Kyte Baby Drama Explained - Marissa Hughes Gofundme

Kyte Baby drama refers to the controversy involving the popular baby clothing company and one of its employees, Marissa Hughes.

Marissa Hughes was fired by Kyte baby after she adopted a 22-week-old baby in critical NICU condition.

According to online reports, Marissa requested to work remotely following her adoption as she needed to be with her new baby but the company refused her request.

Marissa Hughes then decided to seek crowdfunding on GoFundMe bringing her story to the limelight and sparking the Kyte baby drama.

Humiliated, Kyte Baby CEO Ying Liu then offered a couple of grovelling apologies to Marissa and offered her her job back remotely just as she had requested!

That’s basically the gist of the Kyte baby drama but we’re just getting started – continue reading for more info on what actually transpired.

Kyte baby drama – what happened?

The Kyte Baby drama is a controversy involving a popular baby clothing company and one of its employees, Marissa Hughes, who adopted a 22-week-old baby in critical NICU condition.

According to reports, Kyte Baby fired Hughes after she requested to work remotely to care for her baby.

This sparked outrage among many customers and social media users, who accused Kyte Baby of being insensitive and unethical.

Some also called for a boycott of the brand.

Kyte Baby’s owner, Ying Liu, issued a public apology and offered Hughes her job back, claiming that there was a misunderstanding and miscommunication between them.

Liu also said that Kyte Baby supports working mothers and has a flexible work policy.

However, some people remained skeptical and criticized Liu for trying to save face and avoid the backlash of the Kyte baby drama.

The Kyte baby drama all stems from Marissa Hughes a former employee of Kyte Baby, being fired after she requested to work remotely to care for her adopted premature son, Judah, who was born at 22 weeks and hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Hughes and her husband, Rawley, decided to adopt after she lost three pregnancies, went through IVF, and nearly died during surgery.

The couple adopted their son Judah in late December. He was nine hours away in El Paso, born premature and barely weighing one pound.

As Judah had ‘various health concerns’ requiring an extended hospital stay, Hughes requested to work remotely from the NICU.

Judah is expected to stay in the NICU until March 2024.

However, her request sparked off the Kyte baby drama as the CEO, Ying Liu, refused her request to work remotely.

She was only offered two weeks time off and told she would lose her position if she failed to return to in-person work any later.

Hughes started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for her son’s medical expenses, and called out her boss, kicking off the entire Kyte baby drama.

Realizing she was losing public support, Kyte Baby’s owner, Ying Liu, issued two public apologies to Hughes and offered her job back, claiming that there was a misunderstanding and miscommunication between them.

Liu said that Kyte Baby supports working mothers and has a flexible work policy but there was simply a miscommunication.

Kyte baby drama Marissa

Who is Marissa Hughes? Marissa Hughes is a former employee of Kyte Baby, a baby clothing company that has been accused of firing her after she requested to work remotely to care for her adopted premature son, Judah, who was born at 22 weeks and hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Marissa Hughes and her husband, Rawley, decided to adopt after she lost three pregnancies, went through IVF, and nearly died during surgery2.

They adopted Judah in late December 2023, and he is expected to stay in the NICU until March 2024.

Hughes’ request for remote work was denied, sparking the Kyte baby drama!

Following backlash, Kyte baby CEO Ying Liu released a couple of statements apologizing and backtracking.

“I was the one that made the decision to veto her request to go remote while she has to stay in the NICU to take care of her adopted baby,” Liu said.

“And when I think back, this was a terrible decision. I was insensitive, selfish and was only focused on the fact that her job had always been done on site and I did not see the possibility of doing it remotely,”

She continued: “At the end of the day, as human beings, as a mom, as a female owner of a business and especially a baby business, I feel like I need to set the record straight<“

Despite claiming in the first video that she had attempted to reach out to Hughes to apologize personally, Liu confessed she ‘didn’t talk to her at all about what happened until today.’

She ended the video by praising the ex-employee, calling her a ‘fantastic woman’ with ‘the biggest heart.’

“I understand if you don’t want to come back to work anymore, but we will continue to pay you as if you were working remotely for us for those hours that you proposed until you’re ready to come back,” she said.

“And your position, your original position, is always open for you when you come back,”

Marrisa Hughes has a GoFundMe page to raise funds for her son’s medical expenses following the Kyte baby drama and has raised nearly $50,000.

Kyte baby Marissa gofundme

Marissa Hughes started a GoFundMe to handle the medical expenses of her son following the Kyte baby drama.

The fundraiser reads…

“To those willing to open this and read our story, thank you. It is with humble and pleading hearts that we ask for your help.

Our names are Marissa and Rawley. Our deepest desire is to grow our family and raise our children. After almost 3 years of trying to do so, we have endured more than we could’ve ever imagined.

We have undergone extensive testing, attended hundreds of doctors appointments, taken hundreds of pills and administered at-home injections, completed multiple failed IUIs, gone through IVF, experienced major complications, almost lost my life [Marissa] during surgery, been pregnant three times and have lost all three of our beautiful babies.

We were also blessed to have been foster parents, and now we feel the Lord truly calling us to step into long-term, earth-side parenthood.

The Lord has laid adoption on our hearts. Adoption has always been a desire and calling we’ve felt our family would experience one day, but the timeline the Lord has provided is a bit different than we would have expected. We are eager and willing to accept this calling, but we can’t do it alone.

We’ve talked to numerous adoption consultants and agencies, and we feel the Lord has finally led us to where we will need to be.

That being said, the cost of adoption is very high. We are prayerfully hoping to fundraise $50,000 to help with some of the expenses we will need to cover. The $50,000 raised here will go toward agency fees, legal fees, court fees, birth mother living expenses, birth mother medical expenses, and birth mother counseling expenses.

It will not cover our own adoption consultant and home study fees, travel expenses at birth, adoptive family binder and paperwork, or finalization and legal expenses, as these are all things that we feel the Lord telling us to cover on our own.

We would be extremely grateful for any support and prayers you’re able to provide. The three ways you can bless us and partner with us are by

1. donating

2. praying

3. sharing our story and link

Please also be praying for the potential birth mother and child(ren) that God has planned for us. Please pray for protection over their bodies, minds, and spirits. Adoption plans are never easy, but we do feel that God plans to bring beauty from ashes in exactly this way.

We are grateful for what the Lord has put on our hearts, and we are grateful for the story He is writing for us,”

As Marissa noted, you can help them out in many ways even if you can’t donate.

Other ways to help include…

You can also send them prayers and positive messages through their social media accounts or email.

Another way you can support Marissa Hughes and her baby is by raising awareness about their situation and the controversy involving the Kyte Baby drama.

You can share their story on your platforms, sign petitions, or join calls for a boycott of the brand.

You can also contact Kyte Baby’s owner, Ying Liu, and express your opinion or demand accountability for her actions.

Who is Ying Liu?

Ying Liu is the founder, owner and CEO of Kyte Baby, a baby clothing company that uses bamboo-based fabrics.

She is also a mother of three children and a former engineer.

Liu started Kyte Baby in 2014 after her daughter suffered from eczema and she wanted to find soft and breathable clothing for her.

She has recently faced criticism and backlash for allegedly firing an employee, Marissa Hughes, who asked to work remotely while caring for her adopted premature son in the NICU – the so-called Kyte baby drama.

NICU

A NICU, according to Stanford Medicine, is a neonatal intensive care unit, an intensive care unit (ICU) specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants.

The NICU has advanced technology and trained healthcare professionals to give special care for the tiniest patients.

NICUs may also care areas for babies who are not as sick but do need specialized nursing care. Some hospitals don’t have the staff for a NICU and babies must be moved to another hospital.

Babies who need intensive care do better if they are born in a hospital with a NICU than if they are moved after birth.

The length of stay for babies in a NICU depends on their condition and the treatment they need.

The average NICU stay for neonates is 13.2 days, but some may stay only a few hours or days, while others may stay weeks or months.

Babies who are born prematurely or have health problems are more likely to need longer and more intensive care in the NICU.

In this case, baby Judah, the individual at the centre of the Kyte baby drama, reportedly has to stay in the NICU for months before being well enough to be released.

Thank you for reading Kyte Baby Drama Explained – Marissa Hughes Gofundme