Triple vision

Today we had to split up, divide and go forth. I had to take Lucia and Elliott to the eye doctor, so Mazie went to work with her Mama Bee.


Mazie had a good day with her Mama Bee and Donna. She was a good little employee. This means she napped well and let others hold her some. H said Mazie really enjoyed her day at the office. The photo above is of Mazie with her Nana and Nannie on the porch of H's office.

My trip to the big city (now costing $40 in gas to get there and back) was smooth. Lucia and Elliott handled their messy schedule well. Eating and sleeping were thrown off. I liked the ophthalmologist. He was very professional and formal but also kind to the babies and answered all my questions.

Several months ago H noticed Lucia and Elliott both had an eye that was pulling to the center. H is much more detail oriented than I am. I never really noticed anything going on with Elliott but in some photos Lucia definitely appears to have one eye pulling in. When we asked our pediatrician, she referred us to this doctor.

The doctor watched their eyes move around, guiding them with his little monkey on a stick. Then he dilated their eyes. After 30 minutes, he looked at their eyes through various lenses to determine what their vision is. Here is what we found out.

Lucia has prominent epicanthal folds. These folds are flaps of skin at the inner corner of the eye. These folds cause her to have pseudo-strabismus. Strabismus is a misalignment of the eyes. So essentially she looks like her eyes are not alligned, or like she has a lazy eye, due to her epicanthal folds. There is no problem with her vision. She is in the normal range of far-sightedness for an infant. As her face continues to develop, specifically her nose, those folds most likely will pull back in. I bring Lucia back in four months to recheck all of this.

I fully expected him to say Elliott was fine. I even told the nurse I would have canceled his appointment were I not already bringing Lucia. It turns out H was seeing some misalignment in him due to a decent amount of an astigmatism. He said if it does not correct on its own he will need glasses by the time he is around four years old. We bring Elliott back in six months to have him rechecked. While I think our little Elliott would be so cute in glasses, I hate the thought of him having to wear them in this heat and of us trying to keep up with them.

And, as my mother so correctly forecasted, he wants to see Mazie too. I'll take her back when I bring Lucia.