Hi blogging family....if you haven't noticed by now, updating the blog can be therapeutic for me at times. I'm having one of those days today. Let me just preface all of this by saying that I KNOW we are incredibly blessed to have these healthy, happy boys. God has been so good, and I know He will continue to be. We haven't had to deal with any serious health complications through all of this...I know. But this is overwhelming some days. Micah started wearing his helmet to reshape his head on Saturday. He had to do 1 hour on, 1 hour off for the first 24 hours; then it switched to 2 hours on, 1 hour off, then 8 hours on, 1 off, etc. Now he's 23 hours on, 1 hour off/day. He hated it at first, and still does from time to time, but he's dealing okay. I realize this is temporary and it's a problem that can be fixed. And it's totally cosmetic! Today, then I brought Micah in to an eye doctor to get evaluated for this "infant see" program that my doctor encouraged. The doctor found that Micah is very farsighted (+5.5). They want to see him again in 6 weeks. At that time, they may realize that his prescription is worse than they thought today (apparently babies can "hide" their farsightedness at times??), they also say that because babies are constantly changing, it could get slightly better, and it could stay the same. If it gets better, we will just watch it and hope it continues to improve. If it's the same or worse, they will consider putting him in glasses. Really?! He's not even 1! I can't even imagine how a baby would keep glasses on, PLUS poor baby has a helmet already. Again, I know it's not a serious issue, but I just don't feel like dealing today. And I couldn't get Andrew and Derek in at the same time as Micah, so now I have to wait a month to get them in to get checked, and I'm of course freaking out that they are going to have the same issues. Will this ever get better? Will Micah have to wear glasses his whole life? Is this the best thing for him now? They say if we don't do glasses now, it increases the chance of MIcah developing a lazy eye since it will be such hard work for his eyes to focus. We'll see what they say in 6 weeks again, and probably get a second opinion before we do anything, but wow...everything is just multiplied when you have 3 (go figure, huh?). It all just seems like a lot some days.
Will you please keep us in your prayers? Pray for Micah's head to grow quickly (that decreases the time in the helmet), and for his eyes to improve (and for no glasses for now!). Pray for Andrew and Derek not to have eye problems. Pray for Tyler to start being nicer to his brothers. For everyone to stay healthy. Pray for Evan - his work to become less stressful, and for him to figure out how to balance a totally crazy job and a crazy home life and keep his sanity through all of it. For Evan and my marriage to stay strong when all we do is feel like we manage a household together. Maybe even for us to have some fun every once in awhile. Pray for me. For energy, for peace, for patience with the boys (Tyler especially), to trust what I know in my head -- that I am not in control of any of this. That God will give me what I need when I need it to get through this crazy time in life. That He loves these boys even more than I ever can. Thank you for saying a little prayer as you read this, and for being my therapy for today!
Also, if anyone has ever had young kids in glasses and have any insight on this, please feel free to send me a message on FB or e-mail.
How cute is this? They LOVE looking out the window in their bedroom Micah and Derek can climb up there themselves. Andrew is getting close, but I help him a little. Micah, Derek, Andrew.
And this kind of makes the stress go away when I see pictures like this. Me and all my little sweeties reading books. We do have very rare moments like this (which is why we take pictures!). :) Micah, Tyler, Derek, Andrew.
I am praying for you! I understand the craziness of being a mom and hurting when your kids need assistance. God has complete control of your life and your kids lives. Trust that he will not give you or them more than you can handle. Be thankful that you are able to assist them so they can see! I will be praying that their eyes will be fine for their appointments! Praying for you all!
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteI just read your blog and feel like you need some major encouragement and to let you know that you aren't the only one. My older son Mason, he is 5 now, was terrible around 2-4 (not the whole time, I just don't know the exact age) with being so mean and hitting, pinching and other things. I would cry many, many times. We still deal with it, however, it is better. I jsut felt like he had so much frustration built up, and he didn't know how to handle it well. So I too went through that. Also, Emery has been wearing his helmet for three weeks now and is doing so well. The only time I have it off is during bathtime. He doesn't even seem to realize its on. He is doing very well and Micah will get there too.
I will pray that things do get better. Motherhood is exhausting and you have way more than the rest of us. Hang in there girl.
Jena Dykstra (Freiborg, from Dordt) :)
Heather,
ReplyDeleteElise (my 9-year-old) got glasses when she was just shy of being 2 1/2 years old. It was very hard on me, because I thought "Ugh! Why does my daughter have to wear glasses? Does this make her "different" than others?" What really put things into perspective was when I took her to Children's Hospital to have her 1st eye appointment at which she had her eyes dilated, and I was faced with the realization that her needing glasses was nothing compared to the children around me who couldn't walk and needed a wheelchair, couldn't eat because they had no ability to use their arms, couldn't communicate with their parents, or faced a future of depending on their parents to make it through every minute of their day. That was when I thought, "Glasses? Seriously, Sara. You can handle your daughter having glasses."
Elise was farsighted as well. As the doctor told us, she could see the man on the moon, but nothing in front of her. And the reason we took her in was because of her right eye moving inward when she was looking at something or "lazy eye". It was her eye trying to focus. Her eye still tends to go inward when she takes off her glasses, but her prescription has improved from over +4.5 to +2.75 now. They never mentioned surgery, but just encouraged her wearing her glasses to strenghten the muscle in her eye. In the end, she'll always need glasses, but they have become part of her and make her just that much cuter.
Now I know Elise was much older than Micah is, but I wanted to let you know that he'll do great. Just think how different the world will look to him! I'll never forget the first time Elise put glasses on, she looked at our specked carpeting and reached down to fix it.
Take care and know prayers are being said for your whole family!
Sara Poos