Nearly one year after finding out that daughter Layla has a hole in her heart, Carlin Bates opened up to Us Weekly about her toddler’s health issues.
“She is doing so much better,” the Bringing Up Bates star, 22, exclusively told Us on Thursday, February 26. “[My husband], Evan [Stewart], and I were talking about this the other day. It was such a scary time when we first brought her home from the hospital, and she started dealing with different breathing issues and later learned that it was because of the small hole in her heart, but she has gotten so much stronger. We are so proud of her.”
The reality star went on to tell Us that the 12-month-old hasn’t “had any recent scares.”
The Tennessee native gushed, “She’s doing well, she’s having regular check-ups, but we have a big one coming up. In May, we’ll do the whole look at her heart, see if it’s healed. So we’re actually waiting on that appointment. We’re just keeping many prayers and trusting the Lord with those results.”
The UPtv personality revealed her baby girl’s diagnosis in May 2020, writing via Instagram: “She has had breathing problems and episodes of turning blue where she can’t catch her breath … [because] she has a small hole in her heart. … I felt like my world was turned upside down as I held her in my arms. I felt so helpless watching her struggle for oxygen.”
The health update came two months after Bates and Stewart, 25, welcomed their little one. Layla has grown up to be “such a chill baby,” the new mom told Us on Thursday.
“She is very easily entertained,” Bates explained. “I can throw a few books not he ground and toys, and she has her own little space. We actually get to have in-home date nights a lot, so we’re grateful for that.”
The couple love “cuddling up on the couch” to watch Baby Einstein episodes with their toddler. Layla also is a big fan of car rides and “looking out at the trees.” The Crown College of the Bible student told Us, “We spend a lot of time driving around and picking up food and going to our happy places.”
Bates and Stewart wed in May 2019 in Tennessee, eight months after their engagement.
Bringing Up Bates returns to UPtv Thursday, April, 8, at 9 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
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