4.5 month old - 3 or 4 hour EASY?

[blueberry7]

Hello,

My LO is 4.5 months old.  He is doing alright on a 3 hour EASY.  His EASY schedule looks something like this:

7am - E
A - stays awake for 1.25 to 1.5 hrs
8:15 - S for 1.5 to 1.75 hrs

10 - E
A - stays awake for 1.5 hrs
11:30 - S for 40 minutes to 1.5 hrs

1 - E
A - stays awake for 1.5 hrs
2:30 - S for 40 minutes to 1.5 hrs

4 - E
A - stays awake for 1.5 hrs
5:30/6 - S for 40 minutes

7 - E
bedtime routine and falls asleep between 8:30 to 9pm (we try to put him to bed earlier, but he struggles quite a bit and finally drops off at 9pm)

He can sleep 10 hours at night.  We do not dreamfeed him because he has quite a bit of reflux so it has not worked well for us.

As you can see, he is taking 3 1.5 hr naps plus a catnap.  Do I need to move him to a 4 hour EASY because he is 4 months old?  My concern is that with a 4 hour EASY he will only be eating 4 times a day (since that is how many feedings I can fit into his awake time) and I cannot give him an extra ounce at each feed to make up for the 5th feeding because he has reflux.  If the 3 hour EASY is working ok, can we stick to it and just have him nap more?  BTW, is the 3 hour EASY a reason for his short naps?

Thanks!

[Buttonbobs]

Hi there, it does seem to me like you are getting signs that he is ready to move towards a longer EASY as the shorter naps are a sign of needing longer A times. You're seem to still be getting a good solid first nap so why not stretch that second A time by ten/fifteen minutes to see if a later second nap will get you a longer nap.

As for the feeding, the move from 3-4 hour EAS is a gradual one but it is best not to ignore the signs as it can lead to difficulty finding the right routine in a few weeks. If you change gradually the change to feeding is less likely to be a problem for your DS as it will also happen gradually.

Just move that second nap later first and the feed after that nap will naturally move a little later too and see how you get on.