EASY?

[Onelead]

Hi. I think I need lots of help with my lo's EASY.

He was doing great for the first 2 months but then started waking after 45 min naps. I was slow to realize he needed more A time and we've had difficulty ever since. He's 6 mo. old now! After reading Tracy's last book I was determined to fix the sleep problem but after camping out for over 2 mo. in lo's room, endless pu/pds, and still an overtired, cranky, hard to read baby I suspect there might be a problem with his routine...or many problems. Here's his EASY:

A 5? (He begins to stir around 4ish the sometime between 5 and 5:30 he wakes and plays in his crib for nearly an hour at which point he calls for me. Trying the books recommendation I've tried pu/pd and wake to sleep to extend to 7 but he rarely falls back to sleep.) He used to wake around 6:30. Do I just roll with the routine starting at any time he wakes?
E 7am
A 7:30- Drop big brother off at school
S 9-10:30
E 11
A 11:30
S 12:30-1 or maybe 1:15 (Am I putting him down too early? He seems soooo tired and is usually fussing quite a bit at this point)
A Stroller walk then pick big brother up from school- lo's usually very cranky at this point but it passes into hyperness
E 3-3:20 (Feeds become more distracted as day progresses- flailing arms and legs)
A pick up daddy from work
S catnap 4:30-5 or maybe 5:15
A 5:30/45 bath, jammies (No time for a book. He's usually screaming at this point and it's a mad dash to bed.)
E 6:15/30
S Sometimes he'll drop off as he's eating, if he doesn't it could be an hour more of crying as he struggles to get to sleep

I cut the df because he kept waking when I'd pick him up. The first time I did it he slept until 7, the next night until 6, and the third, until 7. After than it was back to 5am. He doesn't seem to need the df, but then again, he's so difficult to read when he's this tired.

My whole day begins to crash after the first nap. My once angle baby lo is miserable (not to mention the rest of my family who feels at the will of the babe). We never know what to expect. I don't know how I'll ever squeeze lunch and dinner time into the mix. I can't even accomplish tasks like showering, cleaning and grocery shopping. Surely I have EASY wrong... Is it possible to juggle family's schedule and baby's too?

Thanks

[HeatherC]

Well, if he is waking at 5 am or earlier, and then having his nap at 9, is it possible that he is overtired by then?  I think at 5 months, 2 hrs of A time (total time of being awake, not just activity time) is a reasonable amount.  I realize that you've tried to extend his mornings.  I think you should try giving the df again.  My dd was awake when I gave it to her, and then she went right back in the crib.  My other thought was to try and delay his bedtime in hopes of resetting his clock and moving everything forward again so that you can achieve a later morning wake up.  That being said, since he tends to be cranky in the evening, you might have to throw in an extra catnap.  I believe his nap trouble may be due to overtiredness, so hopefully that will start to fall into place with a little tweaking of his routine.
I don't think 12:30 is too early for his 2nd nap.  I think it's right on track, but since that nap is so short, his next nap needs to be earlier.  That might help with the fussy evenings.  Otherwise, you should try to extend his nap with pu/pd.
Let me know if any of this helps.