Doctor prescribed glasses for 11 month old...wwyd???

amother

Mon, Nov 23 2009, 5:34 pm

Hi, DS was born with a slight eye turn (crossed eyes) but I was told by my pediatrician not to worry bc it's very slight & he'll probably outgrow it. When I was there for a checkup last month he suggested that I do go & check it out by a professional Pediatric Opthamologist. Everyone I asked referred me to Dr. Wang in NY. After an examination he prescribed glasses for every waking hour! DH & I are so unsure about this! I mean, he's only 11 months old. Does anyone have any experience with this??? Please comment!

momoffive

Mon, Nov 23 2009, 5:40 pm

No experience with cross eyes, but experience with a baby in glasses (other vision issues). I can tell you that Dr. Wang is a top notch pediatric ophthalmologist. It can be very hard to hear that your baby needs glasses, but don't reject it out of hand. There are lots of really little kids that wear glasses (Fisher Price even has a line of baby glasses with special ear pieces designed to stay on). It can be a challenge and people will comment, but if it will help him - go for it. On the other hand, it can't hurt to get a second opinion from another pediatric ophthalmologist (consider Dr. Muchnik or Dr. Steele). You can pm me if you want.

greenfire

Mon, Nov 23 2009, 5:43 pm

when a baby needs eye glasses ... you get them and you work hard to help him/her wear them ... their vision depends on it - now and in the future ... it might be hard - it might be a nuisance but it is what is best for your baby ... 8)

greeneyes

Mon, Nov 23 2009, 7:11 pm

My daughter got glasses when she was about 1 1/2, so that's a bit older than your son, but still pretty little for glasses. We first noticed that she was crossing her eyes at about that point so we had her checked out by Dr. Furlan (from the Dr. Steele group). It was very hard for me when he first told us she needed glasses, she seemed so little to be getting glasses & I didn't want her to look "funny". Now, nearly a year later, I am so used to her glasses & I think they really add to her charm. I get tons of comments all the time, "ooooh, look at that cute baby with glasses." LOL

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

chocolate moose

Mon, Nov 23 2009, 9:39 pm

People here speak about their age all the time - that they're too young for (whatever the inyan is).

No one should be freaking out - things can happen at any age. Be happy your child can be helped. You want him to lead a normal life, right ?

octopus

Mon, Nov 23 2009, 10:41 pm

get the glasses! first of all, dr. wang is supposed to be the best! second of all, glasses on babies prevents a lot of problems from getting worse (when the situation calls for it). your pediatrician told you to get it checked out. he probably saw that the situation wasn't correcting itself. I mean, all little babies do not focus and in general look cross-eyed. but 11 months is a different story. did dr. wang give a time-frame for when this problem will be corrected?

egam

Mon, Nov 23 2009, 10:48 pm

I had crossed eyes and was wearing glasses since I was 11 months old. I also was farsighted. I don't remember that but I guess it wasn't easy for my mom. Eventually I grew out of them and you wouldn't tell that I ever had astigmatism. Now I'm back to glasses, but this time it's normal aging process.

losingweight

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 12:03 am

for the sake of your baby, please get the glasses. my dd wears very strong glasses. when she was a baby we were told she has a normal amount of farsightedness. when she got a little older we realized she was seeing double and by that time she needed a very high prescription. if your baby needs them she probably can't focus properly and can't even tell you. the longer you hold off with the glasses the bigger the problem will become.

natmichal

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 1:29 am

Get the glasses. I didn't thing ds needed them because he could "see well" - well yes - one eye was fine but the other real bad.
We got him glasses at 20 months and were told to slowly but surely make sure he wears them the whole time. We put them on him the first time ready to catch them if he was t take them of and throw them but he just went kinda "ooooh!" and that was it - he wouldn'd take them off anymore. Obviously it made a great difference to his vision .
make sure to buy good glasses in a place which specializes with small children.

raspberry tea

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 1:43 am

I'm with everyone else here....get the glasses! B'H you caught it early and it can be corrected with time. If you are still unsure please get a second opinion! But, from what I have heard/learned I would start the glasses.

amother

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 9:42 am

My nephew got glasses at 15 months. He was looked like the cutest little man in them. Don't worry how your child will look. The glasses will become part of who he is.

KAlex

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 11:28 am

Speaking as someone whose eye problems weren't caught until it was too late to fix them - get the glasses! ב''ה, I have one very good eye, but the other one could have been fine too, and then I could have had binocular vision.

I've seen plenty of happy babies and toddlers in glasses, and they're cute too!

chanieb324

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 12:32 pm

MY DS got glasses at 11 months and I agree with everyone's posts that you should get them right away. Our eye doc told us that if he didn't get glasses, his brain would eventually stop developing vision!!! DS is almost 2 now and he is doing great (and looks absolutely adorable!). Yes, we always get asked how we knew he needed them and DH responds "He was having trouble reading the Wall Street Journal." :-)

I second the recommendation to get glasses with a warranty - we have gotten new frames and lenses two times already without paying a cent (we have Fisher Price metal frames). And make sure you go to someone with experience fitting babies.

louche

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 12:32 pm

would you hesitate to get an appliance to straighten out crooked limbs or a crooked back? Then why do you even ask about getting an appliance to straighten out crooked eyes?

preempservices

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 12:42 pm

myfriends715 wrote:

can someone give me contact info for dr wang

NYC office 212-684-3980
Scarsdale 914-713-3392

We use him as well. It was very hard for us to get our son to keep his glasses on - it still is (he is almost 4) One mother told me that at school age they can understand and want to see better. I hope so...

amother

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 2:02 pm

OP here, Thank you all for your insight! I'm so relieved to hear what experienced people have to say on this issue. DH & I were sooo lost! Noone in either of our families have this 'problem'. Some of you people got me wrong though, I wasn't worried about how he'll look or what others will say (of course it's not my dream come true) but rather if it's helpful / nessecary.

MY DS got glasses at 11 months and I agree with everyone's posts that you should get them right away. Our eye doc told us that if he didn't get glasses, his brain would eventually stop developing vision!!! DS is almost 2 now and he is doing great (and looks absolutely adorable!). Yes, we always get asked how we knew he needed them and DH responds "He was having trouble reading the Wall Street Journal."

Gosh! that sounds so scary!!! You surely set my mind now shock

P.S. To the one who mentioned Dr. Steele, could you post his info please? I just want to make sure we're doing the right thing & would like to hear a second opinion...

manhattanmom

Tue, Nov 24 2009, 2:21 pm

Dr. Wang is super. My family's been seeing him for at least 17 years. He operated on both of my sisters.
His partner Dr. Compallatero has an excellent reputation as well. I've taken my son to see him.
I just wanted to add that--even though I see you've gotten lots of responses.