Mom Noticed Something Wrong with Her Baby After Delivery. Then Doctors Waited Hours to Rush Him to the NICU 

McKenzie Norejko says she knew something was wrong almost the moment she became a mother — and she’s grateful she didn’t ignore that feeling.

Norejko, 26, says she sensed that something “wasn’t right” within seconds of giving birth to her son, Wyatt, who is now 4 months old.

In a TikTok video that later went viral, she can be seen holding her newborn right after delivery, watching his head bob, and telling a doctor, “I don’t think he’s okay.”

“What was happening in the video was my son’s head was bobbing, and he wasn’t breathing,” Norejko said. “From the very beginning, it was a very traumatic birth and not what I wanted.”

She says she became alarmed almost immediately when she noticed how quickly the umbilical cord was cut — and then, even more so, when her baby still wasn’t breathing.

“I noticed they cut his cord within seconds of him being on my chest. And I was mad,” she said. “And then I noticed he wasn’t breathing and they weren’t doing anything about it, and they were like, ‘He’s just sleepy.’”

According to Norejko, it wasn’t until nearly five hours later that Wyatt was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

She said he was transferred around 1:30 a.m. with serious symptoms, including failing liver and kidneys, hypoglycemia with a blood sugar level of 20, clammy skin, lethargy, tachycardia, and continued head bobbing.

“He didn’t cry for the first 8 minutes of his life,” she said.

Norejko says her instincts kicked in as she watched her newborn move in unusual, jerky ways — and as she worried he wasn’t breathing.

“Even when doctors didn’t take it seriously, I knew my son’s life was in danger,” she said. “I wanted to trust the professionals — but instead, I trusted my gut and kept advocating for my baby until someone finally listened.”

Wyatt ultimately spent a full week in the NICU before improving enough to go home.

Now, Norejko hopes her experience encourages other mothers to speak up when something feels off.

“Listen to your gut and even if a doctor tells you, ‘Oh, he’s fine,’ still go with your mama instinct,” she said. “Because my baby was not fine. And if I didn’t advocate for him, I don’t know that he would be alive.”

She added that, in overwhelming moments, a parent’s intuition can be a crucial guide.

“When everything feels overwhelming, your instinct is often the one voice that knows exactly what your child needs,” she said. “A mother’s instinct isn’t loud, but it’s rarely wrong — trust it.”

Today, Wyatt is home and doing well.

“He’s great now,” Norejko said.

Norejko also said she was stunned by the response to her video — which has drawn close to 9 million views — and by how many people shared similar stories.

“Apparently, it happens a lot,” she said, describing her hospital experience as rushed and impersonal. “How I felt when I was in the hospital, I feel like it was a conveyor belt… like, ‘Okay, check this box and check this box and then get her out of here.’ That’s how it felt to me when it was a very personal experience, and he should have been the number one priority.”