Top Irish designer Chupi Sweetman is renowned for her knack for creating stunning pieces of engagement jewellery – but today she shared news of a different kind of creation.
The Dublin-based designer took to Instagram to announce that she is expecting her first child with partner Brian.
Chupi explained to her followers that the couple are expecting after utilising IVF to conceive.
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Sharing her experiences with IVF, Chupi shared a heartfelt and honest account of her journey to conception:
“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,” she penned.
“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.”
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“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…” she wrote.
“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.”
Over on the Chupi Instagram, where 123,000 people follow to see the designer’s exceptional craft, she elaborated about why she was opening up about her conception struggle.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
