Milly's vision journey began when she was only 1 day old after a midwife picked up that her red eye reflex didn't show in her left eye. She then saw an ophthalmologist at 2 weeks old and was diagnosed with a congenital cataract, which her mum Lucy said, 'was very overwhelming and an emotional time for us as first time parents'. We're sure all of our patching families can understand this feeling 🫶

At just under 6 weeks old, Milly had to travel from Hobart to the Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital for surgery to remove the cataract. She got her contact lens at 8 weeks and started patching straight away to strengthen her left eye.

Milly loves to be kept busy when she is patching. Lucy said if they are inside she loves to kick around on the ground in front of the mirror with some high-contrast books and toys. She also loves singing songs and movement. When outside she loves watching the family dogs run around and going for walks where she can see new things like trees or animals... while protecting her eyes with her Speckles sunglasses of course.

Patching a tiny tot isn't always easy and Lucy had some great tips! They started with small amounts of patching time spread out over the day and worked up to her current plan, which is half her waking hours in one go. They find if they put the patch on straight after a sleep, she doesn't mind as much and think keeping Milly busy is the key 👏

A consistent routine has also helped, so Milly knows when the patch is going on and coming off. Lucy said 'Having Speckles patches has been great too because it makes me feel better about Milly having to wear a patch and I love choosing them to match her outfit.'

A huge thank you to Lucy for sharing Milly's story and these adorable photos of her rocking our patches 💖