Need help establishing a new routine

[Kelcy]

My LO is almost 7 mos old and we have been on a 3.5 hr feeding schedule for over three months now. I feel that he is getting ready to transition to 4 hrs between feedings. I work 3 days a week and have scheduled his feedings so that I am able to nurse him 4/5 feedings on those three days. I am unable to pump at work which is why it is so important to me to be able to nurse 4/5 feedings.

Here is our current routine:

6 am:wake & nurse
8:30-9:30- cat nap
9:30: wake  & nurse (bottle 3x a week) and solids afterwards
11:30-1pm:nap
1pm:Nurse
3-4:30:nap
4:30: nurse & solids afterwards
7 pm: Nurse & bedtime

Any ideas on how I can smoothly transition to a four hour routine without having to wake him up and start his day at 5 am??

[Fiver]

So, are you looking to keep the same number of feeds, but just stretch the intervals between feeds?

If so, it may be that you end up with a 6, 10, 2, 5, 7 sort of pattern that you might need to tweak a bit towards the end of the day.

[Kelcy]

I'm not sure if he's ready to drop a feed quite yet. But the hard part about our routine/feeding schedule is that I can't pump while at work. I am able to leave on my lunch and feed him at one. I have been struggling with low supply issues because of working (missing feedings) so I really don't want to change his schedule so much that I can't feed him at one pm. I'm not quite sure how to keep this. 

[Fiver]

If you don't think he's ready to drop a feed, why do you think he's ready to move to a longer gap between feeds, if you don't mind me asking?

[Kelcy]

He's six and a half months, and has been having a rough time nursing lately. He's normally a very distracted nurser and has started teething. We had a week where he wanted to nurse fifteen+ times a day. I felt like we had gotten back on track but there are feedings or days where i can barely get him to nurse a full feed. He will suck a few times and stop for a minute or two and repeat that a few times and then refuse to eat.

[Fiver]

Teething can mess things around quite a lot :-/

[Kelcy]

So you think he should be fine if I continue on our usual schedule the best I can? and how long does teething last?!

[Fiver]

If you're working around having to come out of work at a particular time to nurse, I'm not sure what your other options would be, to be honest
As for teething, it can take a while for them to erupt, but they cause issues rumbling about under the gum line.  If it were me, I'd try to offer some sort of pain relief as appropriate before feeds (whether that be paracetamol or some sort of topical application such as a gel) to try to help ease any discomfort from teething and hope that will help with a more concentrated feed.

[Kelcy]

 I will give the pain reliever a try. I know he's not ready to drop a feed yet because he has been up to eat during the night for the past few nights, which he hasn't done too much of since 3 months old.  Thanks so much for your help!!

[Fiver]

Good luck