One Month Update

Penelope recently had her one month check up. She is five weeks old today. Five weeks! I can't believe how fast it goes. I think I am even more aware of the calendar because my maternity leave is half gone now. I go back July 16th. I fear we are in for a bit of a shock when either Matt or I are left with the three kids alone. It's gonna be tough.
 
Penelope has gained back her weight lost and then some - here are her stats:
Height: 21.5 inches (50-75 percentile)
Weight: 10 lbs 9 oz (75-90 percentile)
Head: 38 cm (50-75 percentile)

She is tracking really well and follows us so long as we are fairly close to her, turning her head as we move. Her eyes are still that slate blue that many babies have before changing to their permanent color. There is a fierce debate over whether her eyes will be blue (my mom) or brown (Matt), and hot fudge sundaes are on the line. I think they look blue for now, but we'll see. Claire and Miles both had eyes that looked very brown from day one, so already Penelope's eyes are different in that regard.

Penelope holds her head up a lot and seems to prefer to sit up. She continues to smile often (mostly at Matt). Matt previously felt that he was definitely not Penelope's favorite, but once she is fed and changed, she sits quietly with her dad. Everyone who sees her comments that she is big for her age - I guess I know too many people who have babies with birth weights near her current weight to think she is that big. And take a look at me and Matt - what would you expect from our offspring? :)

I inadvertently made her cry it out the other day - I usually do end up having to let my kiddos cry themselves to sleep a few times before they learn to self-soothe, and it is always a bit sad. But once they get the hang of it, bedtime is so much easier. I was making lunch while Matt had the older kids at the pool, and I wanted to get a few things started before I could go hold Penelope so I let her cry for a bit. Just a few minutes later she was quiet, and in a few more minutes she was asleep in her chair. So, it can be done! I usually wait to try it until I am back at work and am so sleep deprived that I can't take it anymore.

We also had our follow-up visit with the cardiologist this past week. The pediatrician said she didn't hear a heart murmur, so I was hopeful. The cardiologist didn't hear one either, but when they did the echogram and looked at her heart, the hole was still there. The doctor seemed surprised. He said, well the hole is small, but it's not tiny. It was of a size that he expected to hear a murmur, I guess. So now we come back in 6 months and see if the hole is still there. I guess the danger is that the hole lets bacteria and such into her heart, but we wouldn't do anything surgical for several more years of checking to see if the hole closes on its own.
So, if the cardiologist isn't worried, I'm not worried.