So, you’ve taken a positive pregnancy test and have been dutifully avoiding certain foods and focusing on your health. You must be bubbling over with excitement and joy about your growing family!At this point you’re probably wondering, how should I announce my pregnancy? How long should you wait to announce your pregnancy?
I know I couldn’t wait to share my news but wanted to delay until the appropriate time. I also ended up telling different people in my life at different points in my pregnancy.
Today, let’s discuss the benefits of sharing your news and waiting, and who you might want to tell first. We’ll talk about fun ways to announce pregnancy and ideas about how to announce pregnancy on social media as well.
But wait a minute, finding out the gender is equally as exciting and another big milestone in pregnancy that’s a blast to reveal, right?!
What week do you find out the gender? What are fun ways to reveal baby gender and plan gender reveal parties? Don’t worry we’ve got all of that covered here today too 😊
Disclaimer: this post contains Affiliate Links. Read about what affiliate links are and how I use them here.
That depends mostly on the type of test you take, for certainty, a positive test taken after your missed period will tell you for sure that you are pregnant. Some early detection tests can detect pregnancy up to 5 days before your missed period, but they aren’t always reliable. Trina had an experience with an expensive early detection test showing negative even though she was in fact pregnant.
One thing that’s for sure, is that if you have a positive pregnancy test, no matter how faint the line is, you’re definitely pregnant. Pregnancy tests, even home urine tests, are over 99% effective. False positives are extremely rare. Congratulations, Mama! There’s a baby on the way, time to get your pregnancy started right.
Most women choose to announce their pregnancies at week 14 because this is when the likelihood of miscarriage drops off significantly. Before this, you may want to be careful about who you share your news with. You’ll want to feel equally comfortable talking about possible miscarriage.
This is a much more personal decision and will depend a lot on what your relationship with your family is like. I chose to tell my family in person which meant I couldn’t share right when we found out, because we live in different states. I did however choose to do it before the 14-week mark. It ended up being around 9 weeks, which just felt right to us. Discuss the decision with your partner and follow your instinct. You will know what feels right.
Consider your Symptoms
Your decision to tell family may also be influenced by how you are feeling and how much time you spend around them. Will they be wondering why you’re suddenly exhausted and napping a lot more? Or gagging at the smell or sight of certain foods? Morning sickness can really give a pregnancy away. In this case, cluing them in sooner than later may ease your mind and life a bit.
It makes sense to wait to tell your employer after the 14 week mark, and maybe even later in pregnancy than that. I personally waited until 20 weeks, which is when I really started to show and had a better handle on what I wanted to negotiate in terms of leave. In the end, I wound up staying home permanently and started teaching online, but I kept my options open.
Get Creative with your Maternity Leave before you Negotiate
You should investigate maternity leave benefits and think through exactly what time you want to take before sharing your news. Look into applying your sick days and vacation time to your maternity leave so that more of it is paid. Try to learn about the possibility of easing back into work part time to make your transition back easier.
Above all, remember that it’s impossible to know for sure how you are going heal physically and emotionally from birth and life with a newborn, so be prepared for a possible change of heart.
Learn About Work from Home Options
You may also want to investigate work from home options. Depending on your job, employer and relationship to them, it might be best to plan for a typical 12-week maternity leave while you learn and investigate other options, that way you don’t close any doors or burn any bridges.
Now is the time to pursue work from home opportunities, because you’ll be ready to roll once you’re feeling ready postpartum.
What About Co-Workers?
This is another personal choice, but I found it necessary to share my news with my co-teacher much earlier than 14 weeks because of my intense morning sickness. It made it much easier to get through the day, explain my breaks and uptick in sick days, late arrivals, and doctor’s appointments. I also knew that in the event of miscarriage, it was something that I’d want my co-teacher to know I was coping with, so sharing made sense.
So, I would advise holding off, unless you have intense symptoms that are hard to mask. Then you should think through the benefits of sharing vs. waiting until later in the pregnancy. How trustworthy your co-workers are to keep the news quiet should also be a deciding factor.
With so many people in your life to tell at different times, let’s look at creative ways to announce your pregnancy in different realms of your life
The first pregnancy announcement you’re going to make is likely to your husband! I basically just ran out of the bathroom excitedly, but after the fact realized that there are some many cute ideas of how to share the news with your husband. Especially if he’s not home when you take the test.
Here are some ideas:
For more inspiration, check out all of the adorable gift ideas to surprise the dad-to-be with the news here.
Telling your own parents and grandparents is a very special occasion. Chances are, they are going to be absolutely over-joyed. Patrick and I wrapped up coffee mugs that said, grandma and grandpa for my parents. N was the first grandchild on my side.
Watching them open the gifts and let the news sink in was priceless. When we gave my dad his mug, he pulled it out of the box the wrong way and couldn’t see the words “grandpa” but my two brothers across the table could. Their faces were in shock, but they stayed quiet until he realized. Once he did he immediately started jumping up and down with joy. It was a memorable and funny experience.
Here are some great ideas:
If the season is right, you could also consider a holiday gift like an ornament, which is what Trina did, or a stocking embroidered with “grandma” and “grandpa”.
If you are announcing to your family in person…
A great idea would be to show up to a large family gathering wearing clever shirts that share the news for you.
You could also bring a small gift for everyone with their new role, like on a mug or ornament (uncle, aunt, cousin etc.)
Bring a bunch of balloons with slips of paper inside. Tell everyone it’s this fun new game, and they all have to pop the balloons at once. When they find the slips of paper announcing you’re pregnant the real fun will begin.
If you have a pet or this is not your first baby, dressing your pet or older sibling in a shirt that says “big brother/sister” is a fun way to announce too.
Take a Photo to Share:
To see all of these photo ideas, and more, follow us on Pinterest and check out our pregnancy announcement board. We’ve got hilarious ways to announce your pregnancy, subtle ways to announce pregnancy, gift ideas, shirts, and more.
Typically, the 20-week ultrasound is the main event for the baby’s gender reveal. You can find out at this appointment as long as baby is positioned correctly or moving around enough for the ultrasound technician to get a clear view.
Some families can find out sooner if they opt to do genetic testing in the first trimester. This is called the Counsyl Prelude Prenatal Scan. It involves a blood draw, and in addition to more accurate results than the more tradition NT Scan, can also identify baby’s gender very early on.
Trina and Cole opted for Counsyl testing, and were able to find out they were having a girl in week 12 of pregnancy 😊
In short, this is completely up to you and your partner! But I will give you some things to think about if you are on the fence:
This is a decision that you need to make before your 20-week ultrasound appointment. You should decide if you want the technician to tell you during the appointment or put the results into a sealed envelope to open in private.
The next decision, do you and your partner want to find out the gender together in private, or do you like the idea of finding out in front a crowd at your gender reveal party? Both result in a fun party, because either you’re revealing to the guests in a fun and exciting way, or you’re finding out live with all of them.
Deciding to wait to do it live in front of your guests means you will either need to hand over the results to a trusted loved one to coordinate the party, or find a store, bakery, Etsy shop, etc. to give sealed results to and they arrange the appropriate reveal colors.
Hosting a gender reveal party is a fun way to not only share or find out the gender, but a fun way to celebrate your pregnancy with loved ones! Showers are traditionally for the ladies (though don’t have to be!) but gender reveal parties give you a chance to celebrate with everyone in your life.
Your gender reveal party will be the first of many baby parties and other things to plan and organize, like your registry, shower, and nursery. I know when it comes to party planning, checklists and organization make it so much easier. Make organizing your gender reveal party easy and fun with the helpful worksheets and checklists in the Nesting Planner.
Like any party, you’ll want to first decide on your budget and guest list. This is a personal choice. Consider how much food and drink you’ll need to provide, time of year, and venue.
Will you be able to host this in your home or in the home of a family member or friend? Perhaps you want to have it at a restaurant and keep it on the smaller side. There’s no right or wrong answer here.
When you decorate for your gender reveal party, you want to have a variety of decorations that are pink and blue. You can find lots of cute decorations to buy or make your own using pink, blue, gold and white.
Here are some cute sayings to incorporate:
Follow us on Pinterest to see lots of great gender reveal party ideas!
1. Old Wives’ Tales/ Gender Myth Results
Before the party, compile a list of Old Wives’ tales that claim to predict baby’s gender. Write the results to each ‘test’ on a large chalkboard or poster board. Have guests cast a vote for boy or girl based on the Old Wives’ Tales.
Enroll in our Bump Smart email series for your FREE gender myth worksheet at 7 weeks pregnant, along with weekly emails on how to prepare. Further along already than 7 weeks? This worksheet is included (along with over 150 more) in our Bump Smart Nesting Planner.
2. Sonogram Sneak Peak
Frame a picture of your most recent sonogram and have it out on table along with a place for guests to cast their vote if it’s a girl or a boy. Watching guests analyze the sonogram (especially if they end up being wrong) is sure to bring lots of laughs.
3. Guess Who: Mommy or Daddy
Create a worksheet with a list of things only you or your husband did. Have guests guess whether it was mom or dad and share results once everyone’s is complete (or include an answer key on the back).
Example questions: “Who has broken over 5 bones?” “Who has never left the country?”
4. Pink vs. Blue Cornhole or Other Yard Games
If you have an outdoor party, yard games are a must! Add to the fun by making opposing teams pink or blue. Keep a scoreboard going to see whether pink or blue wins more over all. You can easily color code games like corn hole, can jam, and yard darts.
5. Cast your Vote
Even if you don’t put out clues for your guests to use to inform their vote, you can still get creative with a voting system. Supply pink and blue necklaces and have guests select a necklace and wear it during the party. Get some cute “I voted” buttons for boy and girl.
Are you feeling more prepared about when to announce your pregnancy to various people in your life? Did this article inspire some fun and exciting pregnancy announcement and gender reveal ideas? I know I can’t wait to get super creative when I announce my next pregnancy 😊
As your pregnancy progresses, don’t forget to journal about and reflect on all of these fun and exciting moments!
Our Purpose
