Illusion

Since Ella was born I've been worrying about her left eye. It always seemed to turn in a bit. At times we'd notice and at others we wouldn't. It's most prominent in photographs. I have worked hard to only put pictures of Ella on the blog where her eye looks as 'straight' as possible.

Of course I've spoken to our pediatrician about it and at first was told to wait until she was 4 months. And that was after Dr. Chase looked at her from every angle and thought she might see what I was describing. She said the eyes are still learning to focus until a baby is 4 months old. At Ella's 4 month visit I spoke to the doctor (a different one) about her eye and he said to wait until she's between 9 and 12 months as the eyes can change a lot in the first year. I have noticed some improvement but it is still a bit off to me. So I decided to take her to see Dr. Amy Wexler - a pediatric opthamologist at Wills Eye Institute. We are so blessed to live in an area with some of the best hospitals in the country.

It was at this appointment that I remembered that my mom's sister Carol had a lazy eye that was pretty severe (don't ask me WHY this never even entered my mind in the last 7 months). The doctor explained that eye issues are hereditary and I started to panic. After she did an initial exam she dilated Ella's pupils and we waited. She then did a full exam and her diagnosis?... She thinks it's an illusion. An illusion! And I think she may be right. She said that right now the bridge on Ella's nose is wide and flat (and she said that will change). She also said that Ella's eyes may be a bit different in shape which contributes to the illusion. We will go back for another check-up in 6 months so for now I'm hoping this doctor knows what she's talking about!

Here is a picture of Ella's eye where it looks weak... But if you look closely you'll see that the skin is actually what's covering part of her iris.

This picture is taken within 15 minutes of the first and her eye looks better. It looks different depending on the angle of the shot.

Ella is my sweet sweet girl and was such a good girl at the appointment. I was very proud of her. And we love her eyes so much!