The Bachelor alum Lauren Bushnell has been diagnosed with a pregnancy complication, but she said she's remaining "optimistic" during her second pregnancy.
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Lauren, 32, announced on Monday that she's expecting Baby No. 2 with husband Chris Lane, and she revealed one day later on Instagram Stories how she was diagnosed with marginal cord insertion and she is "trying to stay optimistic," People reported.
"The first 13 weeks-ish [of pregnancy] were way worse this time around. I just feel like I was way sicker, I threw up a lot more often, hence the hospital visit," Lauren said in a June 7 post, referencing her recent photo of herself in a hospital bed.
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"Thankfully now I am feeling so much better. I was recently diagnosed with something called marginal cord insertion. I was incredibly stressed out when my doctor told me that but I'm trying to stay optimistic."
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Lauren, who shares a one-year-old son named Dutton Walker with Chris, explained that marginal cord insertion is when the "umbilical cord attaches to the edge of the placenta versus the middle."
She said the condition requires her to "be monitored more often."
However, as of right now, Lauren assured fans that her baby is "very healthy, measuring great, measuring a little bit big if anything."
The umbilical cord is normally connected at the center of the placenta, allowing a baby to "get the most amount of nutrients." Lauren also said it's "the easiest way for the blood to flow to the baby."
"So the concern is that when [the umbilical cord] attaches to the edge, especially later in pregnancy, it can sometimes cause the baby to not get all the nutrients it needs, so it just needs extra monitoring," Lauren explained.
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"I need to go every four weeks for an ultrasound. It's not super uncommon."
Lauren told People that her second pregnancy came as "very much an unexpected surprise."
"We had planned on having at least two kids, so we're very thankful that it was able to happen for us, even if it wasn't necessarily on our exact timing. We're both just incredibly excited," Lauren shared.
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When Lauren announced she has another baby on the way with the 37-year-old country singer, she posted photos on Instagram and captioned them, "Party of 4, coming October 2022."
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Lauren uploaded a photo of her immediate family as well as a solo shot of the couple's cute son Dutton. "I cannot wait to see you as a big brother, Dutty!"
Dutton, who had his first birthday on June 8, was wearing a "brother" shirt for the photo shoot.
Chris shared the same family photo on his own Instagram account and captioned it, "I guess it's no secret to what's been goin on in the Lane household. Dutty is gonna be a brother!"
Lauren commented on Chris' post, "He can't keep his hands off her," which led fans to believe the couple is having a baby girl and Lauren accidentally spilled the beans.
Later that night, Lauren conducted a Q&A session on Instagram Stories with her followers, revealing that she's "20 weeks" pregnant and she and Chris will be doing a gender reveal "soon."
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Dutton and his little sister or brother will be about 17 months apart.
When asked if the second pregnancy was a surprise, Lauren shared, "Very much so. I went out on the road baby less ONE time and that's when it happened. We were planning on waiting a little longer but excited about what God has in store for our family."
As for how the new baby will change her living arrangement, Lauren said Dutton will be getting "a big boy room" and she will be updating the nursery for Baby No. 2.
Chris admitted to Us Weekly in January that he and Lauren were "not trying" for a second baby and he was trying to get his "dad bod" back into shape.
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"Every time I'm eating something I shouldn't, Lauren's like, 'Oh, let's make better choices,'" he explained earlier this year. "But having a 7-month-old, I've definitely not been able to stay in the kind of shape that I have been in for quite some time, but I'm getting back."
Lauren, however, said in March she had "developed a pretty thick skin" in regards to people shaming her post-baby body.
"It doesn't really bother me a whole lot, but it definitely stings more when [comments are made about] my child," Lauren explained. "I've noticed that anyone can say anything about me, and it doesn't really bother me too much."
Lauren competed on The Bachelor's 20th season starring Ben Higgins, which aired in 2016. Lauren accepted a marriage proposal from Ben during the show's finale but they split and called off their engagement over a year later in May 2017.
Lauren previously said how she felt a lot of stress after The Bachelor ended in 2016.
Not only did she choose to move away from her family in Los Angeles, CA, to join Ben in Denver, CO, but she was also dealing with headlines about Ben's love for runner-up JoJo Fletcher and the pair quickly jumped into filming a The Bachelor spinoff, Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?, which aired on ABC's Freeform sister network.
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Lauren acknowledged to Us that being engaged when her fiance had just been in love with another woman was "a really hard place" to start off a relationship in the real world. She eventually hit rock bottom during her relationship with Ben.
After a year-long romance with real estate investor Devin Antin ended in Summer 2018, Lauren and Chris sparked dating rumors in November of that year when The Bachelor alum accompanied the country crooner to the 66th Annual BMI Country Music Awards in Nashville.
Not only did Chris and Lauren arrive at the event together, but they also looked like a couple.
Lauren got engaged to Chris in June 2019 and then they got married just four months later in Nashville, TN.
Following their October 2019 wedding, Lauren and Chris welcomed Dutton in June 2021.
Chris admitted to Entertainment Tonight in February 2022 that he never really envisioned himself getting married or having kids but meeting Lauren changed his "mindset" on the matter.
"The day [Dutton] was born, and I haven't told anybody this, but I cried my eyes out, because I felt like I was praying, just, 'Lord, thank you so much for not listening to me for all those years that I said I never wanted that,'" Chris said.
"I wouldn't have known what I was missing out on and it's truly the best thing in the world."
Meanwhile, Ben also fell in love with a woman outside of Bachelor Nation, Jessica Clarke.
Ben and Jess went Instagram official in January 2019, got engaged in March 2020, and then got married in November 2021. They have a dog together and plan to expand their family, but not in the near future.
Lauren and Chris still watch The Bachelor franchise together while Ben has admitted it's not healthy and causing problems for his marriage to bring up those memories.
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