I didn’t create a Facebook account until my daughter was six months old, so my options for telling the world that she was coming were relatively few. Seven years later, the ways to spread the new baby news seem limitless. I’ve been taking notes in preparation for the day when we have another bundle of joy to announce, and here are my ten favorite ways to announce that your family is about to grow.
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Call/tell everyone individually.
This is nice because you get to celebrate with each friend or family member instead of announcing once and waiting for the new baby congratulations to trickle in.
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If your older child is grown up enough to make phone calls, put him or her to work.
Helping to make the big announcement can make your older child feel like he or she is part of the fun.
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Send a group text.
But beware; if you send a message to too many people at once, you run the risk of your phone dinging until dawn, so switch to silent before you head to bed.
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Change your profile pic.
Keep your friends guessing by posting a symbolic picture (a bun in the oven, a baby duck, etc.) Or be more transparent and post a picture of your positive pregnancy test or ultrasound photo.
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Snail mail it.
Send a note or a photo announcement to your closest friends and family. Especially if you worry about pregnancy complications or are expecting a rainbow baby after a loss, this is a great way to share your joy with friends and family whom you can trust to support you if difficulties arise.
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Get the family in the photo.
Create an announcement for when you are due, specific to your unique family structure and interests. For example, if you’re into board games or video games, let everyone know when Player 4 (…or 5…or…) is expected to arrive. If you’re into sports, drape a tiny jersey over your bump and snap a picture. It’s your announcement, so you’re allowed to be as clever and corny as you want!
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Save time and paper.
Invite people to your baby shower. There’s no reason an invitation can’t double as a baby announcement. Multi-tasking is always good, right?
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Save it for later.
Let your birth announcement double as your pregnancy announcement. Who says you can’t keep people guessing until the new baby arrives?! You’ll probably have to keep the selfies focused above the neck if you don’t want people asking probing questions, but you can totally keep the news to yourself with some creative cropping and clothing.
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Just don’t.
Don’t announce your pregnancy at all. Show up with a new baby in your arms and enjoy letting people wonder whether they zoned out when you made the big announcement.
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Do what I did.
Write an article or blog post outlining ways to announce your pregnancy, then reward readers with your own news: I’m having another baby!
If you’ve seen me or talked to me recently, you’ve probably noticed my protruding belly, but I’ve kept the news off social media. I don’t know exactly why I waited until the third trimester to make the big reveal. I’ve alluded to being open to a second pregnancy in several articles, and last month, I even published a whole article about our process of deciding whether to have a second baby, but in spite of that, it was pretty easy to keep the news off Facebook. Being a doula means my friends expect me to share interesting articles about babies and birth. The biggest reason I waited until now to share is that I just didn’t feel ready to bring this news into the light quite yet.
We are so excited to welcome our second daughter to the family in early 2017. We still have a few secrets to keep until our new baby gets here, like her name, but it feels really good to be able to share our joy with all our friends now.
P.S. Mom, NOW you can tell your Facebook friends that you’re going to have another grandchild!
