Specs 4 Us

I wanted to share this photo of Olivia sporting her new Specs 4 Us glasses.   Her Fisher Price glasses are history.  They never fit her face correctly because of her flat face and flat nose.  They always slid down and were heavy, uncomfortable and never in the right place to aid her vision for very long.   We had chosen the Fisher Price glasses initially because they are very durable.  So there is value to them if they fit your child correctly.  Our saintly RX Optical girls worked with us to get these glasses for Olivia.  We are very pleased with the fit and have hopes that eventually she will take to wearing them on a regular basis. But just like peeing and pooping, you cannot force a child to wear glasses!  Any person who wears glasses might remember that at first it felt odd to have glasses on their face.  Same for Olivia, and she has no idea how to deal with the weird sensation. But hopefully, over time, she will get used to the feel and enjoy seeing!  

And I love the look of these glasses!  The little Librarian look, just like her Great Grandma B!

Glasses- Second Day at Home

 These pictures pretty much tell you the entire story.  

 Olivia does seem to like seeing her books. Her eyes get wide and relaxed and her face sports a contented grin. Then she realizes there is something on her face, and off the glasses go!  

 Peter also sat with her on the floor with the television at at distance to watch WNDU Sunday morning news.  In the past, Olivia would like the idea of turning on the TV, but quickly lose interest, most likely because she was not seeing the picture well.  Today, she sat there mesmerized!  Absolutely wide eyed and with a very relaxed contented look on her face.  I can see her getting addicted to Barney like so many kids with Down syndrome.  (or perhaps she gets addicted to Winnie the Pooh DVDs.  She has a Pooh mobile over her crib and she has recently become a very big Pooh fan outside of her crib. Peter put the glasses on Pooh, and that really broke the ice on the glasses.  Today, Olivia gave Pooh a chance once again to wear her glasses.

And with a little pout!

This is my favorite photo!

One last note:  Yesterday, Olivia turned 22 months.  To celebrate, she pulled to standing repeatedly in her crib (while barefoot) for the first time, and returned to sitting with grace!  The day before, she pulled to standing at the bathtub and also inside the bathtub.  Yes! Dangerous! And I have the sore back to show for her bathtub standing.  I am also thinking of wearing a wet suit for her baths, as she likes to throw all of her toys out and me, and also likes to try to climb out onto me.  Peter picked up some Vtech or Leap Frog lights and flashes type bath toys thinking that if she had something super exciting in her tub, then maybe she would give her old mom a break and stay put in her bathtub.  Oh the excitement!  Lots of challenges and lots of keeping a sense of humor.  This too shall pass.  One day  I will have lots of stories to tell our adult Olivia about all of her antics as a child!

First Photo of Eyeglasses for Olivia

Here is our first photo of Olivia in her first pair of glasses.  You can see that she is a bit perplexed.  This photo was taken while we were still at the eye doctor. Peter was holding Olivia on his lap and holding her arms down.  She was not fighting, but was a bit confused.  If he let go of her arms, the glasses went sailing through the air!  When the technician showed Olivia herself in the mirror, Olivia studied herself and seemed pleased.

We also noticed that Olivia was looking for me when I was taking a movie, and was at first upset that she could not find me, but then she made eye contact with me from a distance and soothed right away at a distance. For some time now, I had noticed that if I was a distance from Olivia, she would not soothe until I got right up to her.

 I cannot wait to see how she takes to her glasses tomorrow when we can try her looking at her books at home with her glasses on.  Recently, she has needed her books so close to her face that she is only interested in them when we are with her so that we can hold them close to her face.

It may be sometime before Olivia wears her glasses full time, but just like everything in being Olivia's parents: Patience is the key to success!