No glasses!!

So after I took Zoe to the doctor for the first time about her eyes I just didn't feel settled about what they told me. As I talked to others who had the same problem as Zoe does, and did my own research, it just didn't seem right to just put glasses on her and call her good. How did that fix her eye that had gone a little lazy? I still had so many questions. So I took her to another eye doctor who could answer my questions as give me alternative options. Anyway the doctor I took her to was excellent. He told me that Zoe has 2 different size eyes she was born with and one of two things will happen. 1. She will grow and her eye balls will grow and she will grow out of it, she will no longer need glasses or have issues, but that is not anything that we did to help her, her eyes will just grow to the normal size. But we won't know if that will happen, that will take time. In the mean time we have to correct her vision. Option 2. We correct the vision problem in her right eye now by using a contact lens, instead of glasses. Then we put a patch or blurring drops in the good eye to teach her brain to use her right eye. We use the contact lens because it is easier on her and only one eye needs correction. SO probably no glasses.

Valentines day and more February Fun!

Whole bunch of stuff + Naples FL!

So I decided that I am going to be a better blogger for many reasons. I feel like I have to be better at keeping a record of all the cute things Zoe does on a daily basis, as well as express my thoughts as a mom living in New York City. So here I go.

First off, for those of you who don't know, I found out that Zoe has Amblyopia in her right eye. Which means she has to get glasses. This is a condition where the brain basically stops using one eye because it can't see as well as the other eye. Well in Zoe's case her left eye see's better than her right eye. I noticed it because when she would get tired, her right eye would go out slightly. This concerned me, so I did my own testing, I covered one eye and noticed that she focused on me with her left eye but when I did the same to her right, she just swiped my hand away and would not focus. I was really worried so I took her to a pediatric opthamoligist who told me that my sweet little 10 month old now has to wear glasses to correct her far sided eye sight in her right eye! I felt horrible. I know it may not be life threatening but, I still felt bad because you always want your baby to be just perfect. But I have come to terms with it and am convinced that her eye will get better, as the doctor said it could, and that she will be the cutest little girl in glasses. In all honesty though, I still feel really bad, I guess Zoe is not the only one who will have to get used to her wearing glasses! Anyway, the doctor said that she may have to wear her glasses up until her teens, but I feel that with many prayers, faith, and glasses maybe her eyes will correct the problem sooner. Amblyopia is often times genetic, which makes sense because I have an uncle that had the same problem. As well as a nephew with similar issues. But the good news is, according to my Mom, her brother only had to wear glasses as a young child and not as an adult, so the problem does get better!

As far as cute new things Zoe does, she has started saying "hi" in a very high pitched tone, similar to how I say it to her. She also has started to mimic my sounds. For example, I will say mouth, and she will say mmm mamma, or bath and she will say bbb ba ba. So that is good, she is progressing in her language skills. I have just started to teach her to read. I know it sounds crazy but they say babies use most of their brain power from birth until around age 4 or 5 years, so this is actually a very good time to teach them as much as possible. We'll see how she does, I will give you up dates. For now we are working on recognizing body parts and small words. I am using "Your Baby Can Read" method so we will see how she does. So far, the studies behind the method are pretty convincing.

Zoe is getting around pretty good, still not fully crawling, but definitely getting around. She is getting lots of hair and smiles and laughs all the time. She crinckles her nose and smiles at everyone. Although, I have noticed she is bias to women, (probably because that is all she is around, with the mommy groups and all). She is rocking back and forth on her hands and knees and loves to do it in her crib, which is hilarious because she rocks the crib and then manages to get in the most inconspicuous positions in her mini crib. Which really surprises me some times when I walk in there and see the positions she sleeps in. She sure makes use of her tiny crib space! She loves dancing to music, especially music with a good beat. We dance every day with her and she just laughs and laughs. She likes to sit in her baby bath tub in the bathroom while I do my make up and play with toys in there. Obviously there is no water in it, but it is just so funny how she loves her tub so much. She has figured out how to pull the DVD's out of the baskets in our TV stand and is SUPER inquisitive always looking to touch and discover everything. She can move her self while sitting in her Bumbo seat, which is concerning because I keep it on the counter top. Unfortunately we don't have room for a high chair, so I just have to keep a close eye on her in her seat. She surprises me everyday of how much she changes and grows. She is SO much fun. I have to say every month gets more and more fun as she interacts with me and her personality comes out. I am glad that she occasionally sleeps through the night! If she did it every night, I would be SO happy. Scott and I are so grateful for little Zoe, she is a little angel!

So the other night we went to a movie that really got me thinking about our government and how messed up it is. Is there such thing as a honest politician???? Seriously, I feel like our government officials are out for themselves rather than the people that elect them. The sad thing is, is that they are the ones who make the rules, spend our money, and send our men and women off to war- some times to their death. I tend to be more conservative in my veiws but I feel that many of the conservatives and liberals for that matter are all about the motto " You scratch my back and I will scratch yours." When the motto they should be living by is "For the people by the people". Anyway enough of my rant, my hope is some day we have representatives and politicians that realize who votes them in.

Winter has been difficult for me, I have felt so cooped up, some days not able to leave the apartment. I have felt that winter has sucked the life out of me. However, Spring is on its way and I could not be happier. We recently took a trip down to Florida where the sun was shining almost everyday!! This was SO AWESOME, I love the sun! This trip was much needed to get us through the cold dark winter that New York harbors. We had SO much fun, one of the best parts was that I was able to hang out with one of my best friends Katie Wood! She came and hung out with us (now that she lives in FL), and it was just a blast. How fun was it to have my great buddy hanging out with Zoe and I all day!!! Such a treat! It also didn't hurt that we got to stay at a five star resort in Napels which was SO NICE!

SLEEP ???

Ok so last night Zoe slept from 6:30pm -8am!!! Not a peep from her! This hasn't happened in all of the 9.5 months of her life! Yes, it is a long time since I have had a good nights sleep. I guess that comes with being a mom. Now I wish I would have taken advantage of all the chances I had to sleep a full night! I have to say though, Zoe has been worth every bit of lost sleep. She gives me big smiles with her crinkled nose.