Your Guide to Announce Your Pregnancy and Revealing Baby’s Gender

How long should you wait to announce a pregnancy?

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.

When should you tell family that you’re pregnant?

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.

When should you tell your employer you’re pregnant?

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.

Announce Your Pregnancy: How?

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

1. Your Husband
2. Your Parents and Grandparents
3. Your Extended Family
4. Social Media

How can I creatively announce my pregnancy to my husband?

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:

• Put a slip of paper saying, “You’re Going to be a Dad!” inside of a balloon that is labeled “pop-me”
• Wrap your positive pregnancy test up, or another gender-neutral baby item. On the box write: “Roses are red, violets are blue, I have a secret and here’s your clue!
• Bring him a drink with one these clever can coolers around it
• Write them a sweet message in a card
• Give them a calendar with your due date pre-marked. Find a reason to get them to flip to that month and watch their reaction
• Incorporate your pet by putting a sign around their neck or dressing them in a bandana with the message
• Go surprise party-style and decorate the house with signs and balloons before they arrive home
• Wrap up a cute countdown until baby gift

For more inspiration, check out all of the adorable gift ideas to surprise the dad-to-be with the news here.

What are fun ways to announce your pregnancy to parents and grandparents?

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:

• Give them gifts with grandma or grandpa written on them
• Frame a picture of baby’s ultrasound and give it as a gift
• Wrap up a onesie with a message about being the best grandparents or being promoted to grandparents
• Gift them a cute countdown until they become grandparents

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”.

Announcing your Pregnancy to Extended Family

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.

What are ways to announce your pregnancy on social media or to family via technology?

Take a Photo to Share:

• Dress in shirts announcing your new roles
• Take a picture of you two with a chalkboard or sign announcing the news
• Take a picture of you two holding a onesie or pair of baby shoes between you
• Take a photo with your pregnancy test to send to people
• Create a photo using scrabble letters to spell out “love” with the date you started dating, “marriage” with your anniversary date and “baby” with the due date.
• Line your shoes, your husband’s shoes, and baby shoes up on the driveway, in chalk write your birth years

Hilarious ways to announce your pregnancy:

• Take a picture of you and your husband taking a “bun out of the oven”
• Take a picture of baking supplies on the counter with a chalk board that reads “bun in the oven”
• Take a picture holding pickles and ice cream, people will put two and two together
• Pose a picture with baby things, laundry, and house a mess, write “Parenthood: coming ____”
• Take a picture with you partner holding up two bags of ice, put your hands on your belly

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.

Finding out the gender!

What week do you find out the gender of the baby?

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 😊

Should I find out the gender?

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:

• Will knowing the gender make preparing and planning easier?
• Will waiting to find out cause you stress or anxiety?
• Do you like the idea of being completely surprised?
• Do you think you’ll be disappointed one way or the other? Waiting might be beneficial because I promise you’ll fall in love instantly regardless of the gender.
• Will it be too hard to keep a secret from family and friends?
• Would you rather not receive gender specific toys and clothes before baby is even born?
• Will it be easier to choose a name if you know the gender?
• Will visualizing life with your baby be easier if you know the gender?
• Would you feel more connected not knowing?
• Will waiting make you feel more motivated while preparing and during labor?

Should we find out baby’s gender at our appointment, privately or at our reveal party?

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.

What are some fun ways to reveal baby gender?

• Take a fun photo with boy or girl baby gear and share via social media or in a mailed baby announcement
• Arrange for a bakery to make a dessert with a pink or blue colored center, don’t forget an adorable cake topper!
• Hit a gender reveal baseball in front of your party guests or on camera. Just remember to not wait for the perfect strike.
• Find a local party store that can fill balloons with pink or blue confetti or order them online, pop the balloons for the reveal
• Ask a local party store to fill appropriate colored balloons and seal them in a box, open the box and let the pink or blue balloons fly
• Order party poppers that are filled with pink or blue

Planning a gender reveal party

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.

Who to invite and where to host?

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.

Gender Reveal Party Decorations

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:

• Twinkle, twinkle little star, how we wonder what you are?
• Pink or Blue, we’re already so in love with you
• Blue or Pink, what do you think?
• He or She, what will it be?

Follow us on Pinterest to see lots of great gender reveal party ideas!

Gender Reveal Party Games

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.

Good luck with your pregnancy announcement!

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!

• Record family member’s reactions to your big news
• Write a letter to your baby when you find out the gender
• Note how you and your partner reacted to all of this exciting news too

Thanks for reading! If you found this article inspiring, please share it on Pinterest and Facebook

Alli Wittbold

Alli Wittbold is a wife, mama, blogger, and online teacher. She feels passionate about connecting expectant mothers with childbirth class educators, and supporting them to achieve the birth they desire. After having her first baby delivered by a Certified Nurse Midwife, Alli is an advocate for midwifery prenatal care. She has learned so much about labor and delivery by attending and reviewing dozens of birth classes to help mothers learn and explore options. Alli co-authored the Week-by-Week Bump Smart Course, the Nesting Planner and the Breastfeeding Handbook, resources she is proud to share with as many expectant and new mothers as possible. Read more about Alli.