How do I fit 3 meals around 4 naps???

[RVF400]

Help needed please!
My DD (6mo) started weaning a month ago and loves her food. She has always been a terrible napper and will only sleep for 30mins at a time in the day. So she has to have 4 naps a day usually, which hasn't really bothered me when she was just breastfed on demand, but it's becoming a problem now solids have been established and I'm trying to get to 3 meals a day. In truth, I'm crap at routines myself and eat when I feel like it rather than having proper mealtimes which I'm sure doesn't help things, but I'm willing to change. :)
A very loose day before weaning would have been:
7am awake, bf
9.30am nap 30mins
12.00 nap 30 mins
13.30 nap 30 mins
16.00 nap 30 mins (sometimes she skips this one if nap 3 was a bit later)
18.30 bath and bed
with bfs kind of slotted round as and when, at least every 3hrs.
Now I am doing breakfast at 8am fairly consistently but she's not always hungry for it having had a full milk feed at 7 ish. Then I don't know whether to do lunch between naps 2&3 (which are always fairly close together) or after nap 3. And tea always seems to be a rush at 17.30 when she's tired and rubbing food in her eyes. Milk feeds are all over the place, meaning she's not always hungry for meals. When she is hungry and not tired, she eats really well.

Does anyone have any advice? I would love to hear what other parents are doing for babies of similar age.

That sounds like my DD at 6mo. Don't worry about routines and dont worry about 3 meals. I was bf on demand and then 3 meals at any time that's close to when the meal is supposed to be served. I also found breakfast easiest to time. For lunch I feed her whenever she's awake between 11 and 2. Sometimes it's a hurried affair because we need to get to a baby group. Tea is then anytime after 4 to before bed. DD is a early sleeper and have her bath at 6. And mostly too tired to eat by 5.30.

Don't worry how much they eat either. I sometimes even had solids straight after a bf in the early days. It's all about getting them used to the taste of adult food. If she was hungry she wouldn't want to eat food at all. Only by around 9mo DD can be offered food when hungry (she's 10mo now).

The early days of weaning I found really hard. It's like feeding a newborn again!

Thanks babygirl it's nice to hear that I'm not the only one without set timings. Everyone I speak to seems to in RL seems to have a much more set routine than I do, and babies who sleep for at least an hour at a time! I comnpletely identify with what you say about it like being feeding a newborn again, I'm finding it quite restrictive. It makes me realise just how convenient bfing is when you're out and about.
I was finding it much easier just doing 2 meals a day, breakfast and then a meal in the afternoon sometime between 2 and 4. The HV recommended I go to 3 but now I'm not so sure. It doesn't help that each meal takes forever as DD insists on feeding herself.

I'm with OneLittleBabyGirl. It does feel for a while that it's sleep, milk, let's-put-you-in-the-highchair-now, sleep again. Trying to be relaxed about when and how much took me a while. A tip I keep referring back to is allow 45 mins for meals in the early days. Means we're now out and about less, I'm being more selective about baby groups!

OP, you said you'd find it helpful to hear what others are going. DS is now 8mo, we can fairly consistently manage "breakfast" (9ish, following a 7am milk feed and a nap) and "lunch" (2ish - he often naps when I'm hungry) but often he's far too tired for "dinner" (5ish - bedtime's often by 6) if we've not been able to crowbar in a nap in the afternoon. To eat with him, I hold back a bit of my breakfast and lunch - eg we'll share some fruit. I've just got into the habit of packing a bib and a few bits (eg breadsticks, orange segments, cheese) in the nappy bag so if we're out we can crowbar in a meal. Actually, eating out is the best bit because I can meet my friends for coffee, park DS in the highchair and he has something to do whilst we socialise.

My DD is 7mo and has also needed 4 short naps. So, our routine has generally been

6am bf (she wakes for this then goes to sleep again)
7:30 awake and breakfast (although she's not very hungry for food then)
9:30 nap
10:30 bf
11:30 nap
12:00 lunch
1:00 bf
2:00 nap
3:00 bf
4:00 nap
4:30 dinner and bf
6pm bedtime routine starts

Breastfeeds are a bit all over the place, and we're not too strict about mealtimes, but that's a general idea. I found it best to move dinner earlier if she napped earlier as then she was awake. If we left it much past 5pm, she was getting too tired and grumpy to concentrate on eating. I noticed when looking round nurseries that they tend to have lunch early (11:30ish) and dinner early too, so I decided to move meals earlier rather than later.

I normally eat breakfast and lunch at the same time, but my dinner later than hers. And for lunch I've taken to feeding her off my plate if we're out, or packing some easily transportable baby snacks. At this age I'm not actually worried about what she eats, more that she gets used to eating a little solid food regularly.

It took me a while and a bit of experimenting to come up with a routine that kind of works for us. But, in the last few days, she seems to have dropped a nap (the 11:30 one) and adjusted the others accordingly, making things much easier So you might not have to work around 4 naps for too long.

breakfast with you before the 9:30 nap
lunch at 11:30
dinner at 5pm

from 7months i started squeezing in a small bowl of porridge just before putting him to bed.

Thanks for the input, it seems the consensus is to go for an earlier lunch so I will try bringing it forward. I am also hoping she will drop down to 3 naps soon, on days when she wakes later she is able to get through on 3 so there is hope!

squirrel have a very similar 'routine' to you, roughly speaking, it changes every fuckin day! Haha.

Good post OP, think you've reassured a few of us that there are other babies who have short naps x4 and not sleep for 3 hours in the afternoon! --if I hear one more
Mum tell me that I'll scream!--

Got to love babies, I'm just going with the flow with the food and no routine as such (BLW anyway). Just read the tired signs and hunger signs (have been using sign language for milk every time i nurse and she finally gets it!) and remember "food is fun until their one"!

Aww strike out fail!