14-week-old only takes 45 minute naps

[marinewife12]

Hello, all! My 14-week-old baby is currently on a pretty good 3-hour EASY routine. He wakes up around 7:30am, eats 8oz of formula (he's exclusively formula-fed), and is awake for about 1.5 hours. He goes down for a nap fairly easily (10-15 minutes), then sleeps for 45 minutes.

The problem is that he won't sleep longer than 45 minutes at any given nap. I've tried shush/pat to extend his naps, but he wakes up completely happy and is fully alert at 45 minutes. Since he's happy when he wakes, I've been doing quiet play until his next E at around 10:30. The cycle continues throughout the day, and he never takes longer than a 45-minute nap. When he wakes from his last nap of the day around 6:30pm, he eats, then we do bath and bedtime routine, and he's in bed by 7:30-8:00pm. He sleeps all night (from 8pm to 7:30am) without waking.

So here's a breakdown of our daily routine:
E: 7:30 (8oz)
A: 7:45
S: 9:00
wakes at 9:45, quiet play
E: 10:30 (8oz)
A: 11:00
S: 12:00
wakes at 12:45, quiet play
E: 1:30 (8oz)
A: 2:00
S: 3:00
wakes at 3:45, quiet play
E: 4:30 (8oz)
A: 5:00
S: 6:00
E: 6:30 (8oz)
A: 7:00 (bath, bedtime routine)
S: 7:30-8:00

Is it possible that he just doesn't need longer naps during the day? He's always very happy when he wakes up. I watch him very closely for signs of being OT during the day, but he's happy until right before I put him down for his next nap. Should I even try to extend his naps since he doesn't appear to be OT? And if so, any suggestions about how?

[creations]

Hello and welcome to BW.
I am amazed your LO is not showing signs of OT!
Personally I'd say if he is happy and sleeping well at night then continue with the routine you have until such point where you see signs that things need to change (for example crankiness in the day or disturbed nights).

A couple of things you may not be aware of, worth keeping in mind
Is my baby ready to increase his ‘A’ time? (incl. 'A' times for younger babies)
this link gives guidance A times for age.  You may not realise that you are giving your LO 2hr 15min A time which is more usually suited to a 5 to 6 month old.  Activity time is any time that LO is awake so begins as soon as he wakes from that 45 min nap and includes any quiet play, any feeding time, nappy changes as well as play time.  The vast majority of 14 week old babies would be extremely OT on this length of A time even after a long nap, some how your LO is managing on this long A time after a short nap.  It's unusual (I've never seen it) but like I said if your routine is working then I would likely stay with it until evidence of needing to change.

Here's another link about sleep, if you scroll down you will see a note about short naps
Typical Amounts of Day and Night Sleep
From the information you've given I would say your LO is a short napper because he handles the short naps well, remains happy and sleeps great at night.  This is the first time I've seen one on BW forums.  It might be worth looking up the example in BW Solves All Your Problems if you have that book.

I think the important thing here is that BW is a routine based method responding to LO's needs.  It looks to me like you are achieving that and have worked out a predictable routine that is working for you and LO which is great