Answers for Nathan

We finally got some answers for some of Nathan's funny breathing sounds and uncoordinated eating habits. He's got laryngomalacia! The cartilage around his voice box collapses as he breathes causing a loud, gasping kind of sound, which he'll outgrow by the time he's 18 months old. As soon as Nathan was born, Brandon and I, the doctor and nurses were all watching him apparently gasp, but there were no signs of distress, no flailing arms, no blue lips, just a weird sound. So we got used to it. But then Nathan wouldn't breastfeed. All of my kids have had troubles nursing. We've dealt with nipple confusion, nursing strike, low milk supply, grinding, biting, and infection after infection. We've seen suck specialists and numerous lactation consultants. We've done it all! So when Nathan refused to nurse, I just thought, "Here we go again!" I was discouraged and felt like a failure. After all these problems and working with so many specialists, I've have accumulated quite the collection of nursing tricks, but none of them worked. And then I just felt tired. All the hours and memories I spent hunched over with child after child trying to nurse them came flooding back. And when yet another infection came upon me, I just quit. And then I couldn't bring myself to try again. So I faithfully began pumping and bottle feeding. It's not ideal, basically double duty feedings. But at least Nathan was getting my milk, and that's important to us because of Brandon's diabetes.

After a couple of months when Nathan wasn't growing out of making his funny little sound, the doctor sent me to a pediatric ears, nose, throat specialist to have him scoped. That's when we discovered Nathan has laryngomalacia. "Does Nathan have reflex?" the doctor asked. No. "Is he gaining weight?" Are you kidding me? Look at him! Do you see those rolls? The doctor continued on to inform me that babies with laryngomalacia usually fail to gain weight because they're such uncoordinated eaters! It was like a light went on for me! "OH!" I almost shouted. Well that would explain why he wouldn't nurse because breastfeeding takes more coordination than bottle feeding does. AND that explains why even being only bottle fed Nathan is still a very uncoordinated eater. Feedings are hard and take a long time. I see now that had I nursed him I probably would have lost my milk because of his inconsistencies with feedings, he would be fussy, and wouldn't sleep well. Instead, I've got a happy, content, sleeping baby! What a blessing! More than anything, it's just so nice to have answers to why he wouldn't nurse. And now that he has 2 teeth with more coming in soon and he's biting everything in sight, I'm especially happy how things have worked out. I feel so blessed to have such a supportive husband who never complains about the time or hassle that pumping takes. I prayed so hard during my pregnancy that we wouldn't have the feeding problems I've had with my other kids that have made nursing so torturous for me. It's amazing how Heavenly Father answers our prayers in His own ways because I find myself enjoying Nathan as a baby SO much because I'm not worried about so many other problems I've dealt with in the past. There are so many tender little mercies in life, aren't there?