Snoop Dogg’s daughter, Cori Broadus, is opening up about her experience as a NICU mom.
More than six months after welcoming her first child with fiancé Wayne Deuce, Broadus, 26, is shining a light on her daughter Codi’s strength as she remains hospitalized following her premature birth.
“That girl is so feisty. That’s a feisty girl. She’s so resilient and strong,” Broadus exclusively shared with Us Weekly while supporting the launch of Choc Factory at Thirteen Lune in Los Angeles. “She just has so much character. The doctors and nurses always tell me, ‘Your baby got her mind. She’s smart. She’s alert. She knows what’s going on. She can hear. She can see. Yeah, the circumstances are not what you thought they would be, but it could be worse.’ That girl is just a sweet little firecracker.”
Broadus announced the arrival of Codi in February, three months before her due date. According to the Mayo Clinic, a baby born before 28 weeks gestation is considered extremely preterm, and can experience a variety of health problems including breathing issues, feeding problems and difficulty regulating their body temperature.
While the entrepreneur has kept many details of her motherhood journey private, she is speaking out about her experience in honor of NICU Awareness Month.
“The NICU is a different type of experience, just like you gotta know to know, and it’s not an easy place to be but the support is amazing,” Broadus shared with Us after thanking the nurses and doctors for taking great care of her daughter. “Sometimes I go in [the NICU] and I can’t stop crying, and I apologize. They’re like, ‘What are you [apologizing] for? This is normal. If you wasn’t crying, we would be worried. We’d be concerned, so just try to just stay close and just keep hope alive.’”
Staying hopeful is a goal Broadus tries to hold every day — no matter how hard things get.
“This morning, I had a moment because this baby who got there after I had my baby, she went home today, and I broke down,” Broadus shared on Saturday, September 13. “Of course I’m happy. I’m ecstatic [for them] but it’s like, ‘Damn! You guys get to go home. Our baby is still here.’ But then it goes back into my faith. You got to trust in God and trust His plan. Everybody’s plan looks a little different. She’s gonna get home. Our journey home just looks a little different than the next baby and so forth.”
Broadus joked that she’s “lived more than most” after experiencing a stroke at the age of 24. She was also diagnosed with lupus at the age of 6.
Through every challenge in her life, Broadus said she has relied on her faith to keep her spirits high and fears low.
“What really got me close with God is after I had my stroke,” she recalled to Us. “I told him, ‘God, if you get me out of here, I’m gonna tell the world about y’all and tell the world you’re real.’ And He did exactly that. And He gets me through.”
When she’s not visiting the NICU and showering her baby girl with love, Broadus is hard at work on Choc Factory, a self-care brand that aims to highlight one’s natural beauty. From lip glosses to LED compact mirrors, the business aims to empower self-love and remind customers that they are enough just as they are.
“When creating this business, I wanted it to be authentic,” Broadus shared. “We created this safe space brand where everybody feels like they have a place where they belong.”
After becoming a mom, Broadus joked that “the baby glow is definitely real,” and she’s flattered to receive positive comments from friends and strangers about her inner and outer beauty.
Once her daughter is able to come home, Broadus said she can’t imagine the happiness she will exude from the inside out.
“I always say she’s my surprise miracle baby,” she added. “Doctors told me I could never have a baby. Yet she’s here. She’s so beautiful, and I just love her, and I can’t wait for her to get home.”
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