When you first found out you were pregnant which people did you tell?
By liquorice
@liquorice (3887)
May 19, 2008 6:55am CST
When I was pregnant with my daughter my husband was here when I took the test so he found out at the same time as I did. Soon after, we decided to tell my mum and sister as we were due to go on holiday with them, and so they were bound to guess anyway. And as we'd told my immediate family it was only fair to tell my husband's! We didn't want anyone else to know until I'd had my 3 week scan so we swore everyone to secrecy until then.
If I were to have another baby I'm not sure what I would do. If the holiday hadn't been involved we would have waited until the first 3 months were up, as the risks decrease after that time, and it's maybe a bit unfair to get everyone's hopes up in case something bad happens before then. However, it would be sooo hard to keep the excitement of a pregnancy to myself and I'd want to share that with the people closest to me.
On the other hand, telling close family but asking them to not tell anybody else for a few months put a really big strain on them, as they were dying to tell all of their friends and other family members!
The other option is to just tell everybody, and I don't think I'd want that.
What did you do? Or what would you do?
2 people like this
7 responses
@trish331 (33)
• United States
20 May 08
When I found out I was pregnant with my oldest, I was all alone and only had my family to tell.
With my two boys, my husband was with me and we each called our parents to tell them and of course the news spread like wildfire after that. And, in all actuality, my dad knew before we did.
Every time one of us girls got pregnant, our dad would start throwing up constantly and he would call each of us and ask if we were pregnant. And all three of us would go out and get a test, just to be sure. Every time one of us would end up being pregnant.*L*
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
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22 May 08
Yes, news about babies gets round pretty fast!!
That's so amazing about your dad throwing up like that. He must be so sensitive to what's going on with his daughters, I've never heard of anything like this before and would love to know how it works, as I'm sure you all would too.
Are you and your sisters all in close contact with your dad, ie. do you see him a lot? If so then maybe he can somehow sense the pregnancy hormones and has a reaction to them, otherwise he must be psychic in some way. Whatever the explanation, it's very impressive.
@trish331 (33)
• United States
22 May 08
When we were younger, my dad was always gone because he worked on oil rigs. So when we got older all of us developed a close relationship with him. My parents live an hour away from me so I go see them as much as possible. Usually a few times a month, so they can spend time with the kids and catch up on family news.
@Essie119 (673)
• Canada
20 May 08
My husband was the first person that I told each time. (Usually woke him very early in the morning to impart the good news.) Then we told our parents and my sisters. I had to tell them quite early on because I was so sick that they would have figured it out anyway.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
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22 May 08
I bet your husband didn't mind being woken up to hear such wonderful news! Yes, if people are going to guess anyway then you might as well tell them. It's a shame that you were so sick though, hope it didn't last too long.
@mflower2053 (3223)
• United States
20 May 08
For my first I took the test then called my husband at work. The next morning we decided to call my mom and let her know she screamed lol. For my second I knew I was pregnant but my hubby wouldn't believe me so he went and bought a test b/c he said I wasn't and sure enough I was right. He was excited and hugged me I started crying b/c I wasn't ready to be pregnant again just yet. Now that shes here I feel very blessed that I have 2 beautiful wonder daughters who will be able to grow up close and have each other to share things with even if they fight over things now.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
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20 May 08
Thanks for your answer. Your mum screaming made me laugh! Mums get so excited about the thought of being grandmas!! I knew I was pregnant too without doing the test, but my husband was also dubious until he saw that line. It's probably hard for a man to imagine knowing like that. It's lovely that your daughters are so close together and that things worked out for the best despite the initial shock!
@luvstochat (6907)
• United States
19 May 08
My husband was the first one that I told. The next person I told was my mom and then my dad and then my grandma that is the way I told both times I was pregnant. My dad and my grandma are no longer with us though so I would not be telling them anymore. I don't want anymore chilren anyways.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
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20 May 08
That's really nice that your close family were able to share in the happy news.
Thanks for your answer.
@gemini_rose (16264)
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19 May 08
With all of my pregnancies I found out very early on, I am quite a big believer of not tempting fate and so I wanted to keep it quiet until the 3 month period was up. My hubby on the other hand could not just hold his own water, and so told his immediate family. Luckily nothing bad ever happened.
A friend that I used to have however told everyone when she was only 6 weeks pregnant, everyone bought her things for the baby and everyone knew, and sadly she miscarried at about 10 weeks, so it is best to try and wait until at least the first scan, just in case.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
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20 May 08
Hi, I can understand what you're saying about tempting fate, I was reluctant to tell the people that we did, but had to really because of the circumstances. So funny ('though probably not at the time), that your husband couldn't keep the secret! I would've been worried that his family would tell my family and that they'd be all annoyed that we hadn't told them too, and then all hell would break loose!!
It's really sad that this happened to your friend. I hope that she manages to get over it (as much as is possible) and that things go better for her in the future.
@kezabelle (2974)
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19 May 08
My partner was with me both times I took a test so he knew as soon as I did, our first child we waited a few days before telling anyone I was only 19 and while she was planned we knew they might have some reservations but they were once they got over the shock over the moon, our second child my parents knew we were trying again and I phoned soon as I took the test because id been bleeding and thought I wasnt pregnant and was going into our 5th month of trying but I felt ill and just knew so did a test and got my positive.
We pretty much told everyone within a week of knowing ourselves, im not superstitious in waiting till 12 weeks I felt that if the worst happened I would rather they know and could offer their support than go through it alone.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
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20 May 08
I'm glad that your family were happy about your pregnancy. I'm sure it was a shock at first but it must have been so exciting to know that there was a baby on the way. I suppose that if you were worried about their reaction then maybe it was a good idea to tell them quickly and get it out of the way. It must've been good to have their support from so early on as well.
It must have been worrying to be bleeding in your second pregnancy, and it's lucky as well that your parents knew from the start, and that they were able to support you then too.
It's interesting to hear the other view about telling people straight away. It's a good point about them knowing and being able to support you if anything happened. I think though that if I hadn't told people, and something bad had happened then they would have heard the bad news without having known the good news first, so it might have been a bit less disappointing for them than having their hopes first up and then down. It's difficult to say though, and people close to me would probably have been just as disappointed either way.
(Hope all that made sense, it did in my head anyway!)
Thanks for your reponse.
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
28 May 08
When we first got pregnant we decided that my Mum would be the first to know - since her 50th Birthday was only a few weeks away, we held off on telling ANYONE & when the party was upon us, we put the first ultrasound photo in my Mum's birthday card!
I believe my Mum greeted ALL her guests with 'I'm going to be a Nanna' - before she even said hello - LOL!
So we didn't technically tell ANYONE first, we just waited until my Mum opened the card & there was a baby scan inside. Naturally she was over the moon, my sister was living in Melbourne but had come back for the party so she was surprised as well!
Once my family knew we just got on the phone to my partner's family, we kinda figured it wasn't as much of a deal for them as they already had 5 Grandkids - this was the first for my side of the family!
We're pregnant with #2 now but we didn't do anything major - my Mum called one day to ask about something so i told her then & there!
