DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend and I have been going through some rough patches lately for various reasons. We are both seniors in high school and we still have a long school year in front of us.

Not only that, but we both have plans to attend colleges that will be over 1,200 miles from each other. All of this weighs on my mind and even though a part of me wants to reach out to him after our latest spat, another part of me wants to leave well enough alone.

We've been together for over a year and a half as a couple, but I feel the ground is moving now underneath my feet and it's time I take a step back. However, that seems scary for some reason, and to make things more complicated, my mom absolutely loves this guy. If I break things off with him I'll get a lot of grief about it at home for sure. — About Ready to Move On, via email

ABOUT READY TO MOVE ON: Your relationship is yours alone, not your mother's. It's nice that she likes him, but you must do what is best for you and your future at all times. Mom will eventually get over it if you decide to step back from your relationship.

I suggest that you engage in an open, honest and far-ranging conversation with your boyfriend. Address your respective futures as well as your present, since the future may be weighing on your mind.

After such a conversation, make a decision about your future. You'll likely garner further information, intuition and insights that should help guide you toward making an ultimate decision you can be comfortable with either way.

I'M A WORRIED NEW MOTHER

DR. WALLACE: I'm 19 and just had my first baby. I love her so much, but now I'm worried because my doctor said she has strabismus! I did not know what that even was, but apparently it has to do with her eyes.

Anyhow, I was at a clinic and the doctor told me not to worry about it right now. Then he had to leave abruptly, so I never got to speak with him at length about what it was and what it meant for my baby.

Should I be as worried about this situation as I now feel? I'm really upset and worried that she might go blind if there is something wrong with her little eyes. — One Really Worried New Mom, via email

ONE REALLY WORRIED NEW MOM: I am not a medical doctor, but I did check with our friends at the Cleveland Clinic, and they informed me that strabismus usually appears in infants and young children.

Strabismus (misaligned eyes) is a condition in which eyes don't line up with one another as one eye is turned in a direction that's different from the other eye. Under normal conditions, the six muscles that control eye movement work together and point both eyes in the same direction.

If your baby has strabismus, the muscles presently have issues controlling eye movement and can't keep normal ocular alignment (eye positioning.)

Most strabismus is found in childhood, and it is not unusual for a newborn to have misaligned or wandering eyes from time to time. By the age of 3 to 4 months, your baby's eyes should be able to focus on small objects and they should be straight and well aligned. A 6-month-old baby should be able to focus on objects both near and far.

Continue to seek medical care for your baby, but I trust that blindness is not an issue to worry about at this time. Find the earliest opportunity to speak with a medical professional about your child's eyes and to gain more information regarding the possible strabismus diagnosis you were recently given.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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