Glasses update!

This little dude is rocking his glasses! He is wearing them during MOST of his waking hours and has really embraced them fully. I'm a little surprised. He has asked "Mom I need a break, is that okay?" I fully remember getting my glasses for the first time and needing a break from them. The pounding headaches initially because my eyes were not used to seeing so clearly.

We had  a little mishap with his initial order. Initially we ordered from the eye doctor for a hefty price tag of almost $550. Yikes! I didn't know better and ordered them without hesitation. Then they got lost in transit after 14 days so we were told it would be another 10-14 days to get a new pair. I opted to cancel the order and order elsewhere. I picked up his prescription and went to walmart. He picked out a great pair that he loved for his frame, polycarbonate lenses and antireflective for less than $100. They have a one year warranty so that's great too. I'm still working on ordering a cheaper backup pair online, just in case! It's always good to have a second pair because you never know!

We are still working on responsibility and glasses. He takes them off when he's kicking the ball in the backyard with his brother or jumping on the trampoline. While that's great, I found them in the middle of the hallway on the floor NOT in a case yesterday. We had a little chat about the cost of glasses and the importance of being responsible with them. Not only are they costly but if they break due to his irresponsibility, he'll have some consequences. I stressed set them in the case in somewhere that he would remember, his drawer or his backpack. I imagine this will continue to be a work in progress. 

Yesterday while getting ready for school he was reading before school! First off, finding a book that interests him is SO important. He's completely uninterested in first reader type books. We found that if he has a book with facts about animals in it, he's all over it. Yesterday he was reading "Fangs" which is all about animals with fangs. Ugh, not my thing but I will tell you I learned all sorts of interesting facts! I'd like to think the reading is easier too since he can see better and BOTH of his eyes are now doing the work instead of one. 

The world of glasses and kids

Thank goodness for school nurses and updates in technology! A few weeks ago, I received an email from the school nurse stating that Grayson's screening came back for anisomitropia. Say that 10 times fast! Off to google I went, I know, I know, I have pediatric nursing textbooks at home and many pediatric nursing resources at home BUT I chose google. Roll your eyes now... but I did! It quickly answered my question of what exactly is that and does he need to see an optometrist. The answer was yes, period.

I immediately scheduled with an optometrist that I worked with when I did the vision screenings at school. What I didn't realize is that all kids were being screened for was near-sightedness and not far-sightedness. Turns out Grayson is super far-sighted in one eye and he was missed. Whatever new technology they use showed that on the screening.

First thing last Monday, we saw Dr. Ryan. He was SO patient with Grayson, who can be shy and quiet when he's on the spot. He tried to force out his favorite animal and talk to him. Instead, silence. I tried too and he was still pretty quiet. Turns out, he needs glasses to level the playing field for both eyes. He *might* not need them forever but if you know me, I often don't even know what's going on next week. We'll focus on one day at time. So for today, he needs glasses. For today, we'll focus on how to make him feel good about getting glasses.

So who picked the glasses? Not even a shadow of a doubt on who picked them if you know me... Grayson did! Several schools of thought here. HE has to be the one to wear them when he's awake, all of the time. Which means if HE doesn't like them and feel good in them, it's highly unlikely that he'll wear them. I know what you're thinking, but what if he picks something crazy or bright or doesn't match the things he wears? I seriously don't care.

I let my kids dress themselves. Have you seen my children in public. Literally I push being dressed in weather appropriate attire (ah no shorts in winter!), teeth and hair brushed... pretty much that's the only battle I fight. Ryan is like "You seriously let them go to school like that?" You betcha I did because I didn't have to fight with them this morning, I didn't have to nag and complain about clothes. I find that my kids feel super confident in what they wear, even if they do look like they came straight out of a circus act. I mean when they are my age, it's pretty frowned upon to look like a circus animal or even a performing for that matter. I'm letting them rock that now. Express your personality kid, knock yourself out.

Yeah, he picked them. They are cute and they have YELLOW in them which makes them extra cool because that's his favorite color. He even took it upon himself to ASK the employee if they came in yellow and lucky him, they did! He's thrilled about that.

The limb difference thing, that's old news to us, we adapt and we move on. We've been dealing with it for over 9 years now if you count the time we worried when Bella was in utero. This glasses thing, this is new. A BOY with glasses, double new and sounds expensive. Yes I already ordered a cheaper backup pair online because well... I know how my sons play. We might be laying a few new ground rules once they arrive. Tips or tricks for kids with glasses? I'd love to hear!