Not Sleepless in Seattle

We are in Seattle to attend a wedding and are making this trip a family vacation. We have been out and about with C every day so far.

She attracts a lot of attention. Yesterday at dinner, a woman came up to our table telling us that she was sorry to interrupt our meal, but that she had to tell us how adorable C is. And at the hotel gift shop, a woman asked how long C has been wearing glasses. Her daughter started wearing them at three months and had surgery around first grade. Her daughter also had to wear bifocals. She no longer has glasses. It was nice to talk with another person in a similar situation who can relate. We definitely have been getting attention with C around. I wonder what she thinks of all these strangers coming up to us.

This trip is opening up my eyes to see what a big girl she is becoming. I had brought some baby food as backup, but have hardly used it. C has had eggs, ham, chicken potstickers, fried rice, cheeseburger – just a variety of food. And we recently discovered that she can drink well from straws. This makes it much easier not to rely on sippy cups.

On a different note, I love my iPhone! I feel connected with being able to read/ write email. I love having a chance to browse for local places to eat on Yelp. Most importantly, I can take decent photos on the iPhone and send them to family as we are on this trip. Or upload to Flickr without waiting to get back home. I love it!

Time for Bifocals

I came out of C’s eye appointment feeling good. Our next plan of action is bifocals. An extra +3.00 (I think. I did not write it down) on top of her +7.50. At distance viewing, her eyes maintained the +7.50 with about a 15% eye turn (not sure of the medical term). Close up, her eye turn is 25-30%. So we will give bifocals a try to help her see better up close.

The doctor says that if the bifocals improve the eye turn to 15% or less, then surgery will not be needed. 0-10% eye turn is good, but she generally does not operate at 15%.

C’s right eye also has a slight turn upwards. The doctor says it is very minor and only correctable if there is surgery for the strabismus. She doesn’t do the surgery for just the upward turn.

The good thing is that her eyes still alternate in crossing with a little more preference for the left eye. We will continue patching for four hours a day.

C will need to adjust to the bifocals. Her balance may be off. We are supposed to have her do activities up close. C is a late walker (almost there, she can cruise) so I hope the bifocals will not hinder her too much. Unlike adult bifocals, the line in C’s bifocals will intersect the middle of her pupils. Interesting. I hope she adjusts well.

We will go back in a month for a follow up. I really hope the bifocals help decrease the eye turn!

Worrywart

We have C’s eye checkup tomorrow. The doctor had a cancellation so we moved our appointment up a month since the office was booked when we originally scheduled a time.

I am a liitle nervous. C’s eyes still cross with her glasses although definitely not as much as without her glasses.

I wish that C would let the doctor examine her closely and thoroughly. At the last few visits, C would start crying and squirming whenever the doctor approached her with the light or anything else. Toys or distractions have no effect. I hope that the doctor can get accurate readings. I get stressed in the office with her crying, and trying to ask questions and listen to the answers. S always goes to the appointments too so that is a big help.

I have a feeling either bifocals or surgery will be the topics. We will see….

Stokke? Or Not?

One of the things I hate about C’s highchair is that she slouches in it. C is also on the tiny side (weight is below percentile and height at 5 percentile). When she sits in the highchair with the tray on, she almost disappears behind the tray. The highchair is a generic highchair.

We also have one of those Fisher-Price Healthy Care Booster Seats, but I don’t want to give up a regular dining chair to put it on.

Earlier today, we were at a friend’s house. I noticed an interesting highchair made of wood pulled up to the kitchen table. I put C in it and loved that she was sitting straight. With the way the chair is made, I guess there is no slouching allowed. And, C’s feet reached the footrest instead of dangling or sticking straight out.

I asked the friend about the chair. She raves about it and said it is made by a company called Stokke.

I just had a chance to look up Stokke highchairs on Amazon. $250.00. Wow.

It has good reviews. I love that the chair can be used as the child gets older. Even adults can sit in it. And, the child sits at the table since there is no tray that is attached.

But, it is an expensive highchair! I am debating with myself about spending that on a highchair when we already have something that we use.

I will have to think more on this!

Happy Birthday Every Day

It has been hard to get C to sit in her highchair through a meal without trying to come up with all sorts of diversions. Giving her some foods she can pick up and eat helps, but there are some meals which I still feed to her. I have tried giving her books to distract her. Once distracted, she readily accepts the spoon of food.

The latest in the bag of tricks is to play her birthday video on the computer while she is eating. (We have the computer in the family room which can be seen from the eating area off the kitchen.). It plays over and over again. She points and reacts to different family members as they appear in the video. I am able to feed her, and she is not fussy.

I wonder if this is the same as having her watch tv while eating. (C does not watch any tv.)

Shrimp and Artichoke Pasta

Late last week, I made Shrimp and Artichoke Pasta.   I was in the pasta mood and wanted something besides chicken.   The meal was quite easy to make, but there are a few things I’d do a little differently next time.

The recipe calls for a clove of garlic.   I could hardly taste the garlic.  The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of the pesto sauce.  I had to use much more.   S thought that the flavors were fine as is, but for me, I think that it could have used a lot more garlic.  

I used a lot more shrimp than probably was necessary for the meal.  I don’t know how to peel or de-vein shrimp so I purchased shrimp that were already peeled and de-veined.    My supermarket only had the smaller shrimp so I got a pound.   Too much, in hindsight.  

I would make this meal again though with more pesto, garlic, and less shrimp.   We had it as leftovers for lunch the next day.

Here is the Shrimp and Artichoke Pasta from Simply Recipes.

The ingredients are here you can check it out and then click on the recipe if you want to try this yourself.   The amount will vary based on number of servings.   As I mentioned, I would increase the pesto sauce and the amount of garlic.

Linguine, fettuccine, spaghetti, or other pasta
Prepared basil pesto
Olive oil 
Clove garlic 
Large shrimp 
Frozen peas 
Artichoke heart quarters 
Green onions 
Fresh parsley 
Black pepper

Here is the finished dish: