My Four-eyed-cutie- pie!

Since so many of you have asked:

Why is Mady in glasses?
I didn't even know they could do eye exams on infants.
How long will she have to wear them?
Does she pull them off?
How did you notice she needed them?

I thought I'd answer all of your questions....

At 7 months I started to notice Mady's left eye cross in towards her nose. I didn't think much of it as babies often do this when they are trying to focus. However, throughout her 7th month it continued to cross and seemed to get more consistent. Being in the Optical Industry as an Apprentice Optician, I knew this wasn't something you just shrugged off.

I talked to my pediatrician about it and she referred me to the best pediatric ophthalmologist in Louisville. His name is Dr. Douglas and he has been doing this for 40+ years!! Lots of experience!

I was thinking that Mady probably had Strabismus, which basically means the eyes aren't in alignment or working together properly; often referred to as lazy eye or weak muscle. This can develop into Amblyopia, which means the brain is ignoring one eye; this can lead to poor vision and a permanent lazy eye. Both Bryan and I as kids were members of the very exclusive pirate club and had to wear patches over one eye because of Strabismus....which is why I thought she had this. Both parents had it...chances are you're going to get it. Sorry Boodels.

To my surprise Mady actually didn't need a patch but glasses!! After the doctor dilated her eyes and shinned lights and moved objects he could see that she was very farsighted. Now all babies are born farsighted....but Mady is extremely farsighted. He was able to tell this by placing several lenses in front of her dilated eye and seeing how the inside of her eye reacted to the light and lens. He also said this was the reason for her one eye to miss-align itself. She was trying very hard to focus and her eyes would become cross.

Of course.....as a mom you feel awful for your child. Thinking: Oh my gosh has she even been able to see!!? Especially after he told me the strength of her prescription that was my immediate thought. But he explained that babies have 10x the ability to focus than adults. So Mady was able to see just fine (her development was on track regarding hand eye control)....but she had to work very hard to do so and because of this her eyes were becoming crossed. We didn't want this to become permanent and develop into Amblyopia so the fix is glasses.

We caught it early, so she shouldn't have any problems with Amblyopia or a lazy eye. In fact, since she has had the glasses her eyes have not crossed once! Sorry to say that she won't be a member of the exclusive Pirate Club, like her parents. But she will be apart of the Four Eye club for life (we're also members of this club too). Well, until shes old enough for contacts or corrective surgeries.

She is doing very well with the glasses. Does not try to take them off as often as I thought she would. Maybe four times a day. Its giving us a chance to teach her discipline early with "No, no." We're establishing our authority and shes trying to test her independence. Its funny. She's been very good though. I think she likes them.

I am thankful for this. I know that sounds funny, but let me explain. This is our chance to really demonstrate the gospel to Mady in many ways. One way being: You are not perfect, none of us are. The bible teaches in the Psalms that we are sinful from birth. That includes our bodies and our hearts. We need Jesus' sinless life and resurrection to atone (or make perfect) our imperfections. We trust in Jesus for eternal life and grace, in this life just like (in a very small way) you trust in your glasses for perfect vision. You need them everyday, just like we need Jesus everyday.

Another thing it will teach Mady is to never judge others for their differences. I will never forget kids staring at me when I was a kid riding in the cart at the grocery store with the patch over my eye. I only had to wear it for a month, but it really made an impression.

Really, at the end of the day....its just glasses. Shes so darn cute in them too! I didn't think it was possible for my baby to get any cuter....but it happened. Don't be jealous! Haha. Just kidding. I hope that answered some questions.