Today was Kaitlyn's vision exam. And we have good and bad news.
The good news is that her eyes don't seem to be horribly affected by having Level 3 ROP in both eyes (severe) or having laser surgery to correct it. She will likely have some peripheral vision loss, but she has to have a super special exam for that (we are working on scheduling it).
The bad news is that she is quite near-sighted (limited seeing far away). How in the world the doc can tell by holding up a glass to her eyes and looking in I have no idea; but her eyes are -4.0 in both eyes. (my eyes are -1.5/-1.75 in comparison)
Our little Kaitlyn will need glasses. How in the WORLD are we going to get her to wear them. She thinks it's fun to pull off my glasses and I can put them on her for a second (she smiles) but they are off immediately.
Any suggestions out there from other preemies needing glasses and how you got them to wear them would be much appreciated!
She's still only 13 months adjusted and too small to "realize" that they are making a difference.
On the Diet topic,
Today is Kaitlyn's 2nd day on a "Blenderized Diet" She had 1 huge vomit yesterday, but so far so good. I"ll take 1 vomit a day! She's been on baby food (via tube) for about 1.5 weeks now and we've definitely had a decrease. Still she's been getting formula at night. Tonight will be her first night with NO formula at all! Only real food that I put in her Vita-mix super duper blender (green beens, apple, flax seed, olive oil, milk, yogurt, avocado and chicken!). Yummm (just kidding - it doesn't look very good all blended up).
I'll still have to feed her through the night via pump (as we cant' get enough volume in her during the day) and the thick stuff doesn't go through the pump very easily so Mom got very little sleep last night as the pump kept alarming...Yuck.
9 comments:
I think she'll look cute with glasses!
I have a cousin who has had glasses since he was eight months old, and he also hated to wear my glasses. yet, with HIS glasses, he kept them on for the most part because he could see what was going on around him. she'll realize the difference. trust me.
that's so great about only having one vomit! thats fabulous! nice job Mom! you are doing so well with her :)
my vision is -16 in one eye and -14 in the other and i was a full term girl. it's probably why i wasn't too concerned when my little man got glasses at 18 months (14 mos adjusted age). he had stage 3 plus disease and had successful laser surgery when he was 3 months old. he wears his glasses fairly well now but we did struggle some initially.
now i have been wearing glasses since age 8 months and when i asked my folks for advice they suggested that i was a "perfect baby" who never, ever pulled off her glasses.
um, yeah, right.
but seriously my mom said that once i realized i ould see and could be mobile i really did cooperate until i was in grade school when i was breaking them all the time.
good luck with both the glasses and the blended food diet.
Yay on the vomit situation! As for the glasses, go see Paige at http://gotriplets.blogspot.com - her personality came SHINING through as soon as she got glasses and she apparently doesn't seem to mind them too much. It is amazing how much of a difference they do see when their vision is corrected and they realize it. Have faith that they will make a huge difference to her once she realizes that they do work.
Still need my glasses apparently...
its
http://gottriplets.blogspot.com
One of my twins; Austin had stage 3 Rop with PLUS disease, both eyes lasered. His myopia is -10 and -9. We too struggled with him to keep them on, but soon he realized they made such a difference and he kept them on. He enjoyed eating his nosepieces quite often which was SO frustrating!! Now at age 3yrs, as soon as he wakes up he asks me to put on his glasses and doesnt take them off till bedtime. Good luck!!
Beth :)
Liz,
You should check out Ashton's site. He just got glasses and he looks adorable!
Kaitlyn is going to look so cute!
http://www.ashtonjeffreykaden.blogspot.com/
Hi Liz,
my son jack has glasses..he wore since 3. he has done real well with them and they are cool Nike ones...
they have some super cool barbie pink ones that made my daughter who does not need glasses (she is 2) want a pair.
Kim cantin
Liz- good luck with the new diet (sounds scrumptious by the way-not) let's hope the vomit patrol can take a breather.
I bet Kaitlyn will look great with glasses, and once she realizes she can see everything she'll leave them on. Good Luck! Michelle
Hi Liz,
I came across your link on the blenderized diet list-serve. My son is also an ex-preemie (32 weeks) and has CHARGE Syndrome. Here is the best advice I can give you regarding the glasses--my son doesn't wear them, but I'm an optometrist--be sure to pick a frame that either has cable temples or that can have them added on. Cable temples have a soft, flexable end that wraps around behind the ear--it really helps to keep them on. Michelle is right--kids will wear the glasses if they help them to see. Start out with just a short time at first, and engage her in an activity where she will notice an improvement in her vision (maybe show her a video, but sit her a ways back from the TV). You can increase her wearing time as she tollerates the glasses. She is still pretty little and her world is up close, so as long as her eyes are aligned there is nothing wrong with undercorrecting her (meaning not giving her the full -4.00). Finally, I saw that you live in the Bay Area, and it sounds like you have a good eye doctor for your daughter. But in case you ever need it, you have a great resource that is close by. UC Berkeley School of Optometry has both an Infant-Toddler clinic and a clinic for children with special health care needs (I think it's called the "SVACH" clinic). UCB is a teaching clinic (it's my alma matter), but the Dr. in charge of the clinic is really good with kids and very knowlegable (her name is Debra Oral-Bixler).
Sarah (mom to Evan, 19 months)
www.babysites.com/sites/skeybunny
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