Sleep Training Day 1

It was a really good day. Mason took 3 naps today and went down without any crying for all 3 of them. He even took the evening cat nap which he rarely takes anymore and would always take in the swing. He woke up from the 1st nap after about an hour so I went in and patted him until he settled. He slept another 30 minutes. The 2nd nap he slept 1hr 40 min and I patted him and he slept another 10 minutes. The goal is to get two 2 hour naps and a catnap around 30-45min. Today was way more than I hoped for. There was no stress and no crying. I know this is not the end of it, we will have some more rough days and nights, but it's encouraging that he made such great progress. Nate has night duty tonight. That means I get to sleep from 10:30pm to 6:30am! Haven't done that it a long time. Hopefully Mason will settle down half the time- 45 minutes tonight.

Sleep Training

I have decided to start sleep training Mason. We have had a really rough time with sleeping for about a month and a half. Prior to a month and a half ago Mason was a great sleeper, for naps and at bedtime. He would go down without a fuss and would wake once at night for a feeding. Then he started waking more at night wanting to be fed since thats all he knew, and then he started screaming at naptime. I did cry it out with Alyssa around this stage at naptime, and it seemed to work for her. Going in just made it worse for her. So I tried the same thing with Mason and he would cry for an hour and not go to sleep. Then I started going in every few minutes to calm him and it still took forver for him to go down for a nap. The middle of the night was bad too. I tried not feeding him, I tried rocking, bouncing anything, he would fall asleep but would wake up 5 minutes later. Nate tried too with no luck. So I'm trying the pick up/put down method of the Baby Whisperer. Last night I made sure he didn't nurse to sleep, (which he does about half the time) and put him down awake at 7:45. He went right to sleep which is pretty normal. It's the only time lately he goes down without crying. Then I did a "dream feed" at 10:30 which I haven't been doing. He slept till 3:15am. Then the fun began. I did a mix of patting/ shushing in the crib and pick up/ put down. I would pat him as long as he wasn't too upset and when he started really crying I would pick him up until he calmed down (up to 2 minutes) and would lay him back down. He would start crying immediately and I would pick him up again. Eventually he got a little calmer in the crib and I just patted and shushed. He finally went to sleep, without a feeding! But it took 1 1/2 hours. I'm so glad there wasn't a clock in the room or I think I would have been more tempted to give up. He slept from 4:45 to 6:20. So about 8 hours from his dream feed. I'm glad the first night is over. I wasn't sure what to expect today at naptime, I expected another long episode. But.....I put him down at 8am, did a little naptime routine, layed him down with his lovey and I never heard a peep out of him!!! That is the first time in weeks and weeks that he's gone down for a nap without a huge fit. I guess I'll see how long he sleeps, but that is progress. I know we have some more difficult naps and nights ahead but it's good to see progress so quickly. I'm really realizing how different babies are. I was really all for cry it out and thought it would work for most babies if people really stuck to it, it did for Alyssa so why not Mason. But he needs something a little different and I think and hope this will be it for him. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Football Weekend

This was a big football weekend for the kiddos. It was Alyssa and Mason's first Air Force football game and Mason's first Bronco game. It was such a beautiful day yesterday, perfect for football. I just LOVE fall in Colorado! We did a little tailgating before the game. We forgot the burgers, but we made due with buns, cheese and 4 hotdogs :) Alyssa was a bit tired before the game even started but we still managed to have a good time. Yay for football season!!!!










Pics with the Pop Pops



This is the first picture I have of Mason and Pop Pop Walker! How did that happen?!



Daddy's little football buddy



What a day

Visit to Nebraska

Ryan Thomas



I spent Labor Day weekend with my friend Emily in Nebraska. She just had little baby Ryan 2 weeks ago and it was so fun to visit. I took Mason with me and Nate and Alyssa stayed home for a Daddy-Daughter weekend. I've known Emily for over 5 years, we met in OK and then we both moved to WA. She is one of my closest friends and it's so sad not living near them anymore.



Our friend Erica also came to visit for a couple days. We all met in WA and I think this is the first time we've all been togther in 2 years. Back then there were only 2 kiddos, Alyssa and Caleb. Now there are 6! Emily, Caleb and Ryan Me and Mason, Erica, Aubrie and Isaac



The kiddos



Big brother Caleb







Little matching outfits. I can't believe how much they grow in 4 months!




Thanks for letting us come and visit Em!

Food for Mason

I decided to start Mason on some solids last week. He has been sleeping terrible at night so I thought maybe he needed something more. I was making guacomole one night and wondered if he might like avocado. He loved it. He actually opened his mouth and swallowed most of it.




Alyssa feeding Mason



A few days later I tried cereal. He did ok, but I don't know if he likes it that much. Adding solids hasn't helped a ton. He will have a great night and sleep 8 hours straight and then be up 4 times the next night. What am I going to do with this boy!!

Mini Golf

This was Alyssa's first time playing mini golf. We had fun, but I think she will do a little better in a couple years.