Please tell me about your routines/nap times etc

[allchik]

Hi,my daughter is 3 months today. She is a pretty good sleeper and quite a settled baby overall. I'm keen to get a bit of structure to her day and establish morning and nighttime routines (although I'm well aware these will need to be flexible as she is still so little)
from a few weeks back i noticed she naturally wakes up in a really energetic mood (anytime from 6am-8am)so I feed her then let her kick about on her mat where she coos and giggles to herself quite happily....she starts to get grizzly a couple oh hrs later so I put her down for a nap, 90% of the time she will go straight off if not I use cc (controversial I know but it's never for long and if she starts really sobbing I go straight to her)...she then normally wakes after 45mins/1hr....I would then feed her again and after about another 2hrs she would have a lengthily afternoon nap 3hrs easily...but then the rest of the day would be all over the place....feeding erratic,lots of snacking etc. my hubby would normally stay up till 12/1 with her to do the last feed (she's ff) and then she woul normally need a night feed anytime from 3-5am)
So.....
I read a few books,spoke to some friends and tried a few things. For 10days I did the gina ford routine. I know lots of people really hate her methods but to be fair the day routine was v similar to daughters routine anyway. On the plan she did actually have a real structured day...got sleepy dead on 9am and 12pm,stopped snacking and slept 10.30-7,fab, BUT on the days she didn't sleep at right times cus I was off out etc she was up all night really grizzly.....so think I need something a bit more flexible, but want to keep the 7am wake up and 7pm nightime etc........
So to cut a very long story short, those of you that follow rough routines,what do they look like?
My main concern is nap time....some books say its norm for 3month olds to have 3/4 naps a day up to 5/6 hours, others say they should only have 2.....also what's the latest you would allow nap time if you want your baby to start winding down close to 7? Do u wake them or let them wake naturally?
I hope I don't come across as a manual parent! I am in tune with her cues and will of course put her needs before my wants I just want to keep some kind of structure to her day and would love to hear what other mums are doing...

So please share.....thank you very much :)

[Rororowmeboat]

Hi my DS was breast fed and would need a sleep every 1.5-2hrs but would only sleep for 45 mins stretches until he was 5 months.

Every baby is different and they are growing and changing so much at this stage I would really just go with the flow rather than a strict routine (although I think routine is easy with bottle fed).

I do like routine though so I used the very flexible baby whisperer one of EASY - eat, activity, sleep, you time.

Every baby (& mum) is different though so some slot nicely into a routine others don't

[Rororowmeboat]

Also forgot to say the main routine I implemented was a bedtime routine - bath, feed, bed. Always in bed for 7pm and still do it now 18 months old xx

[mummy2benji]

I have let both my dc's form their own routine - which they both have, from around 4 months. Dd2 is now 5 months and sleeps from 9.30 / 10pm till 7.30am, has 5 formula feeds 3 hourly during the day (the bedtime feed is usually after 2 1/2 hours) and she naps reliably around 9.30am, early afternoon, and late afternoon / early evening. Her early afternoon nap is the longest, up to 1 1/2 hours, the other two naps are maybe 30 mins. She has to be flexible as ds1 is in preschool which varies weekly between mornings and afternoons, so we do the school run at different times. She adapts fine and will also sleep in the car. Personally, I would hate to have such a rigid routine that we couldn't go out for day trips, or for lunch. With formula fed babies you can introduce more regular feeding times though, rather than feeding on demand, and they usually accept that and it will help you feel like you have a bit more routine. 3-4 hourly depending on how quickly your baby gets hungry. Closer to 3 hourly means you get closer to an early (ish) bedtime though which helps.

[allchik]

Thank you both, just relaxed it all yesterday and felt soooooo much better and dd had a lovely long night sleep!
A relaxed routine is def best for us xxx