little four eyes

Dear Ann & Ann,

Thank you so much for this blog – it is exactly what I was looking for!! I found out a week ago that my 2-year-old daughter, Eliza, needs glasses. Her left eye is 4x as far-sighted as her right. We’ve been talking it up BIG TIME and emphasizing that everyone in the family wears glasses, but she is having none of it! We can’t even get a pair of frames on her for sizing!

If you have any tips for getting them on the first time, I’d love to hear them! I am starting a sticker chart, but she just gets mad when I say she can have the sticker if she puts on her glasses. HELP!

Thanks & I look forward to following your blog.
Katherine
PS How to I “subscribe” to this blog?

Welcome Katherine! I hope this blog ends up being helpful. I will definitely try to post more on thoughts about getting Zoe to wear glasses at the very beginning. I think what worked the best was not to push it too hard or make a huge deal out of it. We just kept putting the glasses on her whenever she was calm, and tried to always stay positive, even if they only stayed on for a few seconds before she took them off. Getting them on her for sizing was absolutely the hardest thing we did. I’m glad we worked with people who were so used to screaming children. Basically we held her in a bear hug to keep them on for the time needed for sizing, while still trying to show her how happy we were – easier said than done!

You should be able to subscribe to the blog by clicking the “Entries (RSS)” and your browser should connect you to your RSS reader. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I use Google Reader and have been very happy with it. Let me know if you have more questions and I’ll send you a quick email with more information.

Hi there. I happened to be reading an article on Parent Hacks website about eye exams for infants and saw a comment you posted and then followed your comment to this website.

My daughter has strabismus and farsightedness, first diagnosed at 6 months and has been wearing glsses since then. We also do patching on her eyes. She is 13 months now. I will bookmark your site and just wanted to say hello. I look forward to reading more posts on your site.

Hello! Our son Michael started crossing his left eye at 5 months when we took pictures. It gradually got worse, and we started to wonder about his vision becuase he had zero interest in TV (which we were not all that concerned about), he had no interest in colorful toys and books unless they were right in front of him, and he would get scared and cry if we were more than 10 feet away.

At 8 months the pediatric opthalmologist determined he had a perscription of +12 in his crossing eye, and the other eye was +10. He was perscribed glasses. The eye still crossed. ATwo weeks later we were patching the good eye (with glasses), but he figured out how to rip off and eat the patch soon-there-after. At 10 months they had us use atropine drops instead of the patch for the right eye (again, with glasses), but the left eye still crossed. At 12 months they surgically corrected the strabismus.

With glasses, his eyes are straight, but the left eye still crosses without the glasses. He looks great, and he loves his glasses! He cries when we take them off, and runs to us when the come off to put them back on.

Hi Brian! Thanks for the comment, you guys have really been through a lot. How did the surgery go? Was it difficult?

My little angel is almost 11 months old and we just found out she needs glasses, she has strabismus and is farsighted. It was a shock when I found out, and has been quite the emotional experience. I felt like getting glasses and trying to think of questions to ask was all cramed into a few hours. I cam home feeling so confused. I nor anyone in my family has ever had glasses so I have had to do alot of research. Thank you for this awesome blog! We don’t feel so alone.

Welcome Kim! I’m happy you’ve found our blog to be helpful. Please let us know how your daughter is doing with her glasses, and send us a picture once she has them so we can add her to the gallery.

Hey Ladies!

My little miss is almost 19 months old and was just diagnosed with strabismus (accommodative esotropia) this week. I stumbled upon your website as I feverishly googled the terms that will now be part of my vocabularly. I can’t thank you enough for the resources, stories and all that have been posted on this blog. I have been perusing it’s contents and have found it so helpful, informative and reassuring to know that we aren’t the “only” ones going through all of this with our daughter. Plus, some of the feelings you have written about once you discovered your kids needed glasses really hit home with me. It has been a rollercoaster couple of days since we found out about her condition, but we are settling into the idea of seeing her in glasses. After all, everyone she is surrounded by wears them…so, in theory, it was only a matter of time.

I look forward to using you all as sounding boards for this adventure we are about to begin!

Thanks!!
Amy

Hi everyone,

New mother of glasses-wearing kid alert! My 3-year was just diagnosed with an astigmatism in both eyes and moderate hyperopia (far-sightedness). Yes…I cried, but I’m ok with it now. I love his new glasses…2 pairs so far and one on order. Perhaps overkill? My baby now looks like a little man. He keeps them on pretty well, likely because he is so thrilled to actually be able to see. No amblyopia detected, but the opthalmologist is watching him closely. They are dying to see his 5-year old brother, since this is apparently quite hereditary. I can’t imagine he has it too, but every optical place from here to tokyo (yes, shopping for eyeglasses has been quite an adventure) has tried to get us to let them test his brother! We shall see…

I somehow stumbled across this site today and can’t tell you what a wonderful site it is! Talk about just what I needed!

My daugther, who is 19-months old, was diagnosed with Farsightedness in her left eye (+4.00) with her right eye being in the normal range. I have been struggling with so many of the issues on this site, and it is comforting to know that I am not alone. We have finally gotten a pair of glasses, but now I can’t get her to wear them for even 10 seconds, let alone 10 minutes. I have a very spirited child, and by reading your posts, it has helped me realize that I shouldn’t give up and need to keep trying. We’ve been at it for about a week and I have renewed optimism after reading your experiences. Thank you for putting them out for folks like me to read. If anyone has any suggestions for things I can try, I’d welcome them! (She actually closes her eyes when I put the glasses on now…stubborn, stubborn)

This is a great site and I’m glad you’ve all found each other. I work with the Children’s Eye Foundation (www.childrenseyefoundation.org) and we’re in the process of revamping our site to be more of a resource for parents of children going through treatment for Amblyopia and Strabismus. We’ll have treatment guides, videos, blogs and a number of other resources that I hope are useful. Once the site is live, I’ll post a note to this board and I welcome your feedback: t.rogers @ childrenseyefoundation.org.

Hi Ann,
I am looking at all these postings and its so awsome when people say that their kid have had surgery and they did great.

My daughter has strabismus as far as we know, and the dr too, she doesnt have vision problems.

He recomended surgery and we are going to do it on friday 11/14/08 I am frecked out and starting to imagine things..I guess I am more scared of the annesthesia than anything. My husband is so calmed that I am going to rely on him big time.

I noticed her right eye was going out-up. We took her for the first time at that age and recomended the patching. I guess it didnt really worked because her nanny told me he had her on the patch and then months later she told me that she pulls it and conclusion…The patching didnt worked. My last appointment was around 2 months ago and they told me she needed surgery. I freked out and started the patching again.. she said glasses were not a good option for her. Last thrusday was our last appt with the main doctor and he checked her and told us that she needed the surgery. Its not a lot because the twisting in her eye but moor because of her alightnment. He told us that it was becasuse of the poor control she has.
I hope we took the right choice and I just want the best for her. She is 22 months now.
Keep us in your prayers.
You have a great blog!..

Hi Veronica Echols,
Please take heart!! You are in our prayers and I hope that your daughters surgery was a success. YOu are right in that the scariest part is the anaesthetic. Please keep us posted on her progress.

Hi all,

My daughter had surgery on nov 14th and it went ok. She did very good after anesthesia…she was a little cranky but ok. She was super active all day and eating a little but eating. Next day she woke up as another different person, she was cranky, she cried and cried all morning…i got so dessperate that I cried too…it was horrible…later on we call the doctor because I noticed her left eye (good eye) was getting puffy…he said it was normal..etc…next day it was horrible…she had so much swellnes..it was a very puffy eye and she was less cranky but her eye couldnt open at all. We went straight to the dr’s office and he said he had never had a child with an infection so, he said..this is weird..so he sent us straight to the hospital…oh well, after a day or so, they figured out she got a STAFF INFECTION!….what are the chances of that!…MRSA ….it was the most horrible experience Ive ever had in my life….my poor baby was poked for around 3 times..her IV got out of place and needed to replace etc…not a good experience. But, I am happy she is doing better after antobiotics and having a hard time at home to give her the medicine…..:(
At the hospital drops every 2 hours day and night and so tired her and me.

She is doing much better now. Still have red eye and a little bit of swellnes..but she returend to daycare yesterday and she is very happy!..God was with us the whole time!…

About the operation, I think it was a sucess but not sure yet. Her lazy eye is not lazy anymore..and her other eye points towards the center since the begiing but Dr says its normal. She is starting to straighten that eye and focus as normal.

I really pray for this surgery to be a success because it scares me to death that she will need another one!….

Thank you for your prayers!
Veroncia

My 2 1/2 year old son, Luke is going back to the doctor next Thursday to see if his strabismus, amblyopia, farsightedness has improved, changed, etc. If his glasses have made his eyes perfectly straight he will not have surgery, but if any misalignment then we will be scheduling surgery…this waiting is killing me. We’ve already done this once. We were first dx in June and waited until Sept to see if glasses and 10 hours a week of patching were helping, and had surgery scheduled just in case we needed it. We were able to cancel surgery because he was much improved and glasses had almost completely straightened his eyes, but the waiting continues from Sept 11 until our Dec. 11 appointment. An added stressor is that we are also going to take my 16 month old daughter to have her eyes checked, just in case. I am increasingly paranoid and thinking I see something when I look at her. Even though nobody else sees any problems with her eyes I am not comforted because nobody saw any crossing when looking at Luke’s until all of a sudden it was very obvious. Even the pediatrician said that his eyes looked fine at wellness checks when I mentioned that he seemed to squint and that I thought that his eyes were crossing. ANYWAY, the saga and waiting continue until next Thursday when we find out if surgery is in our future and if my daughter’s eyes are ok.
I’m so thankful for sites like this because it does feel like we are the only ones in the world that have to worry about patching and crossed eyes.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers as the countdown to the verdict continues.

councelorjb: I understand perfectly. I really dont know if my daughter’s surgery went ok.. cause her left eye its still pointing a little bit in..so..I dont know..but I really hope not. This MRSA infection she got at the hospital was the worst, i am paranoid if she has another surgery she will go throught the same…thats tha chances you take in having a surgery its not the surgery itself..its crazy!…

I think everything will be ok with your children!..I will pray for you!
Veronica

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Our doctor said that Luke’s eyes are crossing a little with this glasses, but not enough to do surgery and that he is actually starting to favor his left (crossed) eye more so we may have to alternate and patch his left eye later on. He said that his eyes are much stronger due to the religious patching we’ve been doing. We do not have to go back to the PO for six months! He did say that 10-15% of kids will all of a sudden start crossing with the glasses, like the glasses stop working, but other than that he was pleased. We are to continue to patch ten hours a week…getting harder by the week. We have now been patching for six months and when we go back it will be a full year of patching. Doctor said that he has to be monitored to make sure that Luke’s eyes stay ‘balanced,’ since he has learned to use one eye over the other before, it is difficult to use both and not favor the stronger one. Also, Addison’s eyes are good, she had a slight astigmatism which he said was normal for her age, and one of her eyelids droops slightly, nobody noticed it but me and the doctor when he was looking, so this is probably what I saw when I thought her eyes “didn’t match.”
We are SOOO happy to not have to schedule surgery for Luke or patch a very stubborn sixteen month old girl.
Thanks again for caring.

Ann, and others who contribute,
I just have to say that I am amazed at how much this blog has grown in the last 9 months since I found it when I was looking for information on infant glasses. I was so nervous and clueless on what to expect with my son, Reid, all the sudden needing to wear glasses. It is such a relief to be able to read about moms/parents that are going through some of the same struggles that we are. And the other places that you have linked are very hepful when I am looking on information about other types of glasses, apparel for my family who is proud to have a baby with glasses. I love it. So, THANK YOU for getting this started!

Thank you for a great informative web site. I found it about a month ago after my 23 month old son, Frank, was diagnosed with Strabismus. Right before Thanksgiving we noticed his left eye turning in. We took him to the doctor immediatly because there is a family history of Strabismus.

The opthamoligist said his eye sight is +3.50 in both eyes. He said patch and get glasses. Thankfully Frank has never been bothered by the patch and has never pulled. We ordered his glasses and they finally came in last week. He has been good wearing them so far, but the past 2 days he has become extremely clumsy. Yesterday he fell and scratched his face all up and scratched one lense very bad. Thankfully we got insurance on the glasses and they will replace the lense for free. Then this morning the babysitter calls me at work and says that he fell again and his glasses are completely bent and the lense fell out. Not only that, but the nose piece went into the corner of his eye and he has a cut.

This has made me a little stressed out since he has suddenly become so clumsy. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to help him out and not be so clumsy?

Does anyone else have the problem of their child looking over the top of their glasses. My daughter was 2 when she got her glasses and has looked over the top of them since day one. Shes wonderful about wearing them, but I worry that somethings not right.

Any suggestions?

Hi All,

I am having an post op appointment tomorrow and I am nervous wondering if her surgery was a success or not, her right eye is perfect (lazy eye) but hte left one is still pointing a little tinny bit in..so..I dont know if it will correct itself or what?…keep me on your prayers..I dont want to go through another surgery..
She is doing great!…she doesnt have any cysts anymore!…I wondered if Dr..did something because I mentioned to him, so..I am happy for that too..so I will keep you posted!
Thank you for your prayers
Veronica

Veronica,
Have been thinking of you! How did your follow up go? Trust in your doctors and your mummy instinct. Keep us updated and hope all went well at your appt.
Anita

Hi we just found out my 3 and half yr old needs glasses to correct an astigmatism pof approx 1.75+ in each eye.

I am going for a second opinion because, while I am confident the doctor was correct he admitted he had to guess on her prescription value because she was not interested in the examination. Any comments on what i should do from here. I had poor vision but not an astigmatism as a child…my other son who is 5 is okay for now…i took this a lot harder than i thought…she seems to be okay but we have not got her frames yet…we shall see how that goes

Luke’s eye surgery is scheduled for May 29th at 11:45. They are going to tighten the muscles in both of his eyes. I’m tense and worried. I’ve been thinking about and planning out the day so that it goes as smoothly as possible, especially since he can’t eat after 5:45am and can’t drink after 7:45am. He usually get up in the mornings around 7am. So, I’m thinking that I will wake him up around 5:30am for something special(donut holes) that he will eat, so that hopefully he won’t be starving all day. He is going to miss breakfast and lunch and I can’t imagine how that is going to work out. Then we are going to have to get him out of the house so he isn’t focused on not getting breakfast, but we need to go somewhere that he doesn’t get hot and sweaty and need a drink. I’m thinking the pet store and/or toys r us if they are open..hopefully that will distract him from no food and drink. We have to arrive at the clinic at 10am and wait for an hour and 45 min for his procedure. They said that the procedure will take 45 minutes. During the wait I plan to give him new books that I’m saving for the occassion, markers (a fave of his) and I’m also bringing bubbles. I have told Luke that Dr Hunter is going to fix his eyes. I plan to tell him that we will eat after Dr Hunter fixes his eyes. I think that’s enough explanation for a 3 year old.
I’m concerned about when he comes out of the anesthesia because when he had the tear duct surgery at one year old it was very upsetting to see him so upset and unable to be consoled. Plus, I worry about him being in pain. The nurse said that little ones don’t hurt too bad, but their eye muscles feel tight, its sore when they look quickly from one side to the other, he may be sensitive to the light, and may see double for a few days. ALSO, we will be putting drops in his eyes 3 times a day and ointment after the surgery.
I feel like I am preparing for battle and have to be strong and ready to take care of him and make things ok for him. I’m praying for a quick recovery and most of all COMPLETE healing so that this will be the end of his eye issues.
When we went in to see the doctor last month after his eyes started crossing with his glasses on, I was completely blindsided when they told me he needed surgery. We have avoided surgery for almost a year now with patching and glasses. Dr Hunter said that after surgery he may need glasses without the bifocals, like he has now, or may not need glasses at all. Wouldn’t that be amazing!! I hate to get my hopes up, but that is my hope…
Thanks for letting me process all of this, and most of all thanks for your prayers.

Oh Thank God! I am so grateful to have found this site! i have gone through sleepless nights and depression over my six year old son’s strabismus. I am so happy to here that there is hope for my son, and that there are other options for him.

Thank YOU!!

Hello,
We think your site is wonderful!
my wife and i would like to start a non profit christian foundation for needy children all over the world thats in need of glasses that there parents can’t afford to pay for. there are so many children in this world needing our help, all we have to do is reach out and give them our love and support…recently i found out just how much a person can change someones life with just a 20.00 pair of reading glasses..my pastor recently went to Africa to share the lords word and there in africa there are so many children that wants to read but can’t without reading glasses,, i recently found out that the 20.00 i gave in support to help buy glasses for these children in need was well spent,, one little girl was so happy to be able to see the words in her bible she told my pastor to thank the man who helped her see,, when i got this praise of word i broke out in tears, i made someones life awhole lot brighter..this has inspired me so much to now want to start a foundation to help children in need of glasses, at this time we are researching on how to make this happen and to get it started. if you have any info you would like to share we would greatly appreciate it ,, god bless!
Tim in Louisiana.

Hello,

My daughter who will be four on December 1 just started wearing glasses about a week ago due to farsightedness. Her prescription is +4 in the left eye and +3 in the right. Without her glasses her left eye will turn inward sometimes when she is trying to focus. So far she has been wearing them without any problems. Like most parents on this website at first I was really sad about her having to wear glasses. She goes back in about 3 months time for another checkup. How often will her prescription change? What can I expect? Will her vision get worse? Will it get better? Does it depend on the child? Can she outgrow this? I am new to this eyeglass situation and would appreciate any thoughts or comments from you! Thank You.

I also forgot to ask if any of you know of a good resource regarding Vision Therapy for Children?

Thanks again.

It’s obvious from the coments how useful this site is and I very much like the idea – especially as here are still those bodies (often commercial) trying to keepup the stigma of glasses in the playground.

I have put a small piece on my Spectacles Blog (where we touch on specs forkids and spectacles’ image) with a link back here. Keep up the good work.

Tate.

I love this website! I have found much “comfort” knowing that I am not in this all by myself. My daughter’s script is +4 and +3 and since she started wearing them about 3 weeks ago the left eye occasionally turning in has decreased somewhat when she takes her glasses off. I am hoping this is a good sign that they are helping? Also, she has made a comment on a couple of occasions that she sees better with her glasses off. Should I treat this seriously and take her back to the optometrist? Would this mean that her script is now too strong or too weak for her?

Wow, this is a great blog. My 4 yr old son was recently diagnosed with severe farsightedness with strabismus. Today was our first day with glasses. YIKES! I thought to myself how in the world are we going to do this. Reading the post have calmed me down a little. His prescription is quite strong and it seems that he can’t see very well with them on. He keeps looking over the top or underneath and rubbing his eyes and saying the everything looks weird (especially when it is far away). How do I know if the prescription is correct? I am assuming I need to be patient. Anyway, I look forward to all the information that I will be able to obtain from this site. Thanks so much!!

Hi! My 2 1/2 year old has been wearing glasses for about 8 months. I just had him in for a checkup yesterday and his prescription already needs to be stronger. Does anyone here have a child this young who is nearsighted? His prescription is -6.5 and -7.25. I seems like almost anyone I’ve talked to their children are far sighted. How uncommon is this?

Praise the Lord for this Blog! My 16 month old started crossing his eyes a little over a month ago and we finally got into to the Pedia.Opth. this past week. I felt overwhelmed and this site has given me a real handle on it. I am a researcher when it comes to my kids or health. Thank you LittleFourEyes.