Frequent feeds to help sleep?

[Sipperskipper]

My little girl is 8 weeks today. Last weight was 11lb6 2 weeks ago. She has been formula fed for the last 3 weeks after switching from EBF. She is swaddled for night sleep & any sleep in cot (we have a next to me snuzpod). I wind her well after each feed & get a decent burp.

I'm trying to follow EASY & aim for 3 hourly daytime feeds. Our current day (very roughly, it varies) looks like this:

0530- awake- encouraged to settle back to sleep with dummy
0600- fell back to sleep
0730 - woke up- dressed & nappy change
0800- Feed (3.5oz)
0820- talking/ playing
0845- fell asleep in bouncy chair - stirred but I managed to extend nap
1045- awake & feed (3oz)
1115- nappy change, went for dog walk in pram - slept on & off for 30 mins at a time total maybe 1.5 hrs
1300- home- attempted sleep in bouncy chair - no luck
1400- feed (4oz)
1415- nappy change, play
1430- taken upstairs for cot nap- dim room, swaddle, white noise, dummy. Fell asleep about 1510 but lots of stirring (requiring me to reinsert dummy & pat).
1630- awake - nappy change, downstairs
1700- feed- (2oz)
1715- play
1745 - attempt nap in bouncy chair. Does not sleep.
1900- unsettled - offer feed, takes 2oz
1945- falls asleep in bouncy chair for 30 mins
2030- bath, massage
2100- feed in dark bedroom (2 maybe 3 oz), then swaddle, then down with dummy. 20 mins to fall asleep in cot with patting and white noise.
0200- wakes for feed - 3oz
0445- wakes for feed- 2oz

I have 2 main issues- she is a nightmare to get to sleep (particularly naps!) - she doesn't really cry, but grunts, squirms and wriggles for at least 30 mins. Her naps are also short (although I'm sometimes able to extend them if I catch her at the right point). This means I end up doing EASAES. Luckily (or not!) she wouldn't feed to sleep if I tried!

The other issue is the amount she takes each feed - it is rarely more than 4oz, and usually around 3. This just doesn't seem like enough! Any way I can encourage bigger feeds?

And does that 'routine' seem reasonable?

I'm paranoid about her not sleeping enough or eating enough!

At 8 weeks old, there is no real benefit in stressing too much. Things will change so often and so massively that just as you think you've 'got it', something changes and you are back to where you were.

The key is feeds on demand, or anticipated. ie you feed when you expect baby would ask for a feed, before it is asked for - like predicting.

Same with naps. Use the early weeks to offer frequent naps and then use the time to learn baby's favoured awake time between naps. Then anticipate and predict a nap being needed - so get baby to sleep in time for when you think it will be expected.

I would stop being paranoid and just trust your instincts.

Oh my word, you are stressing yourself out way too much. I read all those books too and are melted all the tricks. Nothing worked. Eight week old babies do not just magically nap for a routine 45 mins/one hour.
I'd throw out the books and try not to worry. Let her nap in our arms while you watch a box set and eat cake. Let her nap while you're heading to your favourite coffee shop with the buggy.
A hungry baby will cry for milk. Feed her on demand, as much or as little as she wants.
I am on baby number three and I find they get into their own routine. By 11 months they're doing a really decent two hour nap in the middle of the day etc.

Sorry for typos

Thank you both - that's reassuring. Can you tell it's my first baby?!