Influencer Christiana Ballayan Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby with Husband Aris (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Christiana Ballayan and her husband Aris are expecting their first baby together

• Ballayan tells PEOPLE she experienced intense first-trimester symptoms, including exhaustion, back pain and heightened sensitivity to smells

• The couple is planning a private sex reveal for their baby on the way and has already discussed meaningful names after years of planning

Christiana Ballayan’s family is growing by one more!

The 32-year-old influencer, who posts on social media under the name Kristline, is pregnant and expecting her first baby with her husband Aris, a rep for Ballayan confirms to PEOPLE. The two, who are sharing their happy news on the first anniversary of their wedding, are due to become parents this coming October.

“My husband and I found out after about three months of trying,” Ballayan, who is based in both Dallas and New York City, tells PEOPLE. “Honestly, it was a bit shocking because I had been on birth control for almost nine years, so I was expecting the process to take much longer.”

“We had mentally prepared ourselves for a longer journey, so seeing that positive test so quickly was both surprising and incredibly exciting,” she adds.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Ballayan says telling their friends and family was “such a special moment” and adds that it made her pregnancy experience that much more meaningful.

“Everyone in our lives was incredibly excited for us and has been so supportive throughout this journey,” says the mom-to-be. “It felt like our loved ones had been waiting for this chapter right alongside us, and their excitement made the experience even more meaningful.”

While she calls her pregnancy a “beautiful experience,” Ballayan says the first trimester was her least favorite part.

“I was exhausted all the time and dealt with back pain, and for the first few months I felt very similar to how I feel during my period, just much more intense,” she explains. “I also had about two weeks of nausea, but thankfully I never actually got sick, which was one of my biggest fears going into pregnancy.”

For Ballayan, one of the biggest surprises has been how sensitive she is to smells.

“As someone who genuinely loves cooking, I suddenly couldn’t stand the smell of food cooking, raw meat or even opening the refrigerator,” she shares. “That part was a little depressing because cooking is such a big part of my life.”

Her appetite also changed a lot, and crackers and pickles became her “go-to” foods.

“My husband was worried about me not eating enough, so he was always trying to find ways to get more calories into me, whether that meant peanut butter, bread or other nutrient-dense snacks,” she says. “During that time, I actually preferred eating food from restaurants, but even then, I could only manage small portions before feeling uncomfortable.”

Ballayan and her husband plan on finding out the sex of their baby, but will be keeping that moment private. They want to do a “small, intimate gender reveal” with just the two of them.

“This journey has always felt very personal, and we want to savor that milestone together before sharing it with the world,” she explains.

They’ve also started talking names and have even had a few picked out for several years.

“Since we’ve been together for so long, we’ve talked about our future and growing our family many times, so we’ve had plenty of time to think about names that feel meaningful to us,” she says.

As she looks ahead to this next chapter, Ballayan says she and Aris are “incredibly excited” to become parents.

“This is a chapter we’ve looked forward to for a long time, and we were intentional about preparing for it,” she explains. “For the last eight years, it’s been just the two of us building a life together, growing as individuals and as a couple, learning, loving and creating memories.”

“Now we get to bring a little person into everything we’ve built, and that feels really special. We’re looking forward to stepping into parenthood as a team and experiencing this next adventure together.”

Read the original article on People