How to get back on track!!??

[Aria2010]

My lo is 6 months old. Around the 4 month mark we seemed to transition naturally onto the 4 hour easy although I fed him every 3.5 - 4 hours because he's breastfed and sometimes get hungry earlier than the 4 hours. For a few weeks now his naps have deteriorated massively. He was taking a 1.5 hour nap in the morning and afternoon and then a little catnap of about 20 mins early evening. It feels like overnight he stopped this and started to only nap for about 30 minutes for his first nap and then this would throw the whole day off and now I'm in a nap mess! I've played around with his wake times putting him down between 1.5 - 2.25 hours after waking and still only get 30 minutes. I watch for his tiredness cues but it's hard because he starts them pretty soon after waking! On the 3 hour easy he was always ready to nap after exactly 1.5 hours of awake time but I just can't figure it out now. So after a few weeks of this, my routine is all off whack because he'll nap for 30 minutes in the morning and then be fussy soon after. I sometimes bring his feed forward to nearer the 3 hour mark but I'm trying not to and then I'm putting him down for another short nap because he's so tired. Some days he's having 5 naps all 30 minutes. I don't know how to get back on track during the day. His night sleeping is quite good although we are transitioning out of the swaddle these last couple of days so hasn't been as good but he sleeps from about 8pm - 8am with only one feed (I don't do the dream feed). When swaddled he was sleeping 12 hours straight - hoping to get back to that soon. Just looking for advice on how to right the wrong that is nap time!

I should also mention that I haven't tried the pick up, put down method because my baby doesn't really break out into a cry when he wakes. He either wakes and babbles or makes some moany, groany noises. I leave him and he just doesn't fall back asleep so after about 30 minutes I get him. If he does cry it's because he's been awake in his cot for some time and by that point doing pick up and put down doesn't seem to make sense. Thanks in advance!

[Conniesmummy]

Sorry I can't help really but wanted you to know you are not alone. Almost everyone, including me, that I speak to with a baby this age says the same. I believe it's a result of the changes to babies sleep at around 4 months, they now sleep like us which means they wake every 30-45 mins and have to resettle.  If they need help to settle in the first place t he y will expect this help each time they wake!
My lo self settles and sleeps all night like this, but our naps are shocking unless I lay with her, she too will only cat nap and by bedtime is ot and cranky, hence lying with her to keep everyone happy. I am in the process of trying white noise but I'm not quite convinced yet. I'm hoping that when she can stay awake longer in the day naps will start to consolidate again. It's so upsetting when you have a good napper and then not.  I wouldn't mind, my lo took forever to even settle out of my arms since birth, then around 11 weeks we seemed to crack it, only to be snatched away again at 16 weeks 
I wish there was an easy answer out there.

[Aria2010]

Thanks for the reply. Good to know I'm not the only one. I'm getting nervous because I'm returning back to work in a few weeks (3 days a week) and I desperately wanted him to be napping better and sticking to better times so that my mother-in-law (who will be watching him) would have a routine to work off. As he is so all over the place now, I fear that with the change of me going back to work that things will get worse and not better. Babies are mad - I'd LOVE it if someone tried to put me down for a nap a couple of hours after waking up! 

[Conniesmummy]

Lol, me too!! Saying that I am lying with her for some naps, but I don't sleep!
I too am worried about what will happen when I go back to work, I worry that I will come home to a mental over tired baby who won't go to bed 
My lo is going to my mum one day and daycare the other 2!
What's their problem, I love my bed!!