Glasses Search: Day 1

Well, our first day of searching wasn't too successful.  We drove to one of the places that we were told about that sells infant glasses and after we got there, we realized they were closed.  Most of the other places were a lot farther away, so we decided just to check out a few normal places (JcPenney's, Sears, etc) and see if we could find anything.

We did find one place that had glasses that fit his head.  They are a little wide, but the distance between the lenses and the back of the ears was pretty close to perfect.  The best part...they aren't the horrible Mr. Potato Head glasses and they have a deal which would allow us to get two pairs, lenses and frames for right at $100.  What do you think?

Puffs

Disappointment and Laughter

Well, I did a bad thing.  I googled infant glasses.  :(

Let's just say that the images I had of N in glasses did not match up with what I saw.  Most infant glasses are glorified versions of Mr. Potato Head glasses.  You think that I'm kidding?  If you don't believe me, go check it out.  Pretty horrible, right?

(Disclaimer:  I understand the need for plastic glasses. Yes, I know that he is 7 months old and he will want to chew on them and that bendable is best, but still, can't they make something bendable and decent looking?)

I became very disappointed, not in the fact that he needs glasses, but in the fact that instead of something cute, he was going to have to wear something that looked like it belonged to a plastic toy.  I spent a whole day feeling negatively about the situation.

Tonight, I spent some more time googling, praying and hoping that I would fine something, anything, that would give me hope that there is more out there than the huge plastic glasses I had seen.  I did find some more decent options, as well as parents that have had their children wear "real" glasses and haven't had a problem with them.  So, we're headed out tomorrow to see what we can find.  Maybe we'll find a way to get two pairs, one plastic pair for home times and one "real" pair for going out in public, taking pictures, etc.  We'll see, though.

I will say that we are already seeing major improvements in the mobility of his left eye just from patching for two days.  He does really well with the patching and doesn't seem to mess with it too much, except for when he's tired and wants to rub his eyes.  Tomorrow, we patch the "bad" eye, since we're doing the two days right, one day left cycle.  This will help keep the right eye strengthened while we work with his left eye.

I did find a few things on cafepress.com that made me laugh while searching websites for the glasses.  I might just have to buy some of these.  

Eye Appointment

N had his big eye appointment today.  I took my camera, but realized after we got there that I had left my camera battery at the house.  :(  Oh well, right?

We got there around 2:45 and sat in the waiting room for a while.  We went back around 3:15 and met with the doctor and he did a basic eye exam. Next came the eye dilation, which was what I worried about.  He did great. It was pretty simple.

After they put the drops in his eyes, we had to go back to the waiting room and wait for about 30 minutes for the drops to work.  He fell asleep just as we were headed back to the exam room.  The nurse noticed that they were not dilated as much as they needed to be, so he got more drops and then we got to wait some more.  He grunted when she put the drops in, but went right back to sleep and pretty much slept until the doctor came in.
 
We got some good news and some not so good news.  The good news is that the back of his eyes are healthy.  There are no major concerns and that is wonderful.  The not so good news is that he is farsighted, a tad different in babies than in adults.  It basically means that he has trouble focusing and because of that, his eyes are going together in order to help him focus.  His left eye tends to move inward and is weaker than the right eye.

What does this mean?
He gets to wear the patch everyday for two hours each day.  We have to patch the right eye for two days and then patch the left for one, and then repeat the cycle.  This will help prevent the right eye from weakening in the process.
He also gets to get glasses.  Yes, you read that right, my seven month old son is getting glasses.  Crazy, huh?  We have his prescription and will probably go look this weekend for glasses.  (The office gave us a list of places that sell infant glasses. )

He has another appointment on December 2 and this will help the doctor know if the patching and glasses are improving his eyes.  Once they determine that, we will know what the next course of action will be.   If the patch/glasses don't work, he will probably have to have eye muscle surgery, an outpatient surgery.

Thanks for your prayers.

Big Eye Appointment Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day for our N because he has his first big eye appointment.  They've told us that our appointment will be over two hours long and that they will be dilating his eyes, which I'm already anticipating will not be a fun experience.

If you can, please say a prayer for us tomorrow.  Our appointment is at 3.  Hopefully, we'll get some answers about treatment for his eyes.  

My Sleeping Boy

Just a Glimpse

Just a glimpse into how I spent my Monday night.  

Can You See What I See?

 Can you see what I see?  

Yes, my friends, that is a curl.  

N's First Bonfire

Sunday night, N went to his first bonfire.  We had one with our teens from church and he's always the life of the party.  

His first taste of a marshmellow.  He would have eaten the whole thing if we let him.  (I was scared of him choking on it.)  

We really were standing in front of the fire.  Promise.  

 Hanging out with some of the girls.  

 Kisses from Trish

Loving on his Rachael and the girls.  

7 Month Update

It is hard to believe that you are my seven month old son, N. It seems like just yesterday, we were bringing you home from the hospital and here are you, looking more like a little boy instead of a baby.  

 I weighed you last night and you are a chunky monkey.  You weighed 18 lbs. 12 oz.  I think you might be slowing down a little in your weight gain and I'm totally okay with that.  You are sooo heavy and my arms hurt after carrying you for a while.  

You are wearing size 3 diapers and you wear a size 4 overnight diaper when you go to bed.  The 4 is a little big, but you need it at night.  

You are wearing 6-9 month clothes, but some of your 9-12 month clothes fit, too.  You are growing out of your clothes faster than you can wear them.  

You still eat around every three hours, even though we've tried to give you more and make it last longer. You seem to always know when the three hour mark is up and you want to be fed.  There are some days when you will go longer between feedings, but it's not often.  

You are still getting about 5 ounces at most feedings and at 2 feedings each day, you get either apple juice or 3 ounces of formula with some baby food.  We've started giving you 8 ounces of formula at night and you seem to like that and sleep better. 

You are going to be a kid that likes his food.  You've liked everything we've given you so far: green beans, sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, peas, peaches, bananas, pears, squash, oatmeal, and rice.  You get a fruit in the mornings and a vegetable at night.  

You also liked the few bites of snow cone that we gave you.  You were a fan of the strawberry.  

You still get upset when you hear or see me making your bottle.  You want it that very instant and don't want to wait. You reach for the spoon when we feed you and if we have a drink in our hands, you want that, too.  

You have your first big eye appointment on Wednesday.  I'm praying that you will behave while you are there.  It's going to last around two hours and they have to dilate your eyes, so I know that you probably won't be happy.  We're just hoping they can tell us what we need to do to help you.  

Still no teeth, although I'm sure they are on their way.  You are biting on everything and drooling like crazy.  You love the cold toys to chew on.  

You're still on the eat, play, sleep schedule for the most part and for right now, I'm okay with that.  It works for you and what works for you, works for me.  

You are still a very social baby and that makes me happy.  There are moments when you want me or Daddy, but for the most part, you are happy to play with other people.  The teens in the youth group love you and you love them, too.  

You haven't figured out the crawling thing yet, but you are getting close.  You will get up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth, but after a while, you remember that you are a master roller and can get there faster that way.  We can't leave you anywhere anymore.  You can get into everything and do it so quickly.  

You have no problem sitting up on your own now.  We don't put things behind you anymore when you sit up.  You still fall over now and then, but you've learned how to fall carefully and catch yourself.    You make me proud.  

You're still not sleeping through the night.  There were a few weeks when you decided that getting up every couple of hours sounded fun.  Daddy and Mommy didn't like that idea at all.  Just this past week, you've started sleeping better again.  You'll go to bed around 8:30 and sleep until 4, eat, and then sleep until 6:30 or 7.  Even though it means that you're still getting up to eat in the early morning hours, we're just happy that you sleep that long.  

We packed up your swing.  You were just getting too big for it.  The living room looks weird without it.  It's always fun to see you reach new milestones, but it makes me sad to see you growing up so quickly.  You love your exersaucer, you figured out your Johnny Jump Up, and you love various toys.  You are almost too big for your bumbo and we now keep the pack and play in the living room for when you want to play and we can't keep our eyes on you.  

You love to play with us and your laugh and squeals make the lack of sleep and energy so worth it.  We love spending time with you and taking you places, especially since you seem to love your stroller. You still love to be outside and that makes us happy.  

We love you, our little man.