3 years ago

Jewellery designer Chupi announces pregnancy and speaks about her IVF journey

Jewellery designer Chupi Sweetman is expecting her first child, sharing the news in a beautiful Instagram post today.

Photos featuring Chupi and her husband Brian accompany the post which tells of the couple's three-year IVF journey.

Their baby is due at the end of June and with a heart "full to bursting", the much-loved jeweller says that it's a miracle after a complicated IVF experience.

'My girlfriend recently gave birth but we didn't know she was pregnant'

Chupi's stunning Irish-made pieces have made her a household name across the country and today's news has delighted her many fans, who have left congratulatory comments aplenty via Instagram.

She says that some friends questioned her decision to share the details of her pregnancy and her reasoning is perfect.

Chupi is aware of the fact that many women in Ireland are undergoing the same struggles and she wanted to share the fact that "sometimes our lives only look perfect on the outside".

View this post on Instagram

I have written this so many times in my head over, but now it’s time I’m rather lost for words. . Our darling little baby is due at the end of June and my heart is full to bursting ? After a complicated three years of ivf it feels like a miracle. . When Brian proposed nearly ten years ago and I wore my engagement ring for the first time I remember being overwhelmed that this wasn’t just my ring or even a ring but it was far more, an heirloom, something I would pass on to my daughter one day ❤️ That flash of understanding changed my life, made me quit my job and start making beautiful things so I could honour those stories. It’s been incredible but over the last few years my dream seemed so far away if not impossible. Having that dream restored and made so much more precious by its near loss is indescribable. . I know for some of you this will feel irrelevant, you are here for the jewellery. But for me Chupi is about celebrating women and their stories, not just the perfect ones but the imperfect too. I haven’t shared here before because we needed to just get through. But thank you for giving me a space that’s been so filled with hope & love ? . PS I’ve shared some more pictures over on @chupisweetman. And yes that’s them raising their tiny fist at the 12 week scan ✊? The sonographer apologised that they couldn’t get a “proper” picture but I thought it was perfect ? . PPS A few friends have asked why am I sharing our story? Why not just post the smiling photo and be done? Because life is far more complex. 1 in 5 people trying for a baby will experience issues, for some it will be a bump on the road, for others a barrier that can never be overcome. And this all happens, they may be your family, your best friend, it may even be you. But in sharing our good news I didn’t want to add pain to anyone’s journey, just to share that sometimes our lives only look perfect on the outside. My Mum taught me that silence and secrecy only make things worse, so I wanted to share our complicated journey ? And if you are on this journey, all I can send is my love ❤️ It is so unbelievably hard but whatever path you choose be kind to yourself, you are doing the best you can ⚡️

A post shared by Chupi Sparkling Gold Jewelry ✨ (@chupi) on Feb 2, 2020 at 1:18am PST

She speaks of how her mum taught her that silence and secrecy only make things worse and by sharing her story, it might make other women feel less alone.

"A few friends have asked why am I sharing our story? Why not just post the smiling photo and be done? Because life is far more complex. 1 in 5 people trying for a baby will experience issues, for some it will be a bump on the road, for others a barrier that can never be overcome. And this all happens, they may be your family, your best friend, it may even be you.

"But in sharing our good news I didn’t want to add pain to anyone’s journey, just to share that sometimes our lives only look perfect on the outside".

Chupi also says that she didn't share any details before now because it was too difficult and both her and Brian "just needed to get through".

However, as Chupi lovers will know, women and their stories are celebrated daily with special anecdotes shared on Instagram regularly and so Chupi is sharing her own tale.

"I know for some of you this will feel irrelevant, you are here for the jewellery. But for me Chupi is about celebrating women and their stories, not just the perfect ones but the imperfect too. I haven’t shared here before because we needed to just get through. But thank you for giving me a space that’s been so filled with hope & love".

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Her words are moving and honest and are sure to touch women everywhere. In an additional post featured on Chupi's personal Instagram, she speaks of how, people assumed that she was obsessed with work and she had decided to not have kids. The reality could not have been further from the truth.

"But not everyone knows your story and as a woman in my 30s I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been asked why I don’t have kids? The patronising assumption was I was obsessed with work".

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I have been so nervous to write these words, as if saying them out loud might make it all disappear. For the last few months we have been living in a joyous (if somewhat anxious!) bubble because after three years of ivf we are expecting our darling baby at the end of June ? . But the last few years have been a complicated time, it’s not a journey I want to dwell on but sharing the news this weekend brings it all up again. I thought IVF was hard, but I didn’t realise it was a rollercoaster of financial, physical and emotional challenges. . There have been some heartbreaking lows and some breathtaking highs; whilst the nurse checked for a heartbeat at 7 weeks I could hear her hold her breath and then the explosion of joy when we heard that tiny heart was like nothing else in the world ? Feeling movement for the first time a few weeks ago I yelped so hard Brian thought something was wrong ? My Mum bursting into tears when I told her, she said the world had changed and nothing else mattered now ⚡️ . Our friends and family have been incredible, they have shown us so much kindness and love. But not everyone knows your story and as a woman in my 30s I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been asked why I don’t have kids? The patronising assumption was I was obsessed with work. I passionately love @chupi because it’s part of me ❤️ But that the clichè of the career women should still exist astounds me. . Today most of all I feel joy. That we get to be parents, that we can have a family and that this tiny wriggling baby inside of me is going to be part of our story and will be so very loved ? . I have endlessly written what I should say if you are on this journey, what helped me? For me it was Brian who held me together, it pushed us in ways I never thought possible but he was a rock. I thought at the time I was the one who held onto hope, but he made sure that we took it one day, one injection, one test at a time which actually got us through whilst my hopes and fears always lived in the future which is a scary place with ivf. . But above all be kind to yourself, you are doing the best you can ❤️ . PS A few friends have asked why am I sharing..Cont in comments ✨

A post shared by Chupi Sweetman ✨??? (@chupisweetman) on Feb 2, 2020 at 1:14am PST