Thursday, August 9, 2012

Let the games begin!

It is Olympic season so all the news and websites are screaming with stories of athletes and gold medals.  I have to admit that I have watched very little of the Olympics.  I have very little TV time and reserve those precious moments for high quality shows like Teen Mom and Project Runway (which is a whole different post- my addiction to reality TV).  And who needs the Olympics when I've got a great game to watch in my own living room.  It is similar to training for a marathon only instead of a gold medal, my daughter wins her sight.  Yes folks, the Patch Games have arrived!

First patch of the day.

Now that we finally have a contact, we are patching again.  And we are patching more.  Julia has to patch half of her waking hours, which equates from 6 am to 2 pm (can't count nap time!).  And the game is keeping the patch on!

And it's off - in 3 minutes.

She rips them off very quickly and you have to constantly keep her occupied and her hands busy.  Sometimes I feel like we are training for a marathon and the training is wearing this patch.  It is hard and painful for her (just like training) but it is necessary and the rewards are great.

Second patch.

A lot of the times I feel bad making her patch.  I know that it is for her good and I know that the result will be great (who doesn't want to see their kid stand on the podium and get a gold medal - or get a driver's license and pass the vision screening).  But times when she is fussy, teething, or has a cold - I don't want to do it.  It is like training with an injury.  She already doesn't feel good and I am putting an icky, sticky patch on her face.  She rips it off and in my head I tell myself, "Let's just give her a little break, just a short time."  But I know that will make it worse so I put a new patch on immediately.

I don't need this patch.

It is such a dilemma - making your child do something uncomfortable because you know it is good for them.  I just wish I could make her understand.  Kids are instant gratification - they don't get that this is going to be great in 15 years.  They can't see 15 seconds ahead.  Forget the fact that she is 9 months and doesn't understand what I'm saying anyway!

This is actually the 5th patch - we lost 2 on car rides and one during nap.






I wish she could tell me what it is like.  I wish she could explain to me what she sees.  Does it give her a headache?  Does it make the world spin?  I want to know what it does to her when I put that little patch on.

Not keeping it on!

Maybe if she could explain it to me I could help her find a way to keep it on.  Or at least comfort her better.  In the meantime, I guess I will just order more patches.

We just keep trying!



4 comments:

  1. Oh that was the worse age for us. Such busy bodies yet still so hard to distract from the patch.
    Stick with it. Hopefully once she starts walking she will be too busy to bother with it. Nicole was a nightmare....constantly needing to be entertained with such a short attention span for anything. And the car? forget it...it was unbearable. And then slowly slowly slowly maybe around 14 months something clicked and dare I jinx myself by saying she doesn't pull them at all! Of course we still have to spell the word patch cause if she hears it she is right on you sticking her face there to get it off. Wish we knew what they could see. Wish I knew it would it all pay off in the end. But we have to have faith.
    Sending good vibes your way!

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  2. Praying for you.... It is so hard on you as the mom to do this, but you can. You have done so much for her vision already. Keep fighting, imom!!

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  3. I LOVE the pic of her standing at the toy box thing. She is just too cute. I think she wanted patch #5 because she is rockin it out, so adorable!!! I know this is hard and heartbreaking, but you both will win. Gold medals aren't given away... they are earned. ;)

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  4. It is so hard! I will say that the krafty patches we use are easier to re use than the ortopad ones are. When Anderson was going through 100 or so a day, that definitely helped! This is the hardest time for sure! I know that doesn't help now, but hang in there and it will get better!!

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