Eyes Wide Open

Norah had a vision and hearing screening at pre-school about six months ago and the nurse practitioner who administered the screening said that while she passed as a four year old (which she was at the time), she would not pass as a five year old.  So, while it wasn't necessarily an immediate concern, we definitely needed to have her comprehensively evaluated prior to kindergarten.  We found a pediatric opthamologist that came highly recommended and she had her appointment a few weeks ago.  I fully expected to walk away with a pair of glasses that she would have to wear to see the board at school, when watching television, etc.  She has two parents that are very near sighted so she comes by it pretty naturally.  

Norah loves doctors and dentists.  I don't know exactly why, but it is probably because she gets a ton of positive affirmation from them.  She follows directions well and can engage with them in a way that endears herself to them.  Plus, she loves the attention.  This eye doctor was no exception and Norah very much enjoyed the hour or so we spent getting her vision tested and the health of her eyes evaluated.  

I was not surprised to hear that she needed glasses.  I was, however, surprised that she needed glasses not because of her near-sightedness (which is pretty mild right now), but because she has a moderate astigmatism for a kid her age.  It causes blurred vision because of the way the eye lens is curved.  I have a severe astigmatism and my vision is terrible.  I don't see particularly well with glasses and need to be wearing contacts to feel comfortable doing basic things, like driving at night. Because Norah is so young, the hope is that early correction of the problem can re-train her optic nerve (in some way that I don't necessarily totally understand), and will hopefully prevent her astigmatism from getting worse.  The catch is that for the glasses to make a difference, she has to wear them 100% of the time, save for swimming, bathing, and sleeping.

The good news is that glasses are way cuter now than when I first got them (30+ years ago).  I let her pick out whichever frames she wanted.  I liked the wire rimmed ones, but she much preferred these hipster pink ones:

They took three or four days to come in and Bubby took her to pick them up.  I just noticed she is wearing the same dress in both photos, which is kind of funny.

She's been a great sport.  There was a moment of panic when she realized that she was going to have to wear them ALL of the time, but the adjustment was quick and has been painless.

The front of the frame is pink and the side is purple with some bling.

The day we picked them out we took her out to dinner to celebrate.  She enjoyed all of the compliments.

She's had them about a week now and it's like she's had them forever.  She made the comment tonight after taking them off to take a shower that she felt 'naked' without them.

I can't get over how cute she looks.