COLONIE, N.Y. (WRGB) \u2014 What started as a difficult birth and a possible scary diagnosis for one Colonie couple’s baby has now landed their little boy in the running for a national Baby of the Year contest.<\/p>\n
Brent and Nicole LeBlanc say their son, Brady, overcame a series of health challenges in his first days of life.<\/p>\n
Brady was born two and a half weeks early following a challenging labor in which Nicole developed an infection.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo when he was born, they had to monitor him for that,\u201d Nicole LeBlanc said. \u201cBut he also had complications with his blood sugar and his temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n
MORE: Baby born during St. Peter\u2019s record July deliveries battles rare disease<\/a><\/p>\n As a result, Brady was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit.<\/p>\n Soon after, doctors began discussing the possibility that Brady had Hirschsprung’s disease.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s some sort of bowel problem that he’s born with,\u201d Nicole LeBlanc said. \u201cThere’s an issue with the nerves where his bowel can’t tell that it needs to do what it needs to do in a certain part.\u201d<\/p>\n After two days without going to the bathroom, doctors took X-rays that showed the possibility of Hirschsprung’s disease. However, before further testing could take place, Brady’s condition appeared to improve.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, as soon as we got to Albany Med, he went to the bathroom,\u201d Nicole LeBlanc said. \u201cSo luckily we kind of ruled that out.\u201d<\/p>\n The scare proved to be the first of several challenges Brady faced. His parents said he later experienced two episodes of sleep apnea during which he stopped breathing.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had to kind of jostle him to get him to start breathing again,\u201d Nicole LeBlanc said.<\/p>\n Doctors believed the sleep apnea was related to Brady being born early and that his body was still adjusting.<\/p>\n At birth, Brady was in the seventh percentile. Now, at nearly 6 months old, he is in the seventieth percentile.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I just saw it on a whim,\u201d Brent LeBlanc said of entering Brady in The Honest Company’s Baby of the Year contest. \u201cIt just randomly popped up and I’m like, you know what? He’s a little miracle baby.\u201d<\/p>\n Brady is now a quarterfinalist in the contest, and voting continues through Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n If he wins, the family will receive $25,000, and Brady will appear in a national advertising campaign with The Honest Company.<\/p>\n MORE: Occupational therapists take on growing role in helping teachers set up classrooms<\/a><\/p>\n