Question on how routines work...

[SpringTime2023]

Hello

I'd like to get my 4 month old into a daytime routine, and have a schedule based on their ideal wake window times etc.

However, most of the 'naps' are 1.5 hours long... How do you follow a routine if baby doesn't sleep for that long? As it surely then throws everything out for the rest of the day?

My DC averages 1 hour, sometimes just 45 mins!

The reason I'd like a routine is that they've become very cranky and I'd like to think getting a regular sleep time mean their overall sleep pattern and mood becomes easier / better. At the moment I just follow wake windows and it feels a bit haphazard for everyone.

Bedtime is the same time every day, and wake up is within 45 mins of the same time.

Thanks

Start by making a note of your days as they happen now and look at what works and what doesn't.
You can then begin to nudge things into place to create a better routine.
Ime, routines are constantly evolving and include a number of plan b/plan c scenarios.

Follow your own routine. Soon enough your baby will be napping / feeding around the same time each day anyway

2 of mine settled into longer naps at 5 months (my eldest much later). I didn't really try too hard on a routine until that hapenned. Once it did, there was an obvious pattern to when they were tired and when they had short/long naps. That became out routine (with a bit of nudging to fit in for into school run etc).

Getting a small baby into a routine that doesn't suit them is a lot of work. You can do it, but you're pushing a boulder up a hill. In a month or so their natural rhythm will be clearer and I've found that a very easy time to introduce routine.

Babies are individuals just like adults. Yes, there are common patterns but they don't have exactly the same needs so routines from books /websites may not suit without tweaking.

Thank you all. I'd recorded their sleep and feed, but after midday it seems to go a bit awry, with a 3-hr gap followed by a long nap later in PM with multiple feeds in between, otherwise there are big tears! Trying to even out the naps, but having a few problems getting DC to sleep earlier - which I guess is then causing this big PM nap need when overtired. Hopefully it'll just fall into place as they get older.

I didn't worry about wake windows or set naptimes. From 3 months we got up at the same time every day and went to bed at the same time. I provided opportunities for a nap during the day - in the sling or pushchair in the morning and at home in cot or Moses basket in the afternoon.
At six months we introduced 3 meals a day and found this meant we'd pretty much got a routine with rice fixed points a day in terms of times.
It wasn't until we got into the second year that we got to a predictable lengthy nap a day.

I just went by what baby wanted. As soon as she showed a tired sign, I’d put her down for a nap. She only ever does one sleep cycle, 45 mins. After a short time, the tired signs were at the same time every day, and hey presto, you’ve got a routine. I gave bottles during the wake windows, woke up at the same time every day, and went to bed at the same time too. I have a dog, so I need to take her out in the morning, so a morning walk has become part of our routine too.

Apologies if you've already figured this out, but it took me a while to realise we were out of the newborn stage and that I could introduce things that weren't feeding and sleeping.
Singing, playing, reading stories, going for a walk etc are all worth trying to fill a cranky gap, and build in to your routine.