Pollies

{Thanks to my Aussie friend, Kathy, for terming ' pollies' (polycarbonates) for glasses--it has become a household term!}

Typically vanity doesn't lead you to too many good places with good results. But because of it I canceled the order on the glasses Greta is wearing in the post below and went on a search for something I liked better. In less than a week I have talked to an ophthalmologist, 2 optometrists, 3 opticians and a handful of 'office helpers'. (And now I know the difference between all of them.) And through the course of events, we eventually found ourselves at the Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah.

~The plan as of now is that Greta will be in glasses until age 10-11 then into contacts then she will have surgery at age 19.

~The ophthalmologist said her vision in one eye is +10 and +9 in the other. Her prescription is actually +8 in one eye and +6.50 in the other. This is so she'll have to work quite a bit to still see clearly, but it will strengthen and improve those muscles. One optician told us that most of the population who need correction fall within +4 to -4.

~One of the optometrists is a neighbor friend. She gave me such reassuring encouragement. She told me we were doing exactly the right thing in getting Greta into glasses even though it is a hard pill to swallow. She said that many parents disregard it and kids miss a lot of important developmental steps. (One study I read said that kids with strabismus usually skip crawling and go straight to walking--and some studies show that kids who don't crawl have difficulty learning to read.) She said that many kids are not diagnosed until around age two and the earlier you catch it the better off they are developmentally. She was so nice to me and kept telling me how proud she was of me. I really appreciated her explanations. She was also the one who recommended we go to the Moran Eye Center.

~The first set of glasses is the most important because it develops the baby's (or child's) future habits of wearing them. It is important that the glasses correct the vision right (measuring pupil distance is a whole different issue on a baby--especially when one eye turns) so that the greatest improvements can be made. Typically children with farsightedness improve their eyesight as they wear glasses--and they can't make as much improvement with poorly fitted glasses as with good ones.

~Even though the pediatric optician at Moran had stacks of catalogs we could have gone through, said she could tell just from looking at Greta that she would need a certain pair of frames because her head is fairly wide and the distance between her eyes and ears is quite short. And even that pair she was going to have to 'tweak' to fit snugly. (She is going to have to cut the cables--the things that go around the ears--because even though they'll be the smallest available, they'll still be too long.) Thankfully that one pair are a cute shape and come in pink. (even though the pink is baby pink--not my favorite) The shape reminded me of these ones that I really loved on Greta. (Although I've also learned that you can't judge how things will look from a catalog--if we want the best fit we don't have much of a choice. I'm just hoping we'll be happy with them.)~Greta will have to get her pollies adjusted every two months (because of growth) and she should be able to be in the frames for about one year.

~Tessa is getting some pollies too. Not because she needs them but so that she'll leave Greta's alone. The pediatric optician said that when we go out with Greta we'll get a lot of comments about a baby so young being in glasses--that is attention that Tessa will not be getting and that will cause her to want to play with or take Greta's glasses. She says it is easier just to get her a pair upfront and make as big of a deal out of them as we do Greta's. She said that siblings usually cause more needs for adjustments than the baby.

~Here are a couple of videos that tell a little about strabismus. One Two (We can see now Greta's 'head turning' compensation.) You have to click on the little icon on the black screen to see the video, not the play button.

I'm getting really anxious to give Greta the gift of sight. And thanks to all of you for the nice, encouraging comments. It has meant more than you know.