We took the Bear in for her second opinion glasses-wise this morning. Since we switched insurance, we can't continue to see the same doctor as before, so we saw a different pediatric eye doctor. Good news is that he doesn't think her eyes are crossing enough with the glasses to warrant eye muscle surgery (the other doctor said it was very likely she'd have surgery at around a year old). I expressed my concerns about her never wearing her glasses, and he said keep trying. So as of now, we are laying the smack down about Jenna's glasses. It's been about two months since we just gave up at home since she would never wear them, but now since the doctor said the prescription is correct, we're doing our best to make sure she does wear them all the time.
Today has been a struggle, to say the least. It is really very, very difficult to keep glasses on a baby, especially a highly mobile one. A few people say that they had no problems keeping them on their baby because the baby couldn't see without them. Well, sure!! However, Jenna can see without them...she just crosses her eyes to do so, which is what we don't want. If she continues to do so, her brain will shut off one eye, so that she only sees out of the dominant eye. That's what happened to Braden and I believe Dad E. as well.
My questionable "methods", since I have no idea what I'm doing:
I briefly tried saying "NO" loudly and holding her in my lap for a minute while telling her to keep them on, but after 3-4 tries of that we were both pretty upset, and she now runs away from me after pulling them off. Glory be and Hallelujah to that. Hopefully, she'll have forgotten that I tried that by tomorrow. I was trying to make it not fun for her to pull them off, but then I read online that positive reinforcement is key and to avoid battles of will. Which I agree with. So now I'm trying to be nice about it, but say no and put them right back on or within a minute or two. We do have eye drops to dilate her eyes, which we can use for the next 3 days, which makes it hard for her to see without her glasses. I hope that helps.
In the meantime, I know it will take time, and I'm trying to have patience...
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4 comments:
Yikes, what a situation! That's got to be a real struggle for you. I was wondering, do they make little eye glasses straps that go across the back of her head to help keep the glasses in place? I was just wondering. I've seen them for adults and thought maybe it would at least slow her down in getting the glasses off.
Good luck guys!
Carolyn, I think I already mentioned that to Ker when Jenna first got them. I agree, it is worth a shot. Maybe they already have tried it. :(
Poor Kerry. Maybe she has a daughter with as much will as her mother. I can testify about her mom. :)
love you
My only piece of advice (which is completely unsolicited, by the way) is to use the Art Of Redirection.
It might mean taking her into another room to refocus her attention from her glasses, but maybe some books, a snack, or even a hand mirror to look at herself would distract her from pulling her glasses off. You could also try my mother's infamous "buzzer" noise (game show style) to catch her attention.
Hope you can find something that works!
Gina
The plus is that she looks so cute in glasses!!
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