‘Bringing Up Bates’ Star Carlin Bates Expecting First Child

There’s another Bates baby on the way! Bringing Up Bates star Carlin Bates announced Wednesday that she and husband Evan Stewart are expecting their first child just months after tying the knot in May. Sharing photos of herself and her husband showing off ultrasound photos of their firstborn, the reality TV personality gushed over becoming a mother herself after growing up in a large family.

“This past year has been a whirlwind of excitement and love, from wedding planning, to the most magical day of my life when I said ‘I do,’ and just when I think life can’t get crazier, busier, or happier, I find out I’m pregnant!” she wrote alongside the photos. “I feel so grateful and in awe of the miracle of a tiny life growing inside of me! I can’t imagine that my life could be any more blessed!”

Carlin added to PEOPLE that being pregnant alongside sisters Whitney and Erin Bates has only added to her excitement at expecting.

“I’ve learned something from each one of them,” she told the outlet. “They’ve already answered so many questions that I’ve had. I know we have bonded even more, now that we have motherhood in common. My sisters are my best friends.”

The mother-to-be does have some health concerns going into the birth of her first child, learning the “fearful news” at her first appointment that she has “the same two clotting disorders that my sister Erin has dealt with throughout pregnancies.”

“Evan had to learn to give me two shots daily,” Bates told the outlet of her husband’s role amid the complications. “We have had a lot of opportunity to pray and to try to trust God, as we have researched the different side effects and concerns. So although it has been a learning experience, we know we have an even bigger reason to be thankful that the baby is doing well.”

“I’m just feeling such an immense feeling of gratitude to be carrying this little life,” she continued. “I think it really hit us that we’re going to be parents when we saw the ultrasound and heard the heartbeat. Words can’t express the emotions you feel, knowing there is a little life that’s carrying your genes and DNA growing inside of you.”

Photo credit: UPtv