First off I want to thank everyone who has been praying for David Michael. We are eternally grateful for all the many prayers! We know our God is The great Healer! (If you are wondering what I am taking about check out this update.)

We have now seen two different ENTs (ear nose and throat physicians) in Greenville who have been very encouraging! David Michael has been diagnosed with laryngomalacia. Laryngomalacia is the most common cause of stridor (high-pitched breath sound resulting from turbulent air flow in the larynx) in infancy, in which the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction. 

Monday David Michael had a scope sent down his nose into his throat to look at what was going on in his throat. He took it like a trooper sitting on my lap. We were able to watch the video and see first hand what was happening when he breathes. 

The doctor pointed out to us the tissues that were "floppy" and not working correctly. Also in David Micheal's case, due to him having pretty severe reflux everything including the "floppy" tissue was very swollen and only adding to his difficulty breathing. The doctor is also worried that he is not emptying his stomach correctly because he will spit up hours after eating and not just small amounts causing more inflammation.

David Michael is now on two different acid reflux medications. He is scheduled on February 3rd for a gastric emptying test and scheduled in early June for a sleep apnea test. We will have to continue holding him up for one hour after he eats(any volunteers I will gladly take you up on that!), he does not sleep well on his back but the doctor says it is perfectly safe for him to sleep in his bouncer. If we wanted to lay him flat at night he suggested getting a sleep apnea mat to alert us if he stops breathing. 

I actually feel very relieved! The thought of surgery really scared me. We still have a very long road ahead of us, but I know God has His hand over my baby. We feel very blessed to be surround with excellent medical staff. 

Thank you for praying and continuing to pray! 

David Michael has been diagnosed with tracheomalacia. "Tracheomalacia in a newborn occurs when the cartilage in the windpipe, or trachea, has not developed properly. Instead of being rigid, the walls of the trachea are floppy, resulting in breathing difficulties soon after birth. Babies born with tracheomalacia may have other congenital abnormalities such as heart defects, developmental delay, or gastroesophageal reflux. Also, aspiration pneumonia can occur from inhaling food. Symptoms include: breathing noises that may change with position and improve during sleep, breathing problems that get worse with coughing, crying, feeding, or upper respiratory infections and high-pitched or rattling breathing." (According to Johns Hopkins)

He is definitely a trooper and the sweetest little baby. I hate to see him in pain or struggling! He has been taking zantac (a reflux medicine) three times a day, which seems to help some. He breaths a lot better when he is being held up or on his belly. When he is laying flat in the pack n play he has a really difficult time breathing which in turn wakes him up. We have developed a little system where his daddy stays up with him till 1am and then I stay up with him the rest of the night. We have tried putting him in the swing, bouncer, and carseat. Nothing lasts because he struggles breathing and it wakes him up.

I have been assured from friends and family that he will outgrow this condition and be fine, but it definitely terrifies and concerns this momma.

The BIGGEST caution and risk with this diagnosis is that if he develops any kind of respiratory sickness it could become life threatening. That being said we are pretty much hanging out on the couch. For David Michael and little runny nose could be life threatening. So be ware that if you come over to our house you will be washing your hand and not allowed in with any kind of cold.

Please pray with us that he will outgrow this quickly without any complications! We know our God is much bigger than we are and loves this little guy more than we could even imagine!