help with my schedule please

[purplestar]

Hi , my lo is 5 months old and our schedule is abit random (in part due to 45 min naps ) at the moment it is like this
7am wake , feed
7:30-8 activity time
8-8:30 dressed and washed
830- 8:45 wind down time
9 nap (45 mins)
10am feed
10:15-11:15 activity time
11:15 apple juice drink
11:30 wind down time
11:45/12 nap (30-40 mins)
rest of feeds - 1 / 4  (he will usually take a couple more catnaps during afternoon but as we are often out they are really freebies)
bath/bottle/bed starting 6:45 for 7:30 bedtime
So as you can see my schedule is screwy and afternoons have no schedule. Ive been aiming to stay at home during the mornings and go out and run errands etc in the afternoons. Im willing to change my daily structure if anyone has any suggestions as to what might work better for LO.
Ive found trying actively to change the 45 min naps very stressful (in part because ive had pnd) but would love it if he took 2 longers daily naps
Ella

[mc]

Is there a reason you are still feeding every 3 hours?  I think at 5 months you should transition to 4 hour EASY.  In my very little experience, when my lo's sleeping has been off, he has needed a change in routine.  I would try that first.  After a week, if there is no change, I would try to extend A time in hopes of very sleepy baby.
Melissa

[hatshetsut]

I agree with mc, you should be on a 4 hour EASY rather than a 3. Generally 45 min naps are because they either 1. need more A time, or 2. Haven't learned to self soothe and transition for one sleep cycle to the next.  Generally, your EASY should look like

7 - wake/eat
9 - nap
11 - eat
1 - nap
3 - eat
5 - cat nap
7 - eat/bed

If you feel that your LO is tired and ready for a nap you can try doing wake 2 sleep to help him transition on to the next sleep cycle and take longer naps. You can also do PU/PD to extend naps as well.

[purplestar]

hi , thanks for your advice , the reason im still feeding 3 hourly is cos thats when my lo demands ( and im mean demands) it. He is normally a happy easy going baby but when hes hungry theres no arguing and theres no way I could extend to 4 hourly.
This being the case does anyone have any suggestions for a schedule ?
Ella

[mc]

Hi Ella.  How much is he eating at each feeding?  Maybe you could start by extending to 3.5 hours b/n feedings and then in a few weeks try to go to 4 hours. 
Melissa

[purplestar]

Hi he eats 7 ounces each feeding , and if I tried to extend the time he would scream for the entire half an hour extra , in fact sometimes its hard to make him go three hours

[mc]

Hi Ella.  Sorry for the delay.  I've had computer troubles.  Have you introduced solids, yet.  Sounds like your lo is getting as much liquids as his little belly will hold, but he is still hungry.  I think this is one of those special cases where BW would recommend starting solids early.
Mel

[hatshetsut]

Also how long is his current A time?

[purplestar]

Hi , im going to be introducing solids next week (when he will be 5.5 months so nearly there) and perhaps that will make a big difference. The reason I didnt do this sooner is that although his feeding was three hourly he was sleeping through 7 till 7 with no dreamfeed from around 4 months so I figured hey hes getting all 5 feeds in during the day and I get the night off so lets just go with that. Hope that wasnt too selfish of me. My current schedule is
7am wake/nappy change/feed/dressed
9am nap
9:40 wake
10 feed
12 nap
12:30/45 wake
1 feed
3 nap
3:30/40 wake
4 feed
7bottle/bath/bed
so as you can see its a nice little schedule (obviously this is an example of a good day) which works for us but I worry that hes not getting enough nap sleeps. I also worry that as he gets older its going to be hard for us to consolidate into two then one naps (when should this be happening btw?). As well as the obvious nothing can be achieved in 40 mins.
Ella

[hatshetsut]

My general rule of thumb is if the baby sleeps only 30 mins or less they are over tired. If they sleep 45 min or so, they are probably under tired. Try extending his A time after the feeds and see if he sleeps longer. You can start by just adding 5 min or so at a time and see how it goes.