WWYD? Taking 2 month old to the eye doctor.

My 9 week old DS has an eye doctor apptmt Friday to get his eyes dilated and I sort of want to cancel the apptmt but i'm not sure.

When DS was 6 days old we took him to a pediatric opthamologist because I was freaking out becasue i thought his eyes were moving strangely. Turns out all babies eyes do that (why the pediatrician didn't just say that, i don't know). Doctor checked him and said he was fine.

Anyway, the opthamologist told us to make an apptmt for when he was 2 months old so that he could have his eyes dialted. He said that he recommends all babies get their eyes checked in case, "if you don't look you don't find" is what he said. I looked online and read that it really is recommended that infants have their eyes dilated bc its always better if things are caught early. However, they gave 6 months as the ideal age.

What do I do? Cancel the apptmt and wait until 6 months or go now? I imagine that he's so tiny and the sensitivity and numbness in his eyes will freak him out and he'll cry, etc. (he's already a little fussy and can get overstimulated). I wonder if its best when hes 6 months and hopefully a happier baby or to just get it over with now bc he won't really be aware of what's going on? But then what if there is something wrong and its not caught early bc i postponed the apptmt? I'm so CONFUSED!!! WWYD?

Re: WWYD? Taking 2 month old to the eye doctor.

I'd wait till he's 6 months!

My DS had his eyes checked at dilated but his ped and pediatric opthamologist wanted to wait till he was at least 6 months.

I have estropia and have had strabismus surgery and that is why they wanted to check my DS early! But not too early since before 6 months most babies have some weakness and lack of eye control.

Good Luck in your decision

Re: WWYD? Taking 2 month old to the eye doctor.

Since it's not really for a specific concern (or maybe I read that wrong?) I'd cancel until he was older.

Re: WWYD? Taking 2 month old to the eye doctor.

I also wanted to add that they use a different dilating solution for babies, not as stinging. My DS didn't cry at all getting them dilated!

I was worried about that too, especially since I get dilated every year since I've been 2 and I know how it burns!

Re: WWYD? Taking 2 month old to the eye doctor.

I took my DS at 6 months because he has a blocked tear duct. He didn't react at all to getting his pupils dilated. He wasn't a fan of having drops put in his eyes, but other than that he didn't cry, complain or anything. He was quite happy jumping on my lap in the waiting room.

Re: WWYD? Taking 2 month old to the eye doctor.

I took DS to the eye doc around 6 months and he was fine with the dilation. If you think your baby has a problem you should go ASAP, though, because there are things that must be corrected early and if they're not caught early enough they can never be fully corrected. It sounds like you don't have any specific concerns, though, so 6 months should be fine.

Re: WWYD? Taking 2 month old to the eye doctor.

Posted by CathyB

Since it's not really for a specific concern (or maybe I read that wrong?) I'd cancel until he was older.

Re: WWYD? Taking 2 month old to the eye doctor.

I took to DS to an opthalmologist when when he was 1 month old. His eyes were dilated but he was fine with it.

If there's no specific concern, however, I'd probably wait until DC is older.