Welcoming your first child is a very emotional process. There's excitement, anticipation, and a degree of worry. Every new parent wants to see their child's entrance into the world go smoothly. Sadly, such is not always the case. That's the predicament Danielle Fishel and husband Jensen Karp find themselves in. The Boy Meets World actress and the writer each detailed the story of their son's entrance into the world in their own Instagram posts. Both explained that Adler Lawrence Karp was born four weeks early on June 24.
Both Danielle and Jensen documented the events right before and after Adler's birth in a serious, yet optimistic manner. After Danielle's water broke, doctors tried to slow preterm labor by putting her on magnesium sulfate. An ultrasound revealed fluid in the baby's lung cavities that had not been present at their checkup days prior, requiring immediate action. Since his early birth, Adler has remained in the NICU as doctors and nurses work to nurse him back to health, taking the new parents on an emotional roller coaster.
Danielle Fishel and Jensen Karp are officially parents! The Boy Meets World alum and the writer/producer welcomed their first child on June 24, 2019. Unfortunately, Adler Lawrence Karp was born four weeks premature.
The couple got engaged last March after a year of dating. They've known each other for much longer, however. The two actually went to high school together before reconnecting as adults. It makes for a seriously sweet story!
The couple tied the knot in November 2018 in a warm, fun event with family and friends. Among their guests were Danielle's Boy Meets World castmates Ben Savage and Will Friedle, as well as John Mayer, who served as a groomsman.
Right after the new year, Danielle and Jensen shared the exciting news that they were expecting their first child. In a sweet photo with three pairs of sneakers, Danielle wrote:
“I’m eating for two. I’m napping with wild abandon. Baby shoes. Baby clothes. (I’m shopping). I’m nesting. I’m reading books. I’m madly in love with my husband. I cry at commercials. I’m a walking cliché. I’ve got baby apps. I’m confident. I feel inadequate. I’m showing one day and the next I’m not. I’m nervous. I’m excited. He’s due in July. We can’t wait.”
Danielle was so excited throughout the pregnancy. She posted plenty of bump pictures, including this one alongside her castmates. It's sweet to see how excited they were for the newest addition to the Boy Meets World family.
As her due date grew closer, Danielle posted a final bump picture with a sweet comparison with one of her first pregnancy pictures. In the photo, she poses in identical outfits to show how much her bump has grown throughout her pregnancy.
Just a few days after that photo, Danielle's water broke. She was taken to the hospital, where she was given magnesium sulfate to try to ward off preterm labor. Unfortunately, an ultrasound showed fluid in her baby's lungs and necessitated her delivering early.
In an Instagram post, Danielle shared the news of Adler Lawrence Karp's arrival. The new mom explained why he was born four weeks early and how the "nightmare we'll never forget" unfolded. She also revealed their baby boy is still in the NICU.
"We still don't have Adler home with us because the deeply good doctors and nurses in the NICU are working diligently to find out why the fluid is there and determine the best way to get it out," she explained. "This has been the most trying week and a half of mine and @jensenkarp's lives but we have gotten through it with the support of our incredible family and friends who have shown up for us in unexpected ways."
Danielle explained how this turn of events has brought her and her husband closer together:
“Jensen and I have also become closer than we ever thought possible and the love between us has grown exponentially as we have leaned on each other during both our highest highs and our lowest lows. We feel helpless 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.”
Being a public figure while navigating a situation like this is not easy, and Danielle was very blunt about that:
“We have also struggled with making this announcement – we are THRILLED Adler is here and we want to shout it from the rooftops but we know posting about his birth and its complications opens us up to prying eyes – aka paparazzi staked outside our house, following our every move they way they did several times during my pregnancy. We are much too fragile for that right now and I pray wholeheartedly that we can have some space as we navigate these next few weeks.”
Jensen also posted a photo that shows Adler in the NICU with mom and dad holding on. He explained the situation in his own terms, ending with a positive note:
“Adler is already the center of my universe. He’s adorable. He has so much hair. It’s ridiculous. He looks like if Nosferatu was a newscaster. Or a Goth Marv Albert. And he’s fighting so hard every single day.”
Jensen continued:
“I KNOW he’ll be out soon, kissing me back, ruining our lives, ready to board our ark. I’ve remembered that miracles still can’t always be perfect, but as soon as he’s feeling better, it’s going to be difficult to convince me that this little guy is anything but.”
The openness and positivity from Danielle and Jensen during this time is truly admirable. The situation they are in is one that would be nothing short of terrifying for any parent. To go through this with their first child is heartbreaking, but there's hope on the horizon as the couple stays positive and thinks of how their lives will be once they're finally able to bring Adler home.
