Life
I'm going to come right out and say that I have no recollection of how we went about announcing our second pregnancy. In the world of social media sharing, it seems like there is a constant quest for the best, the funniest, the most creative announcement for personal milestones. We’ve all seen them: the proposal video that makes everyone cry, the sweet photo announcing a couple’s first pregnancy, the perfectly choreographed first dance of a newly married couple. Maybe you found yourself creating something share-worthy for your first baby, too. (I didn't, but I love when other people do.)
Then you have your baby, and you have your exhaustion and the overwhelm that comes with becoming a parent, and then it’s time to have another (or, in my case, SURPRISE! there’s going to be another). But you’re so busy running after the child that you’ve already given birth to, that coming up with something creative to announce #2 is just not in the cards.
Welcome to the rest of your life, kiddo. Being number two means second best everything. Just kidding (kind of)!
It’s not that we don’t care as much when it comes to the second pregnancy, it’s just that we realize that the experience is not unique anymore. And while the second child we give birth to will be no less special than the first, the actual pregnancy? We’ve been through this before, and it ain’t no thing. Here's how that changes how you announce the big news:
Telling Your Partner
That first time is such a big deal, right? (I mean, hopefully it's not, like, Juno big, but big!) You wait for the results of the test together, perhaps, or you bring the stick out to your partner so you can look at those two little lines together and hold hands. The second time for us was more along the lines of, “Oh man, shouldn’t I have gotten my period by now? Crap. HONEY!”
Telling Your Parents
I remember when we told my parents we were pregnant for the first time. We were out for dinner, and I got out my phone, pretending that I was checking it, when I was really getting the camera ready. Then I said, off-handedly, “So what are you guys doing on September 15? Do you think you would be up for becoming grandparents?” and then I snapped a picture of their reaction. It was priceless.
The second time? I think I sent them a text message.
Telling Your Extended Family
When we decided to announce our first pregnancy to our extended family, we had it all planned out: There was a big 50th birthday party happening in the family, and much of our extended family had travelled to our city to celebrate. We asked to give a speech dedicated to the cousin in question, and announced that, in honor of him turning 50, we had decided to have a baby to celebrate. I took a video of the whole thing, and it was hilarious and fantastic.
I’m pretty sure we sent out a mass email to family with our second pregnancy. But I'd need to check my Gmail archives, to be sure.
Telling Your Friends
I remember just how hard it was to keep the exciting news from friends, initially during my first pregnancy. We wanted to make sure the pregnancy was viable before many people found out. But then there were some friends I couldn’t bear to be silent about it to. Six whole weeks of silence before we knew for sure? No way! Excited phone calls happened, we couldn’t contain ourselves when we were with friends, you get the idea.
The second time? I started mentioning it off-hand to friends at around six weeks, but to be fair, I told them more as a coping mechanism, because we were not ready for this.
Announcing It On Your Social Networks
It was so exciting to make the big announcement, the first time around. We didn’t get fancy with photoshoots or a video or anything over-the-top creative, but I did have fun crafting a little Facebook post with a picture of our first ultrasound. So much love ensued! It was a giant love-fest with all my friends I never see in real life, and it was lovely.
The second time, I’m pretty sure I referred to my pregnancy casually in a post, sometime in my second trimester. The people who caught the reference responded with, “WHAT?! When??” and that’s how they found out.
Announcing It At Work
I think this really depends on how soon after your last child you’ve found yourself getting pregnant. With my first pregnancy, I took my manager aside at about 8 weeks, and proudly explained why I might seem tired or need to go to the bathroom more. It was our little secret!
I didn’t really need to tell anyone early during my second pregnancy, because I was already acting exhausted. You know, because I had a toddler. What was one more reason to be worn out all the time?
