Liam's Normal Daily Routine at 10 Months

I'm writing this mostly for my own records, in case someday I'm wondering and trying to remember. This was the routine Liam definitely prefers, after at least two months of observation and experimentation. He sets most times, and I'm amazed at how consistent he is day after day. When followed well, he sleeps more and sleeps much better! This routine is working very well for me too, and I have not had any recent insomnia issues. It will evolve as he gets older, but this seems to be a solid base. Times are average and rounded; I am more interested in following a consistent routine, not a strict schedule.

• 6:30am: Wake up! (give or take 30 minutes) Sometimes we nurse, it depends on if/when there was a middle of the night feeding. I give him a diaper change, we get dressed, he plays for awhile.
• 7:00am: Go on a walk if weather permits, otherwise I let him just play. Our average walk is about 30 minutes, sometimes we drive to a park and sometimes walk around home.
  
• 8:00am: Breakfast. (Eventually, this will be right when he wakes up...especially as it gets darker or too cold to enjoy morning walks.)
  
• 9:00am: Morning Nap Begins (usually 2.5 hours after he wakes up). His average naps are 1-1.5 hours, but it does vary of course. Some days he'll try to cat nap and other days he'll nap 3 hours at once if we let him. Our pre-nap routine is diaper change, nurse, then set him in the crib drowsy but awake, sometimes barely asleep. The routine takes about 15-20 minutes on average and usually started by 8:40am. After naps, we let him play or do outings with him.
  
• 11:45: Lunch.
• 1:30pm: Afternoon Nap Begins (give or take 30 minutes depending on how the first nap went, usually 3 hours after the morning nap ends). It is also 1-1.5 hours on average. I learned it is best to wake him up no usually later than 3:30pm, or we have a harder time getting him down around bedtime.
• 5:00pm: Dinner (sometimes he eats with us, sometimes we eat after he's in bed).
  
• 6:30pm: Bedtime (give or take 30 minutes, usually 3-4 hours after his afternoon nap ends...occasionally we can push it back later for a special occasion, but I noticed if he falls asleep after 8pm it tends to really throw him off and negatively effects him the next day). Our current bedtime routine takes about 30 minutes to complete, and is bath, diaper/pajamas, book, nurse, bed.
• 10pm: Mommy does the first night feeding as or slightly before she goes to bed (also known as a dreamfeed...and actually helps me fall asleep easier since I'm not wondering or worried he'll wake up soon after I fall asleep. It also lets me enjoy his longest sleep stretch with him).
• 4:00am: Night feed (give or take 30 minutes on average). Just waking up to nurse once overnight doesn't bother me, since I set the pace for this one (I first settled him back down without nursing if he woke up before 5 hours (minimal sleeping through the night for infants), now he does it almost all the time unless he's in pain or disrupted by something in his environment). I nurse for 10 minutes barely waking up, then just set him back in the crib and go back to sleep. While some babies do not need night feedings at this age, I have personally chosen a more gradual nightweaning approach since it works for our family and Liam is a very adaptable baby (so I don't fear habits that cannot be changed fairly easily). Liam is still taking a really good feeding then and isn't resettling without it yet, but every now and then I do try resettling without feeding and see if it works. I think when he's in a good solids eating routine he'll be ready to drop one of those night feedings.