Farsighted Kiddos

In October we began to notice that one of our son's eyes was drifting more and more often into the center corner of his eye. At his sister's 5 year check up at the beginning of November, their doctor noticed and recommended we see a pediatric ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

It was the beginning of an on-going journey. It took a while for us to get an appointment set up for our son because there are not many pediatric ophthalmologists. We made two appointments. The first with a doctor that could get him in quickly and the second with a specialist at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. All of our kids' specialists have been through Mott (U of M), so this was our preference, but it would take 2 months longer in order to get in to see this doctor.

Our first appointment was in early December with a very nice, but very near retirement doctor. He was able to diagnose our son as significantly far sighted and gave us a Rx for glasses. He really didn't give us much more info than that. We headed to the eye glass store and were able to find some glasses. We found the cutest pair of kid's glasses that they could adjust to fit our little guy's big noggin. 😋 The problem occurred when the doctor's prescription was so ancient that they couldn't understand it. It took several calls to get the updated version of the prescription. At that point, we decided to have the follow up appointment with the U of M pediatric ophthalmologist instead and I am so glad we did!

For 2 months we struggled to get our little guy to wear his glasses. We didn't know if he would need bifocals, patching or it was just a struggle because he is so young. Thankfully, all of our questions and the ones we didn't even know to ask were answered by the new doctor. She is AMAZING! His prescription was right, but kids that are farsighted have a much bigger and harder adjustment to glasses than those that are nearsighted. When you are nearsighted, glasses immediately improve your vision. When you are farsighted, your eyes have worked so hard to compensate, that it takes time for the muscles to relax and allow the glasses to actually work. The doctor also recognized that at barely 2, this concept was more than we could expect to be able to explain to our son. To assist with the transition to glasses, she gave us drops that we used 1 drop, 1 time. It dilated his eyes, essentially forcing the eyes to relax allowing him to experience the vision improvement almost immediately upon putting on his glasses. Within the week that the drops lasted, he completely acclimate to his glasses and now loves wearing them.



**On a side note, we also learned that modern pediatric ophthalmology requires a specific residency, but it used to be that ophthalmologists could do a little work with pediatrics and call themselves a pediatric ophthalmologist. Our first doc actually specialized in cataract surgery, but was willing to take pediatric patients. 

Diaper Dilema

What do you do when you have a just-turned-two-year-old that is NOT ready to potty train, but regular diapers are too small? 

We have had to transition to Pull-Ups in the 4T-5T size. The problem is that making it through the night without having to wash sheets because of leaks was rapidly becoming a distant memory. Not that there is anything wrong with Pull-Ups, but this kid at night? So we needed a new solution. They were the ONLY thing that fit him!

Enter diaper booster pads. 

When it comes to bedtime or long car rides, these are a mom's best friend. Even if your little one is in regular diapers, if you are planning a trip, pick up a pack of these from Amazon! 

You may be wondering how do they work? 

Here's a picture of the actual booster.

I usually fold it in half and slide it in the front of the Pull-Up for my son seeing as that is the part of the Pull-Up that is most essential for my little boy. 😉

If you have been having diaper troubles, I hope this helps!!