eggs with bits of salad in easy to pick up shapes. Carbonara again with pasta. I also tend to offer him pudding when he seems to be getting bored with what's on his tray- either fruit or plain yoghurt mixed with soft/cooked fruit.

He tends to eat more than play if we are all having the same thing -copying!!

Hope that helps. We didn't do blw with DD so making it up as we go along!

When I did BLW I had a friend who was a nutritionist (and friend of Gill Rapley who started the whole thing). She told me that the best thing to give was protein food - chicken drumsticks v good for BLW-babies. I did find that when my DD was 10 months, she seemed to need more than just snacks and we progressed to more meals (three or four times a day). Sounds like you are now noticing your DD needs more - I'd go with your instincts and move towards more nutrient-rich foods.