3 month old fighting the cat nap

[Russelllaura399]

Hello! Brand new to the site- so please let me know if I'm posting this in wrong section! My 3 month old has been on an easy routine (below) for 1 month now. He sleeps well during most day time naps and during night. He is put in crib awake and for the most part sooths himself to sleep. My challenge is the catnap! He is OBVIOUSLY tired- uncomfortable in every position, fussy, etc.- when we try to put him down, he does 1 of 2 things.... A) lays in crib wide awake kicking legs vigorously making lots of sounds but not unhappy or b) screams wildly no matter what strategy we gave tried (shh pat included) at this point we haven't tried alternate locations for cat nap (swing, carrier, etc) it's pretty apparent he's overstimulated as in either case a or b his limbs are FLAILING. The lack of nap really makes bath and bedtime not do enjoyable as he is way overtired. Suggestions on changes to routine or strategies for cat nap appreciated!!
Easy-
7 eat
7:30-8:30 ish activity
8:45-10 sleep
10 eat
10:30-11:30 ish activity
11:45-1 sleep
1 eat
1:30-2:30 activity
2:45-4 sleep
4 eat
4:30-5:30 activity
5:45.... This is the dreaded catnap!!
7 eat
7:30 bath
7:45 bed
Wakes on own at 1 and 4 for feeding
I exclusively pump and feed bottled bm

[*Kara*]

Welcome -

Is he just 3 months or closer to 4 months?  Noticing that his naps are shorter than ideal and thinking he might be OT..

Here is a link to typical A times based on age:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.0

[lpperry]

Hi! I found you while I was checking my recent post!

Her baby is just turned 3 months.

Like the PP said was getting at-- You could try shortening the A times just a bit so that he is awake 1 hour and 20-30 minutes instead of 1 hour and 45 minutes. That might help him sleep closer to an hour and 1/2 instead of an hour and 15 minutes. He might be sleeping only an hour and 15 minutes because he wakes up hungry. If you put him for a nap earlier, he might sleep longer because his eating time won't coincide with his sleep time. 

I do think that the catnaps are just hard. I have never had luck with a crib catnap even with my best sleeper. I always had to find a backup plan for the catnap (like a swing). Doing APOP (accidental parenting on purpose) for the catnap never created problems for crib naps. It just allowed the kids to get a quick nap so they could be happy for the evening and have an easier time getting to bed.

Good luck!