Strabismus or Pseudo Strabismus? I wish I could say it wasn't any of my Stra-business...

but, as of yesterday afternoon, it became my business. I now have the full time job of worrying about my baby's eyes. Before yesterday, it was only a part time job, as I have been worrying on and off since Ashton was born, but had nothing to confirm my fears. Sooooo, yesterday was Ashton's 6 month well visit. I thought about canceling because of all the sickness that I know is there, but he needed his shots, and I had a concern. One that I hoped would be dismissed,as "he'll grow out of it". What I'm talking about, is Ashton's eyes sometimes appear to be crossed. It's most prominent in pictures. I knew it was a "normal" newborn thing, but thought it should have gone away by now. Turns out I was right,even though I didn't want to be. So... Strabismus or Pseudo Strabismus? They both sounded scary to me. And believe it or not, I'm hoping for the one that SOUNDS scarier.(pseudo strabismus.) So, strabismus is when a child's (or adult's) eyes are crossed, either one or both turning in,(or sometimes out?) I believe . This can be because of a weak muscle that doesn't hold the eye in place, or because of vision problems. The vision problem can usually be corrected with glasses,the weak muscle with corrective measures, like an eye patch to cover the good eye,so it forces you to use the bad one,and trains it to stay in place. Sometimes if a child won't keep a patch on, they do drops to dilate the good eye,again forcing the bad eye to do the work. And in some cases surgery or surgeries are performed to try to correct it. Pseudo Strabismus ( the one I'm hoping for) is kinda funny because the name sounds scarier, but in fact, as far as I've learned it is a harmless illusion! Basically, some babies have an extra skin fold on the inside corner of their eyes,that gives the illusion that the eyes are crossing,when in fact the skin is just covering more of the white of the eye. This is something that will change as the baby grows and the bridge of the nose is not so wide and flat. The Pedi said that Ashton does have that extra skin flap, so that could be what his is, but that we have to see an Optho, to find out. She also said that there are only a few in San Antonio, and it might take a few months to get in. I was thinking "ok, here we go again...more specialists! I thought we were done with all of that". So,anyway it was a disappointing day yesterday. I couldn't get out of that office soon enough, I didn't even take the time to schedule his 9 month well check. I felt like that place was suffocating me,and I had to get out quick! We got to the car and I just sat there with Ashton and prayed. I always dread going to the Pediatrician's office, because so many times I've left there with a broken heart. Yesterday was no exception. We got home and I put Ashton down for his nap and I did what any Mother who's worried sick about her baby would do...I took my frustration and disappointment out on my dirty floors! Ha! So I mopped, and cried, and mopped,and cried some more! There's something therapeutic about cleaning house. I always joke that if you come over and my house is spotless, more than likely I'm stressed out about something. But if you drop by and my house is a complete mess, it means I'm carefree! So anyway, after my day yesterday,today I had a ray of hope! I talked to my Mom about the appointment,and she said I had the same thing when I was little! They thought I was crossing my eyes, and sent me to a specialist,but all it turned out to be, was the skin folds making it look like I was crossing my eyes! I was so excited to hear that. And all along, my Mom has been saying that Ashton has my eyes! I'm hoping more than ever that she's right! I'm thinking the chances are higher of his being just the skin folds, since I had it. But, on the other side of things, his Daddy has really bad eyesight. So maybe it's 50/50? What do I know? I guess we'll hafta wait and see. So please pray that Ashton's eyes are fine, and that he has great vision! To end all of this on a good note, Ashton is right on target developmentally, and is 50th percentile for height,50th percentile for weight, and his head measured at 75th percentile! And that ALWAYS feels good to hear!