Any suggestions for a bedtime routine please, 16wk old BF.

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I am after some help with a bedtime routine please, well actually his whole nighttime sleeping... OK i'll try and get all the info into this post. I would be really grateful for any suggestions, please be as specific as poss!!

My 16 week DS is BF. Currently bedtimes goes like this:
5:30-6 DH takes him into nursery and changes his nappy and puts on PJs and sleeping bag. Takes about 20mins as they have a 'chat' on the changing table. I then feed him to sleep with the nightlight on. I then transfer him to his cot.

Until a few weeks ago we would be done by 7:30/8pm and he would then sleep until 10:30-12ish.
However recently he has been really difficult to transfer to his cot, he either wakes when I lift him or as soon as I put him in he will startle himself awake. Also he is now waking after about an hour, and will wake anything between 1 and 4 hours until about 7am. Last night he woke 5 times between 7:30pm and 9am. I'm certainly not expecting him to sleep 12 hrs straight at this age but would like to try and get some good blocks of sleep in (for him and me!). He has slept 7 hrs straight a few times before so I know he is capable of it.

I'm not sure about adding a bath to bedtime as he enjoys it when he's in but he really screams when I get him out, so it doesn't seem very relaxing.
Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance.

According to the sleep experts, a baby's sleep pattern changes as they get older and eventually become more like adults. Many believe that babies go through sleep regressions at various stages and 4 months is a common one. You may want to google '4 month sleep regression' and see what comes up?

The other thing to consider is that their overall sleep needs change as they grow in the first year quite dramatically. A 16 week old will probably need a different amount of sleep during the day to a newborn, although all babies are different and some are very sleepy/wakeful irrespective of age.

I would say that teaching him to self-settle is something you can do now, which will include not feeding him to sleep/rocking/walking up and down with him. If he nods off during his feed, gently stir him so he is still partially awake and put him down like that. Tuck him in firmly so he can't wake himself up by thrashing around and you may want to put on a mobile or song (we used the tunes off the monitor which my DD loved).

What does his daytime routine look like? Frequent waking after bedtime can often be caused by being overtired. What time is his last nap before bedtime? He may benefit from going down earlier to avoid becoming overtired.

Hi Loveis thanks for your response. I've read about the 4month sleep regression so it could be that. But to be fair, you're right, I think he is overtired (from a combination of waking do frequently and not enough daytime maps). I also think we need to get him to self soothe.
At least if we can achieve those two things it will put us in a better position for any upsets (teething/growth spurts etc).

We don't really have set nap times. He tends to need to go down an hour after he's woken, then again at about 11:30 ish but it is really variable as to how long he'll sleep for. He'll then have a nap about 4:30-5. I think it's probably too long between the lunchtime and afternoon nap?

I have tried putting him in his cot awake for naps as soon as I see him yawn but he'll start crying. I feel 16wks is too young to leave him to cry so I would be grateful for any tips on how to transition from asleep on me to putting him down awake. I guess I'll need several steps...