Nick Carter and his wife Lauren Kitt were left in "complete shock" when they learned their baby daughter would need assistance breathing as soon as she was born.
The Backstreet Boys star became a father for the third time in late April, but the joy of little Pearl's arrival quickly turned into every parent's worst nightmare as she had to be put on a ventilator to help her breathe.
At the time, Carter only revealed their tot had experienced some "minor complications", but now he and Kitt have detailed the health issues which delayed Pearl's homecoming.
"They said she had distressed breathing, respiratory distress, and she looked like a Smurf," Kitt told Us Weekly. "She was blue. I remember seeing her and I was like, 'Wow! That baby is, like, dark purple. Blue.' I remember being like, 'Whoa, that's weird.'
"I guess her lungs could've been a little underdeveloped, and she had fluid in them. They just weren't able to pump on their own."
Kitt attributed her daughter's condition to being born via Caesarean section.
"They don't go through the birth canal, so the fluid's not drained out and squeezed out when they go through there,” she noted. “So, that's what can happen."
But the medical scare initially left the new parents stunned, and the pair admitted they were in "complete shock".
"I was seeing our newborn baby being hooked up to these machines, and she was very blue," Carter added. "They had all these capacitors in her and fluids and all these different things. We just kept asking questions like, 'What's going on? What's happening? We'd like to know.'"
Pearl was finally able to be discharged after a week in the neonatal intensive care unit, with Carter celebrating the good news by sharing a snap of the tot with mum and dad as they prepared to leave the Las Vegas hospital.
Giving thanks to the medical staff, he captioned the Instagram image, "I would like to thank the amazing doctors, nurses, & staff at @southernhillshospitallv NICU for taking such good care of our baby. We know it's not easy, especially during this time. We are so grateful for everything you've done for us..."
"@laurenkittcarter and baby are home and doing well...," he concluded.
Carter and Kitt are already parents to 20-month-old daughter Saoirse and five-year-old son Odin.
