‘Little People, Big World’ Alum Audrey Roloff Reveals Daughter Ember’s Diagnosis Following Recent Hospitalization

Days before Christmas, former Little People, Big World stars Audrey Roloff and husband, Jeremy found themselves stuck in the emergency room with a sick toddler as 2-year-old daughter Ember was diagnosed with a nasty respiratory syncytial virus. Audrey, who is 37 weeks pregnant with the couple’s son, opened up about the less-than-cheery experience on Instagram Thursday, revealing they were discharged from the hospital after six hours in the ER.

“Behind the scenes of our reality lately… I thought I’d have more cute family Christmas photos filling my camera roll by now, but instead I have this photo…holding a sick baby at 4 a.m. in the emergency room.,” she captioned a photo of herself holding her sick daughter in a hospital chair.

Roloff went on to explain that last week, Ember had come down with “her first bad tummy bug,” which led to “a solid 4 or 5 days of ‘owie tummy,’ fever and vommiting (sic).”

Ember began to feel better, but after some concerning pain when she went to the bathroom and a high fever, the parents rushed her to the hospital with fears of a UTI, where they stayed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“Sitting on that miserable chair all night, while 37 weeks pregnant, just to wait for a urine sample and a nose swab,” Roloff complained. “I do not understand the ER.”

In the end, it turned out Ember was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus in addition to her stomach bug, which added another layer of stress to her pre-holiday/pre-labor prep.

“Was up all night again last night with a horrible cough and fever In between comforting her, the pressure of a book manuscript that’s already past deadline, all the year-end stuff when you run your own business/shop, Christmas commitments, the final weeks of pregnancy aches/emotions, and just feeling nervous for labor… I’m at the end of an already frayed rope,” she admitted. “So if your week doesn’t look as dreamy and perfect as the Christmasy photos you’re seeing on Instagram right now, you’re not alone.”

Regardless of everything that has to be done, Roloff said she’s giving herself a break.

“I’m giving myself permission to have unwrapped gifts under the tree, unresponded to e-mails/texts, stay in my pajamas, let the laundry baskets overflow, put on another episode of Daniel Tiger for Ember, and order take out for the 4th time this week,” she wrote. “Maybe you need to extend extra grace to yourself this week too. I give you permission.”

Photo credit: TLC