Well, I tried the salmon, and I liked it. We had it for the second time tonight. I broiled it instead of grilling it. The recipe is here if you are looking for a good salmon recipe.
Buddy seems to be seeing more. In the past few days he has shown signs of being able to see a little more in brighter lighting than before. He has also started turning toward us when we talk to him, even if he can't see us when we talk to him from across the room, which is exciting.
On Saturday, the Division of Blind Services paired with the Delta Gamma sorority from UF to have a beeping egg hunt for visually impaired children. Buddy is way too small to hunt for Easter eggs, but we went to see what it was like. Buddy got to pet some bunnies (real ones) and then he fell asleep. We met several other parents of children with disabilities. Comparatively, Buddy seems very blessed. I think that next year, he will be very happy to participate in looking for eggs. I could also see that it would be difficult for someone with low vision to look for eggs, and so the chirping noises the eggs made would help a lot.
We also met a little boy that has albinism. Children with albinism tend to have even more trouble with their vision than children with only ocular albinism, and it was amazing to see how active this little boy was. He was very independent, and participated in all of the activities. He didn't seem to let anything stop him from accomplishing what he set out to do. That was really encouraging to us, and we felt a lot better after meeting him.
Another cool thing we learned on Saturday was from one of the activity tables. Some companies make coloring books with raised outlines for visually impaired children. They are really expensive, and as much as I love Buddy and want him to succeed, I wasn't sure that they were worth the expense (not that he can color yet, anyway). At the egg hunt, they had a craft table, and they had made raised line coloring pages for the kids by taking regular coloring pages and going over the outlines of the images with puff paint. Simple, and cheap. I think Buddy will definitely have some of these. It seems like a tool like that could help any child learn to stay within the lines.
We go to the geneticist on Tuesday. I don't know if they will do the test then, or if they are just going to talk to us about it and make an appointment for the test.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
What Buddy Can See
Having a baby keeps you very busy! We had Buddy's first functional vision assessment 10 days ago. The specialist/interventionist used toys and objects that were bright or shiny and some that made a little bit of noise to catch his attention. She found that he can see and track bright and shiny objects about a foot to a foot and a half from his face, and he only has vision in the upper range. This means that he really only sees objects that are above his nose.
We are very excited that he can see this well. The specialist said that many children with vision problems do not develop their lower vision until they are several years old, but for Buddy, it is still a possibility.
The specialist also brought goggles for my husband and I to try so that we could see what Buddy's vision is like and what it will possibly be like as he develops. I'm glad she did, because I feel better now. I had wondered if it would be like he was looking through a frosted glass window or something, but instead it was just blurry.
We also met with a representative from the Early Steps program. She did a questionnaire with us about Buddy's development so far. Because he does not see us when we are not very close to him, he scored low in the interpersonal skills areas. Hopefully they will be able to work with him on this. The good news is that he interacts with us when we are close to him, and he can hear us even when he can't see us. I talk to him on the phone when I am at work, and he definitely knows it's me! We will go and have a total assessment of Buddy's development on April 4th.
In the meantime, I am trying to incorporate foods into my diet that an eye doctor said might help Buddy's eyes. Unfortunately, the list of foods is: Alaskan Salmon, Kale, Spinach, and Goji berries. I don't really think I like any of the first three things. I had never had goji berries, and I thought, "Berries don't sound so bad..." They are not easy to find, and very expensive. We paid over $13 for two cups of dried goji berries. They ARE sun-dried, certified organic, and vegan. They also have a very interesting flavor, which took some getting used to. I figured I probably needed to find some alternative means for getting these nutrients, so tonight, I will be trying salmon. It is currently marinating in brown sugar and soy sauce, waiting for the Buddy daddy to get home from work. I have also been looking at recipes to find ways to use the very large bag of kale that I have in my refrigerator.
Talk to you soon!
We are very excited that he can see this well. The specialist said that many children with vision problems do not develop their lower vision until they are several years old, but for Buddy, it is still a possibility.
The specialist also brought goggles for my husband and I to try so that we could see what Buddy's vision is like and what it will possibly be like as he develops. I'm glad she did, because I feel better now. I had wondered if it would be like he was looking through a frosted glass window or something, but instead it was just blurry.
We also met with a representative from the Early Steps program. She did a questionnaire with us about Buddy's development so far. Because he does not see us when we are not very close to him, he scored low in the interpersonal skills areas. Hopefully they will be able to work with him on this. The good news is that he interacts with us when we are close to him, and he can hear us even when he can't see us. I talk to him on the phone when I am at work, and he definitely knows it's me! We will go and have a total assessment of Buddy's development on April 4th.
In the meantime, I am trying to incorporate foods into my diet that an eye doctor said might help Buddy's eyes. Unfortunately, the list of foods is: Alaskan Salmon, Kale, Spinach, and Goji berries. I don't really think I like any of the first three things. I had never had goji berries, and I thought, "Berries don't sound so bad..." They are not easy to find, and very expensive. We paid over $13 for two cups of dried goji berries. They ARE sun-dried, certified organic, and vegan. They also have a very interesting flavor, which took some getting used to. I figured I probably needed to find some alternative means for getting these nutrients, so tonight, I will be trying salmon. It is currently marinating in brown sugar and soy sauce, waiting for the Buddy daddy to get home from work. I have also been looking at recipes to find ways to use the very large bag of kale that I have in my refrigerator.
Talk to you soon!
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