How to implement a routine?

[lottie198]

I'd love some sort of routine with my baby but I find it impossible as he is SO unpredictable. Anyone have any advice how to implement a routine?
He goes to bed at different times each night (despite my best effort), he wakes up at different times a day. Some nights he wakes 2-3 times, others it's hourly. His naps are atrocious. He's always been a terrible sleeper. On a good nap day he will have an hour and a half in the morning and hour in the afternoon. On a bad day he will have just one 30 minute nap. I've tried everything to help him nap and only contact napping on the bed works. He's very interested in everything and doesn't want to miss out so won't nap in the pram or even the car. We are weaning and I offer breakfast and dinner at the moment - most of which gets smeared around. He's breast fed on demand (about 4-5 hourly).
I just feel so drained from zero routine. We get out and about a lot so I understand it's not always possible but I'd like to aim at least to have the same bed time each night (roughly/ an hour give or take).
Here's an example-
One day he may have 2 naps and go to bed at 730pm- awake a few times in the night, another day he might fight sleep and not nap and go to bed at 9ish and wake 8 times a night. I try soo hard to get him to nap when he's not over tired. I do think he has low sleep needs but it's clear that I have very high ones as I'm always sooo tired🤣
He's just turned 7 months.
ANY help would be appreciated !

Look at the advice on Takingcarababies. I was able to implement a schedule using her program and its worked really well for us (and made it so baby slept through the night).

Work out how long roughly he needs awake between naps, and then start the day at the same time every day. If he's on two naps, a good routine is 2/3/4 so wake at 7, nap at 9 for an hour ish, wake at 10ish, nap at 1ish for another hour or more, wake around 2 or 3ish, bedtime at 7ish.

Have you thought about sleep training?

Thank you I'll try this. He's just so unpredictable.
I have thought about sleep training out of desperation but really don't want to leave him to cry so it's not really an option. Not even sure if it would work. He's very high energy , spirited baby x

Honestly you're much better off doing it now than putting up with shit sleep for another 3 months and then giving in and doing it then.

Set the routine around things you can control.

So, wake him up at a set time in the morning. Give him his milk/ breakfast (it doesn't matter if he eats it or not, that's up to him).

Then put down for nap one approx 2 hours later. Doesn't matter if he doesn't nap straight away, but try and settle him.

Then milk/food at a set time.

Then nap two.

And so on.

Finishing with a good bedtime routine and down to bed at a set time.

At each point it doesn't matter what he does, if he doesn't feel like eating that much or sleeping straight away that's fine, but the routine is set and before too long he will start to get on board with it.

Keep the timings a bit flexible, don't fall into the trap of thinking it has to be dead on a set time, just keep it around half hour or so where possible.

Not sure how I can sleep train when he feeds multiple times a night. I feel like he needs the feeds because he doesn't feed loads in the day and hardly eats any solids. Sleep training to me would be ignoring his needs. What if he's crying because he's hungry?
I just don't know.

Thanks for your response.
Okay I will try this.. it's a bit difficult with him as I do try and get him to sleep and half the time he just rolls around the bed. He won't sleep in his cot either xx

By 7 months my day could finally be recognized as having a vague routine. Write yourself an age appropriate routine and then try and follow it. Don't be rigid about it - baby is still very little! Just go with the flow and after a month or two you may find baby is following the plan very nicely