"Most children grow out of it, so give it time."

This is a quote from all the doctors and any website that had info on laryngomalacia. Already at 12 months, Nolan was still having major breathing problems. He was a very happy boy, but he seemed to have sleep apnea at night. I first noticed it when he had to start going into our bed through the night and waking up from it at least three times a night. He had this old man snore and would inhale and get choked in his sleep....very scary to say the least! We went back to the ENT and by the time he was 18 months old, we had his adenoids taken out. When they took his adenoids out, they also performed a bronchoscopy and found that he also had tracheomalacia that was also interfering with his breathing. This surgery did not help his breathing, so we continued with the Prevacid and hoped it would eventually go away. The doctors also said that the tracheomalacia will go away. Well, it did not go away and with still have problems sleeping, sleep apnea, and choking on solid foods when 24 months old, the ENT decided to do the surgery for the laryngomalacia.

Understanding Laryngomalacia

What a big word! Laryngomalacia is a soft floppy larynx (voice box). There are different types but overall all of them are floppy tissue that causes an obstruction during inspiration, which also causes this high pitched noise. My son, Nolan, would breath bad all the time and especially during excitement, crying, sleeping, and feeding. It is the most common reason for stridor in infants. We got so use to his bad breathing but everyone else would think he always had a cold. Most children outgrow it by 4 months, some still have it through 18 months and by 24 months in 90% of cases it is gone. We also learned that keeping Nolan's reflux at bay would play a significant role in keeping the laryngomalacia under control. In 80% of children with laryngomalacia, they also have acid reflux and this can cause this floppy tissue to swell and making breathing even more difficult. Upper respiratory infections can also cause the breathing to be worse so we had to monitor him closely when he got sick.

In the Beginning.....

My son, Nolan, was born on November 1, 2007 at a healthy 6 lbs. 14 oz. We left the hospital so happy to begin our life. The first couple weeks seemed okay and he slept most of the time. We started noticing a gurgle type of breathing and mention it to the pediatrician at his 2 week check-up. The doctor said that babies can sound like that after they are born and it will eventually go away. At his 2 month check-up, I mentioned it again to the doctor and he told us again to wait for it to go away. His breathing had gotten quite loud and many family members were becoming concerned. Finally, at his 4 month check up, the doctor referred us to an ENT to confirm his diagnosis of laryngomalacia. When we saw the ENT, he was able to diagnose him by putting a scope through his nose and down his throat to see where the problem was. This procedure was called a laryngoscopy. He told us what we had been hearing was called stridor caused by laryngomalacia. We finally had an answer to his loud breathing!