In which May contemplates art and religion

In this, the next segment of our continuing series ‘Yes May, but is it art?’, we consider a new exhibition that passed before the newly bespectacled eyes of little May this week. It was not May’s first time at Salisbury Cathedral. She and I enjoyed the cathedral’s tea and scones while I was pregnant and [...]

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This week I’m… adding glasses to May’s cuteness arsenal (Photos!)

Last night, in anticipation of the arrival of May’s glasses today, I asked to my husband, “Do you think the glasses will make a difference?” “No,” he said, bluntly. I made a kind of hmmm sound. The kind of sound wives make to husbands when a “no” isn’t quite a sufficiently long enough response. He looked up [...]

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May needs glasses! Woohoo!

I shouldn’t get too excited. The Prof even told me not to get too excited. (Side Note: You know they are medical big wigs when… everyone calls them The Prof or The Boss.) I took May into Morefields Eye Hospital this week to get her eyes checked. The doctor in charge of the Developmental Vision [...]

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Why do so few people care about May’s visual development?

I will remind everyone reading this that I’m not a doctor since I’m about to explain how vision develops in a baby. (Feel free to correct me.) There are two aspects of vision: mechanical and cognitive. Mechanical is how the eye moves, focuses on things, etc. Cognitive is how the brain reads, identifies and remembers [...]

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Update on May’s vision

A year ago, I took May to see a ophthamologist at the hospital to check the mechanics of her eyes. We’d already established that May’s vision was weak, but in what way? To what extent? And, what could we do to help? I struggled to get anyone to help her. I’ve found the medical community [...]

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This week I’m… sitting in the dark. In the bathroom.

It’s not as miserable as it sounds. I’m sitting in the dark. In the bathroom… with a giggling baby on my lap. In the summer months, it is almost impossible to find a space dark enough to stimulate May’s eyes with lights. So, we’ve retreated to the bathroom, where no light shines. Together we sit [...]

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Dealing with doctors

What is the difference between a doctor and a secretary? That’s not a joke. This week there was no difference. Both asked after my daughter. Both offered no new information whatsoever. In fact, as far as services go, the secretary at least provided me with the form I requested. On Monday, we met with a [...]

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And May said, “Let there be light…”

There is so much a baby can not tell her parents or doctors. Can she hear? Taste? Can she recognize her mother’s smell or her father’s beard chaffing her face? In the hospital, we were certain May could see. She seemed to scan the room with interest and focus on objects. In later months, closer [...]

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This week I’m… using colored lights.

Be patient. This is all leading somewhere (a phrase that should be the official motto of this blog) Living in Britain means my life has changed immeasurably. While it is often hard to put a finger on the exact differences, the English language itself provides some clues. For example, Americans are often thought of as [...]

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This week I’m… reading to May.

I try to read a book to May every day. A baby book, of course. Don’t get too excited – I’m not starting her on War and Peace. The books are wonderful because they have the bright colors she needs exposure to for her sight, they sound wonderful to listen to, feel wonderful to touch [...]

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