A little bit more about our family and what led us to Adventure Brews Play Haven.
First we are Carl, Katie, and our 2.5 yo Arlo. Carl and I are the owners, but I will essentially be CEO. I’ll be managing social media and emails, so if you talk to anyone on here or in email, you’re talking to me. 😊
Carl currently works as a nurse in Greer Memorial. He will keep his regular schedule and be present on his three days off a week. I currently own @katiewinnfitness working mostly remote but I still take on a handful of clients at Anytime Fitness Greer. Thanks to already working for myself and already working remotely, I’ll be the most present in the venture.
Adventure Brews Play Haven was inspired by the needs and desires of our own family and fueled by the needs of other families in the community. The journey to becoming a family for us was long and difficult, involving years of infertility, including a miscarriage and ultimately a very long NICU stay. After the birth of our son three months early we found nature to be very healing and supportive of his growth and development post NICU stay.
All of those experiences have influenced our dream and plan for Adventure Brews Play Haven. We want all caregivers, regardless of their comfort level with nature, to feel welcome. So whether they consider themselves “outdoorsy” and prefer air conditioning, to those raising dirt loving adventurers, we want them to feel welcome and supported. We believe every family deserves to feel welcome and every child deserves to build a connection to the outdoors.
So let’s talk about Arlo…the catalyst of this all.
We’ve shared before that we had a difficult time getting pregnant. We had one successful IVF transfer but unfortunately we lost our sweet girl to complications due to Down syndrome at the end of our first trimester.
Right before our final transfer, we decided to postpone it. Low and behold two weeks later we had a surprise pregnancy. Arlo has literally kept us on our toes since day one. 😂
At my 28 week appointment my blood pressure was alarmingly high. I was admitted to the hospital immediately. I was supposed to make it six more weeks, but I did not respond treatment so the final option that could potentially keep both of us alive was to deliver Arlo with an emergency cesarean at 29 weeks.
Arlo joined the world weighing 2lb 11oz and spent 87 days in the NICU.
During his stay he conquered pneumonia, a heart murmur, was on a ventilator for six weeks, had a cardiac arrest followed by three more failed extubations, brain bleeds, a blood infection, a spinal tap, countless blood draws and exams.
So, yeah, it was A LOT lol. We are so blessed to have received the care we did and the outcomes we achieved. He received a lot of services (thank you Baby Net!) and as of August 2023 he’s considered completely caught up/exceeding expectations.
For the first year we decided for me to stay home and care for Arlo. He had services multiple times a week and we wanted his lungs to develop more since he was discharged right at the start of flu and rsv season.
We spent so much time in nature. I grew up on a goat farm and have always loved being outside. Being outside with Arlo made everything easier and relaxing. I 100% believe it helped him catch up in his skills, particularly with his walking. My favorite thing I think being outside helped with was growing his confidence and perseverance.
This experience showed us how valuable having a village is and how deep the lack of one feels. I (Katie) spent the first year so consumed by my son’s care. It was full of such amazing moments, but also so much uncertainty and loneliness. Being outside felt safe and feel like my old self as I adjusted to my new life as a mother.
I also knew there was so much lack of support for women, moms, and families, but this whole experience with Arlo blew our minds with how hard it is to build a village.
That’s what led us to Adventure Brews Play Haven. We felt there was service and community needed and figured why not be the ones who do it. We can see how all the joys, struggles, and experiences have led us to this moment. We’ve had so many conversations and built a vision we are so excited to see come to life.
Want to join us on this journey? Follow us on our social media or join our newsletter and be sure to view our upcoming events page.