Nneka Ihim is sharing some very “bittersweet” pregnancy news.
On Wednesday (January 22), the 37-year-old Real Housewives of Potomac alum announced that she and husband Dr. Ikenna Ihim are expecting their first child, however, they were originally expecting twins and sadly lost one baby in utero.
Keep reading to find out more…In an interview with People, Nneka revealed that she has been trying for more than two years to get pregnant.
“It’s so exciting,” Neneka, who is due in May, gushed. “I’ve always wanted to be a mom and for so long, it felt like the vision of having the family I desired wasn’t possible. But now my dreams of building a family are coming true, and it just feels so special.”
“I sometimes still have to pinch myself, it’s so surreal and shocking,” she added. “Even now I’m trying to plan my baby shower and I’m just like, ‘Wow, this is really happening for me.’”
Nneka first learned she was expecting twins after implanting two embryos, a boy and a girl, during her third round of in vitro fertilization (IVF). During her regular prenatal check-up at the eight-week mark, Nneka learned that she had lost one of the babies.
“We showed up for an appointment and one of the twins no longer had a heartbeat,” Nneka recalled. “So that was really, really hard. I mean, the second I walked out of my doctor’s office, I burst into tears.”
After learning the devastating news, Nneka said that she spent four days in bed.
“I wasn’t really eating, wasn’t drinking, wasn’t doing what I needed to do to care for the one that I still had. Because to me, it just felt like I wasn’t pregnant anymore,” she shared. “I saw both heartbeats on the screen, that was the pregnancy. It felt incomplete once the other one was gone.”
“There’s trauma within the celebration,” Nneka continued. “But at the same time, we’ve been through this for so long and God has finally blessed us with this pregnancy, so we’re trying to be very optimistic here. My doctor says the one we have now is very healthy and very strong. I’m more than halfway through, so at this point, I feel much more stable. After losing the twin, it’d be very easy to sit here every day like, ‘Is there a heartbeat? Is everything going to be okay?’ But I just have to have faith that’s not going to happen.”
Despite the emotional loss, Nneka said that her pregnancy has been going smoothly.
“I’m five months in and it’s gone so well, it’s almost felt unreal,” Nneka shared. “People say the first trimester is all nausea and vomiting, but I’m lucky to say I’ve had zero morning sickness.”
She also sang her praises for Ikenna, whom she has been married to since 2021.
“He’s been incredible. He’s just so elated,” Nneka gushed. “He cannot wait for this child to come…it’s a dream come true for both of us.”
Congrats to the parents-to-be!
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