We’re making progress! I know we weren’t supposed to, but over the past 5 weeks we’ve let Mason sleep on us and with us. Even though everything we read said we shouldn’t and that he could get used to it and not sleep on his own, it was just easier this way. But this weekend…we decided to get on the “good parent” track.

Saturday night we put Mason in his crib to sleep for the night. He went in his crib around 10…that lasted maybe 30 minutes before he was crying like crazy. Dan stayed up with him for a while and they ended up sleeping on the couch for a while. I got up to feed him at 1, after that, I put him back in his crib…and he actually fell asleep! He slept for 2 1/2 hours before waking up hungry. Then went back to sleep in his crib for 2 1/2 more hours. On Sunday night, we did the same routine…only this time he went to his crib at 10pm, then after getting a pacifier he slept until 1:45! And again after each feeding (at 1 & 4) he went back to sleep in his crib.

I think the thing that has helped with this the most is having a nice warm room. We put a space heater in his room and it seems that he LOVES that. We walk in and he practically falls asleep instantly.

I realize it’s only been two nights…but I’m hopeful that this is going to lead to being able to get him into a routine before I go back to work in a couple weeks!

Yesterday started off GREAT! Mason fell asleep in his crib after 2 hrs of cooing & admiring the shadows on the wall. He only slept for about 30 min, but by that time it was time to eat again. After that, he watched me play with rattles and show him all of his stuffed toys before dozing off again. After his next meal he was a bit fussy, so I put him back in the crib and he put himself to sleep – where he stayed for about 45 minutes. He woke up hungry and super fussy…he wouldn’t let me put him down, so finally he fell asleep while I held him for almost 3 hours.

Considering how long he was awake, I thought this meant a great nights sleep for everyone. Even after his three hour nap he spent a lot of time awake, looking around, “playing”, etc. However…when it came time to actually go to bed, Mason had other ideas. He laid in crib for about 30 minutes, then woke up crankier than ever. And it took over an hour of walking, bouncing, eating and singing before he fell fast asleep. It was like he was afraid I’d put him down in that awful crib again. And as far as that great night of sleep I was expecting…yeah right. All that awake time yesterday didn’t impact the length of time Mason slept at all. He still woke up every 2 1/2 to 3 hrs.

All that awake time from yesterday has impacted something though…his sleeping today. It’s 2pm, and I think he’s been awake for about 2 hours total since 7am. Ahh the joys. Someday there will be a pattern here, right?

If only he wasn’t so dang cute…

Four weeks and two days to be precise…that’s how old Mason is now. The past 4 weeks have gone by really fast, thanks in part to so many visitors! My parents have been here twice already – once when he was just over a week old and then again for Christmas (when they brought Jeremiah with them) – and Dan’s family just left today after a four day visit. In addition to them, I’ve also had several friends stop by to visit during my maternity leave, to help keep me in touch with reality and have a little adult interaction!

So far Mason is a very good baby. He has his fussy moments, but he’s not nearly as bad as he could be or as bad as I anticipated. He sleeps A LOT, but it’s mostly during the day. He seems to enjoy getting up every 2-3 hours at night, but has no problem sleeping for 3-4 hours during the day. I’ve tried to keep him up more during the day hoping that would translate into more sleep at night, but so far the two do not go hand-in-hand. I’ve also determined that when I eat lettuce, he gets gassy…guess he would prefer that I have ice cream and cookies, which I’m perfectly ok with! 🙂

Baxter doesn’t really seem to know what to think of Mason. He’s mostly curious about this new “squeaker”, and tends to forget that he’s here unless Mason is making some kind of noise.

I’ll try to post to the blog more frequently, but I can’t promise anything! Here’s to hoping the calm baby I have now is not suddenly replaced by a screaming, colic baby 🙂

Some of you may have been slow in getting the news, but we’ve had a recent addition, Mason Lee Epley, who was born 7lbs 4oz and was 20.5 inches long. He was born on December 4th, so hopefully that’s a lucky day.

He’s had a few visitors already including friends from Minnesota and family from Nebraska. He’s pretty calm so far with just a minimal amount of fussing, not a real screamer or crier so we’ll see if that sticks or if he grows into his lungs. I’m rooting for minimal crying.

Here are some pictures: