Announcing Your News

When my friend Michelle was expecting her first baby, she wrapped her ultrasound photo in a box and presented it to her mother-in-law as a Christmas gift. My coworker’s daughter announced she was pregnant as the family gathered to say grace for Thanksgiving dinner. Another friend selected tiny baby booties as a birthday present for her mother and wrapped them with a card that read “Happy Birthday, Grandma.”

Telling your family and friends that you are pregnant can be fun and exciting. The first time I was pregnant, I kept it a secret—with only my husband knowing—for several weeks. Despite my joy, it seemed I was constantly coming up with new ways to hide my pregnancy. After all, being at a social function without the requisite glass of wine was a dead giveaway. At book club, I held the wine glass, but never really sipped from it. At business functions I would order a seltzer with lime, and ask the bartender to serve it in a rocks glass. When entertaining at home, I would serve myself a virgin drink in the kitchen before pouring cocktails for my guests.

And when all else failed, there was always the excuse: “I’m taking a prescription.”

Most women I know keep pregnancy a secret from friends and family until after the first trimester. But there’s no hard and fast rule about this. If you are the type of person who likes to share everything, and you are eager to start talking about your pregnancy with close friends and family, there’s really no reason not to. This is an exciting time and if you’ve got the glow, likely they already know. But if you are a private soul and would feel more comfortable waiting until you’ve cleared the first trimester, that’s OK, too. It’s really a personal decision and one that varies from woman to woman.

Let’s face it, if your friends and family know you are trying to have a baby, they will likely suspect pregnancy anytime you do something out of the ordinary: picking the feta cheese out of a greek salad, falling asleep on your mother’s couch during your Sunday visit, failing to show for girls’ night out because you are “under the weather.”

If you are looking for some fun ways to share your news with friends, family, or even your better half, consider these suggestions:

•    Ask your partner to go to the grocery store for you and provide a list that includes decaf coffee, prenatal vitamins, sparkling cider, and infant diapers
•    Copy your ultrasound picture and mail it to the grandparents-to-be
•    Ask a friend to go shopping with you and be sure to swing by the baby aisle to pick up a gift…for yourself.
•    Make some fortune cookies with the message “In about six months you will make a great aunt (uncle, godparent)” and serve them to your siblings
•    If you already have a child, dress him or her in a t-shirt that says “I’m a big brother or sister” and take a trip to see the relatives.

What are some of the creative ways you’ve heard to spread the good news?

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Are you trying to conceive or are you in the beginning stages of pregnancy? Do you feel excited, daunted or confused? Join Moms2B, a group to learn about prenatal care and share your pregnancy "firsts" each step of the way. To join, click here.