Braxton's eye appointment

Braxton's eye appointment went better than I expected. As some of you know, his eyes are very weak, in that they cross most of the time when he's trying to focus. I was anticipating the eye doctor to be very concerned with this and link it to neurological reason. This wasn't the case at all. She actually said she wasn't concerned because in reality, he is only about 2.5 months old and even full term babies have problems with crossed eyes. Which I am aware of...but braxton's eyes are very crossed. Sometimes it looks like he is looking at the bridge of his nose for a lot of the day.

Me, being mom, has been worried about this (of course). I've been trying to just let it go and pray about it and remember that God has His hands on those little eyes. Every day, I notice glimpse of improvement. He does smile, ever so often, and ever so slight and this is when he can focus on your face. Once he does, it's apparent that he sees you and can be "social". that's something I'm watching too....his ability to socialize apporpriately. It's so hard, because xander is cooing and smiling and is such a social little boy. It's hard not to constantly think of the brain damage that has gone on with braxton, and link that to every little thing I may or may not see in him (ie: focusing, not smiling as much, not tracking, etc.). The truth of the matter is, though, that Braxton could just be on a slower course than Xander. These things he is lacking (compared to his brother), is not necessarily a direct correlation to the PVL (white matter damage).

What's next....Braxton goes back in a month. The doctor wants to see how the blood vessels are doing (this time she didn't dilate his eyes because she didn't see a need), and see how his eye muscles are working. At 4 months adjusted (About April), braxton should have shown great signs of improvement. Please, if you will, be in prayer with me about this for this next month. Worse comes to worse, and it's not a prematurity thing, but he actually has crossed eyes (which is very common among preemies), then they can use glasses, patches, or even surgery.

Thanks for staying in touch with our boys health and development. We appreciate all the continued support!