Penelope Is 2 Months Old!

Hey friends! Today is February 27, 2018.  It has been eight weeks since I gave birth to my sweet baby girl. I can’t believe how fast time flies. Everyone tells you how fast it goes by, but you really can’t understand it until you are in it. It’s amazing how much she has changed and grown and developed in just 8 short weeks. In today’s blog post I will be talking about all the changes that have happened and honestly just writing about where she is at during this moment in her life so that in the future we can look back on this blog and remember all the memories up to this point. 

So like I said Penelope is 8 weeks old and would be 2 months on the 31st of February if there was such a date. So we are just counting the last day of February as her 2 month mark, it all evens out at the end of the year. We had her 2 month appointment at the doctor yesterday. Both Phillip and I could have sworn she was at least 12 pounds if not more. She weighed in at 11 pounds exactly. When she was born she weighed 7.4 pounds. That first week she dropped weight like most babies do and was 6.6. It’s amazing to look back to 8 short weeks ago and see just how tiny she was. At her one month appointment she had reached 9 pounds. Every day she is growing. How do I stop that!? Her height came in at 22 inches. While she is in the 51% for weight, she is only in the 37% for height. I mean look at her momma, I don’t think the girl has much of a chance of being tall. Sorry P! 😉

This month Penelope has really started to show us her likes and dislikes. How in the world they can have preferences at such a young age I’ll never understand. At about 5 weeks she really started to notice things, especially ceiling fans. This girl could stare at a ceiling fan all day every day. She first noticed them while at her Mamaw and Grandpa’s (Phillip’s parents) home. They pointed it out to us and ever since then we have noticed her staring at them. It is something that makes us all laugh and brings joy to the room when she will stop whatever she is doing to stare at a ceiling fan. 

In month 2 Penelope has gotten introduced to some new things. This month we introduced the bottle and paci to her. I unfortunately have to return to work soon so we wanted to bring in the bottle once every couple of days to get her used to it. We first tried it at her Mamaw and Grandpa’s house. Daddy gave it to her, while momma went upstairs. She took it like a champ! We now give her one every few days to keep encouraging her. I have not given her a bottle though and we are trying to avoid me giving her one for as long as possible. We want her to continue to associate mom with the breast so that breastfeeding keeps strong. Phillip also made the call on the paci. I was totally against it for fear that it would cause nipple confusion, but boy was I wrong. She definitely knows which one gives her the good stuff. We still try to limit giving it to her and really only try to give it to her when she is having a hard time calming down. If it’s near feeding time though she will refuse it. Like I said, she knows where the good stuff comes from. 

Speaking of breastfeeding, there is something she has started doing that just melts my heart. This month she has learned how to smile and will now do it in response to you. Not all the time, but from time to time she will. Now when we are feeding she will look at me the whole time and will crack a smile from time to time. Talk about melting your heart. It is the sweetest thing in the world! It’s a bonding experience I will hold near and dear to my heart for the rest of my life. 

One of the best things that Penelope has started doing since about week 4/5 is sleeping through the night. There is nothing better then 5-6 straight hours of sleep. Any new mom who can get that will feel like she is on top of the world! So our nightly routine is as follows. At 9pm I will breastfeed Penelope and then change her and put jammies on. Then after that her dad and I will each read her a story, and then daddy gives her a blessing. Then we sing songs and pray and then it’s bed time. She usually gets put in her crib around 9:30/9:40. She then sleeps off and on (but doesn’t cry) until midnight. I wake her at midnight and she will breastfeed again. She will then go back to sleep from 12:30-6am! It seriously is the best thing ever! Then she will breastfeed again at 6am and go back to sleep in her crib from 7-9am. Then it’s time to get up for the day after her 9am feeding. I am so thankful that she is such a good sleeper. Thank goodness she takes after momma and not daddy. Phillip never sleeps. 

Lastly there are other small things that have changed this month. She no longer can fit into her newborn clothes and is almost grown out of her 0-3 month clothes. Her 3 month outfits fit her great now. She has found her hands this past week and loves to touch them together and look at them. It’s amazing to watch her learn new things. Her eyelashes have grown so much and have darkened since she was born and she is finally getting hair on the top of her head. She is starting to stay awake more during the day in between her feedings and is really loving her play mat. She still isn’t a huge fan of tummy time, but we are working on it. She did roll over one day early in Month 2, but hasn’t since. 

It’s amazing to sit back and watch this tiny baby grow and develop every single day. I try to write them down, but it all changes so fast. She has pretty much doubled in size and is no longer my little newborn. I know it probably sounds silly, but she’s a baby now. Before I know it she will have moved on from the baby stage to the toddler stage. It’s such an adventure and one I wouldn’t trade for the world. 

Keep growing baby girl. Momma is so proud of you! 

P.s. Anyone know how to slow time down? This momma is in desperate need of a cure for this time flying we have. 

Baby Dust To All, 

Cynthia