She Has My Eyes

When someone says, "Oh she has your eyes," you usually assume you share the same eye color. However, when  Rose's eye doctor made this statement, my heart sank.
Rose has my eyes, in color and in condition. She is farsighted and when she tries to focus it causes her eyes to cross. If a child's eye is allowed to cross on a regular basis without correction than that eye is in danger of becoming a "lazy eye." (Amblyopia:  is the loss of one eye's ability to see details. It is the most common cause of vision problems in children. Can lead to vision loss in that eye). To prevent an eye from becoming "lazy" early intervention is key!
I got my first pair of glasses before I was a year old. My brother got his first pair by 18 months. And my grandmother should have had her glasses that early, but since she was the sixth child in a family of eight during the Great Depression...no one thought to take her to the doctor. Her sister took her to the doctor around age 7, by that time she had already lost vision in that eye.

70 years later we would hope that people would have a better understanding of the importance of early eye exams in babies and children. Sadly, this is not the case. When my first daughter was born I told our pediatrician about the history of Amblyopia in our family and asked when she should get her first check up. He told me that you can't do an eye exam in children until they are at least three or older. I knew this wasn't true because I had my first pair of glasses at 11 months and my first eye surgery at age three. So I asked my optometrist.

"The American Optometric Association recommends the first eye exam at six months of age, then at three years of age and every year while in school. " 

Both of my girls had eye exams before they were a year old. As it turns out CJ did not need glasses, but Rose did. Early eye exams can mean the difference between your child having the use of both of their eyes or not. Often by the time parents realize their kids need glasses it's already too late to redeem sight in that eye.

Rose showed no signs of needing glasses, and neither did I. Both of us seemed busy, and normal, if not a little ahead. (However, I did have more prominent strabismus that alerted my parents to take me in.)

After I got my glasses I went from a well-behaved kid who never got into anything to an amazing explorer who got into everything. I couldn't see all that was around me before glasses. Rose went from being a baby that had no interest in books to being a little reader.

I am glad to report that Rose has no sign of a "lazy eye." Both her eyes are working equally because she wears her glasses to prevent her eye from crossing. I am so glad we brought her in when we did.

Get your little one's eyes checked from a skilled Pediatric Ophthalmologist. What could it hurt?
Check out these links to find out more of what to expect:
An ounce of prevention is worth 17 pounds of cuteness
Uncovering Vision Problems Early

Little Jenni in her glasses!

Little Rose in her glasses.