Danielle Fishel's baby boy is finally home from the hospital!
Danielle gave birth to her first baby, Adler Lawrence Karp, in June. He was born prematurely at 35 weeks into Danielle's pregnancy, and he spent his first three weeks in the NICU. Meanwhile, Danielle and her husband, Jensen Karp, anxiously awaited the day that they could bring Adler home.
Last week, the Boy Meets World actress posted an update about Adler's hospital stay.
"We're still in the hospital but Adler is getting better and stronger every day," she wrote. "I keep reminding ourselves that we are extremely lucky — Adler will eventually come home with us — and therefore this is nothing but an enormous test of our patience and willingness to relinquish control."
The much-anticipated moment has finally come: Adler is now home sweet home with Danielle and Jensen.
"Adler is 3 weeks old today and officially a NICU graduate!" Danielle shared this week.
She followed up with an adorable photo and update on Adler's first days at home.
Danielle Fishel and her hubby, Jensen Karp, had been married for only a couple of months when they announced their first pregnancy.
They made the announcement in the cutest way possible: with a pair of baby shoes to match their own sneakers.
In that first post, Danielle wrote that the baby was due in July.
"I'm eating for two. I'm napping with wild abandon. Baby shoes. Baby clothes," she wrote at the time. "I'm nervous. I'm excited. He's due in July. We can't wait."
But of course, things didn't quite go according to plan. The baby boy, Adler Lawrence Karp, arrived over a week before July even came. He was born a full month before his due date.
"My water broke on 6/20, one day before my work week directing at Raven's Home ended and my maternity leave began," Danielle shared on Instagram afterward.
She explained that she was hospitalized and put on magnesium sulfate, which is used to slow or stop preterm labor and prevent injuries to a preterm baby's brain.
Sadly, while doing an ultrasound, the nurses discovered fluid in Adler's lungs.
After his early birth, Adler had to go into the NICU while the hospital staff figured out how to get the fluid out of his lungs and why it was there in the first place.
"We feel helpess and powerless and useless and we wanted so badly to follow our 'birth plan,' unsurprisingly none of which involved leaving our beautiful baby boy at the hospital for the first weeks of his life," Danielle wrote at the time.
Thankfully, three weeks later, Adler is officially home with Mom and Dad! Danielle and Jensen shared the joyous news with fans on Instagram.
"Adler is 3 weeks old today and officially a NICU graduate!" Danielle wrote.
She went on to thank the staff at Children's Hospital in LA, especially Adler's two primary nurses, who kept her baby boy safe.
"We never wanted to know this hospital and its staff so well but now that we do, we can say with certainty there is no better place for children with medical needs," she wrote.
"Now we hope to never be back," she added with a smiley face.
She ended by offering her "love and hugs" to any parent who has ever spent time in the NICU, especially those who stayed behind as Danielle and Jensen finally took their baby home.
While Adler was still in the NICU, Danielle wrote that she was hesitant to share too many details about him before he came home.
"I can't wait to share more details about him with you (he hates having a poopy diaper for even 1 minute, he loves bath time, he has the cutest sneezes I've ever heard) and sing the praises of his NICU care team but I prefer to do that when Adler is in this crib in his nursery at home on a still unknown future date," she said.
Now that he's in that adorable crib (with the fox removed, she added), Danielle posted an update from the thick of new motherhood. It's difficult, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
"The house is a mess, I have a [sty] on my left eye, I haven't showered in two days, I can't remember when I did anything (when did we change his diaper last? What time did I pump?)," she wrote.
Sounds about right!
Danielle and Jensen are currently taking baby night shifts, "where we pass each other like zombies on a mission," she said.
And yet?
"They are some of the best days of my life," she concluded.
Congratulations to baby Adler and his devoted mom and dad! Their journey has just begun.
