How to Tell the "New Grandparents" the Good News!!

I had a cute way to tell the grandparents. We lived 2 hrs away at the time, and came to visit for Thanksgiving (I'd confirmed my pregnancy the day before). My sister-in-law had just gotten engaged, so I brought her a small present in a gift bag. After she opened her gift, I told my mother-in-law that I had a gift for her, too. In a decorative gift bag (not baby related) I had placed a bib, bottle, and pack of onesies. She pulled out the bib first and screamed "You're pregnant!". The funny thing is, I did the same thing for my mom, but what she said was "Oh, is this because I alway spill food on my shirt." Then she got it.

When I told my mom, I asked her if she ever thought that she would be ready to be a grandparent. She replied someday and I told her she had to be ready in 9 months...it was pretty cool.

I just called my mother very nonchalantly for some very mundane reason, but when I called I told her that I was calling for a couple of things. First, I asked her for the address that I needed, thanked her and was acting like I was getting ready to get off of the phone with her (we lived 3000 miles apart at the time), but she said "Was there something else?". I said: "Oh yeah...I'm pregnant."

It was so unexpected, mainly because it was unplanned, that she dropped the phone while she was at work and started to cry. It was awesome.

My SIL had a pretty sign printed up that said We're Pregnant. They held the sign up and posed for a beautiful black and white picture of them kissing and them smiling and wrapped up the pictures with a PREGNANCY COUNT DOWN CLOCK and gave it to her parents as a gift. I thought it was a unique and memorable way of announcing such happy news.

Hi S.,
When we got pregnant with our first child, we waited until around 12 weeks to tell anyone, the way we did it was fun, but didn't go exactly as I planned! We took a picture of the pregnancy test and enclosed it in a card that said, Dear ____________, See you in May! Love, Noah or Olivia

We already had names chosen but obviously didn't know what we were having yet. We mailed out the cards so everyone could be surprised. A word of caution on this...my father in law got his card first and ruined the surprise for everyone....he called my mother, grandmother, etc before they even got the cards themselves. I was very upset by this.

I think the idea was good, but if are trying to surprise everyone, it may not go as planned. Good Luck!

I think that the first ultrasound pic in a beautiful frame is a great gift.

My mom didn't even know we were 'officially' trying so when I saw her at a family get together, I said "Oh, I saw this and thought of you" it was a pin that said "future Grandma" She didn't have her reading glasses on so her sister had to read it to her so it was a double wammy! Have fun trying.

I have had 3 pregnancies and 4 children (blessed w/ twins when we thought we should try for one more!!!!) The first time I printed a big banner. The 2nd time I wrapped up bibs that said "I love my grandma and grandpa", the third time I wrapped up the pregnancy test, which was very funny because my mom couldn't understand why I was giving her a thermometer. My sister also made brownies and in little M&M's wrote Baby due in Sept. Hope this gives you some ideas.
Good luck and best wishes.

when I got pregnant with my first baby. I had two seperate small packages wrapped and gave one to my mom and one to my dad. I said I had been cleaning my closet and found those 2 presents hid away and had forgotten about them. (this works esp. if there isnt a holiday around that they would both be opening presents for)inside each present was a bib, my dads said I love my grandpa. and my moms bib said I love my grandma ) MY mom looked at me said what is this for .the only grandbabies she had were fish and fur.then she said Are you Pregnant..I thought they were going to pass out. they will get the hint, be very surprised and will have the bib for the many times your going to visit.they always like to know their grandbabies are going to visit . Good luck . please keep us posted on the "good news" when it happens.
M.

My idea although we didn't do it because of how are families are (sometimes very diffcult and always in our business). We were going to have a pinic and give each set of grandparents a small gift bag full of baby stuff like a baby bottle, a baby spoon, a jar of food, and a bib with a card. Hope this helps

S.,
For my first child, I gave my parents a congratulations card with the information in it. I have also heard of some people giving them a gift on a holiday with a baby toy in it. Also, if you have siblings or a pet putting a "I'm a big sister/brother" on a shirt or on a dog collar. There are lots of great ideas out there. You could also show up at their house wearing matching shirts with #1 Dad or Mom on you and your husband. See if they notice.
Good luck.

My husband and I sent each of our mothers' flowers on the same day. They said, "Dear Grammy(or whatever they will be called), Can't wait to meet you on (due date). It will be so much fun to finally meet you and play with you as I get older. Love, Baby XX." They both called us crying when they received them. Good luck!

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I had a special way of telling my mother. I had a white ceramic bell that had flowers on it. It also had the word "Grandma" on it. When she came to my house for a visit, I had her close her eyes. I placed the bell in her hand. When she opened her eyes, she saw the bell. It took a little bit, but when she figured it out, she was overjoyed.

After I told my friend I was pregnant she went on the Internet & got me a t-shirt that had a picture of a baby in a construction hat, holding a sign that says: Baby (your last name) under construction. When I find out I'm pregnant next time I think I will announce it by wearing the t-shirt.

I hit the 12 week mark right before Christmas, so we wrapped up a pic. of the U/S photo and put it at the bottom of a big box for the Grandparents. For my sisters we wrote the gift cards to say "Aunt Lori:: June 2005", etc. My one sister had never been an aunt so she got it right away and my other had no clue what was going on. We just announced our 2nd the way a few of the others did below.. we got the "Big Brother T-shirt" some people saw it in person, others got an email photo.
God luck to you guys!

We told our families on Christmas Day, so this worked out really well . . . We had a picture printed from our recent vacation of my husband and myself. We gave the pictures out to everyone and then told them it was the "last picture they would get of just the two of us." Took a minute to sink in, but once they realized we weren't getting a divorce, but having a baby, it was really funny!

We found out on Christmas Eve. So on Christmas morning when our moms were here for breakfast, my husband said grace and said "thank you for blessing this family with a positive pregnancy test".

Also, When I told my husband (and this would work for grandparents too) I wrapped up a small baby item (ended up being socks b/c I wasn't expecting it on Christmas eve and had to run out and find whatever I could real quick!). I put a baby card in the gift and wrote inside "Daddy I can't wait to meet you!"

We got silver fortune cookies online and wrote a fortune predicting that there would be a grandchild in their future. Can't remember where we got them, but I've seen them in several magazines/ sites.

We were trying for several years to have a baby, we were going through years of fertility treatments so everyone always knew when things were happening and I always hated that nothing was ever a surprise. When we actually got pregnant on our own, we were so happy and excited to surprise everyone, after we got over the surprise ourselves!! :) We waited until we hit the 12 week mark and knew everything was ok and had everyone over for my birthday, which is right around Christmas and was rigth after our 12-week appt so the timing was perfect. We had bought baby frames that said "Cutie Pie" for the entire family, had made a copy of the ultrasound on half the frame and a poem on the other half that I wrote telling them about the baby. Our entire family was there at the same time and opened the little gifts together. Everyone was completely shocked and we were able to surprise them all! It was so memorable and everyone still has that frame with the poem and ultrasouns. I even made one for myself and keep it in my son's room even now.

I would agree with the poster that advised not sharing the news until after 12 weeks. I worked with a "future grandpa" who received a mug/flower arrangement from baby XYZ and he was just thrilled!

It was Christmas and we had our parents open gifts that were ornaments that said Grandmom and Grandpop. We took video of them opening them. It took them a second but then they went crazy!!!

We gave our parents little framed sayings that said
"Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own kids."
They already had grandchildren from our siblings so it took a few minutes but they got it!

I got a piece of paper and wrote a letter to the grandparents, saying Hi, and see you in 9 months, love baby.... somthing along those lines, it was longer. I then rolled it like a scroll. I then had a jewelry box and had a pink and a blue safety pin inside for them. It was cute.

What were going to do, but things got wacky and it didn't happen (so I can't tell you if it would be a hit, haha):

Had plans for a family dinner at a restaurant. I printed up several 4x6 pics that showed: pic of DH, the '+' sign, pic of me, the '=' sign and pic of stork. Then the words, "Coming next summer, Baby _____".

Thennnnnn, when we get to the restaurant, ask the waiter to slip the picture into each family's check at the end of the meal.

The plan was for the families to open the bifold for the check and see the picture/announcement.

How about the next time you see them, you get a cake from a bakery that says "Welcome, Baby C 2008" or "Congrats, Grandma & Grandpa" or something else cute? If you get something that stays in a box until dessert, then you can unveil it...and of course be ready to take a picture of the cake and everyone's reaction! (This also is a fun way to announce the gender of your baby later on if you choose to do so!)

My husband and I roped his brother and sister-in-law into playing a game of scrabble at my mother-in-laws house because at the time we lived in different states. They filled the board with all kinds of baby type words, diapers, rattle, etc. Then at the top they wrote Dave and T.. They asked her to help settle a word dispute. As she looked over the board she began to piece it altogether. At first she thought it was they that were having a baby, so they pointed to the top and she realized then it was us. She cried and we have photos.
For my parents we wrapped a baby bottle that I had placed the pregnancy test in and gave them a story book entitled I already know I love you, by Billy Crystal. They were speechless.

When I was pregnant with my third child, I gave the grandmothers a birthday invitation to be in the delivery room in the month that I was due.

It tooka few seconds to figure it out but then they were very excited.

Good luck!
M.

We chose not to tell grandparents until we were 12 weeks along so that we knew we were about 95% safe that the pregnancy was viable. I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks confirming a heartbeat so the nurse printed out the picture and I put it in a frame that had "grandma and grandpa" on it and gave it as a gift. For the second pregnancy, we put our 1 year old son in a t-shirt that said "I'm the big brother" and waited for it to make sense to all of them. It actually took a while!!
Keep trying...sometimes it just takes a while!

We put photos of the pregnancy test in cards from the Baby to Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, etc. My parents were going on a trip, so we actually gave them the card as they were leaving, saying it was a Bon Voyage card. My mom was so distracted, she "didn't get why it said 'Grandma'" on it!:) Our friends got cards and emails entitled "our new project" with the ultrasound scanned in!

We gave our parents little baby booties wrapped up in a box like a present. We told them before they opened the gift that what was inside was going to be quite useful next year. It took them a few minutes to get it! It was so much fun to watch and they still both have their booties as memorabilia from that special day!

Awww..good luck to you! We just had our son in January..he is already 2 months..wow! The way we told my husbands parents was we put a little note saying "picture to come in 8 months!" in a cute baby frame!

C. :)

Hi S.,

When we were first pregnant it was Thanksgiving time and my family was out visiting for the holiday. So at thanksgiving dinner we all went around the table to say what we were thankful for - and I said I was thankful that my parents were going to be grandparents again - my mother didn't know who to look at (me, my sister or my brother) because she never dreamed I would be pregnant - it was a really cool way to share the news! You could always do something like that at a regular meal if you say grace before meals. We were about 6 weeks along when we told them. I had good friends whom I told when I was about 12 weeks along. I had an early ultrasound at 10 weeks, so we had a video of the ultrasound on our palm pilot and just showed it to them. That was another cool way to break the news - but you have to wait until you are further along for that one.

J.

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For our first child we bought each of our moms a Mother's Day card from the new baby (One that said "To Grandmom"). Of course, that was when we wanted to start telling people, so it was great timing.

For our second, I made a t-shirt for my oldest to wear that said "Guess who's going to be a great big brother?" It was fun to see who noticed it first.

Good luck!

For my first born, the due date was right before Christmas. So, we got the grandparents Christmas ornaments that said "Grandparents first Christmas". They were hard to find in May! For me, personally, I would suggest you tell people whenever you wish to tell them. I lost my first child at 12 weeks. I was glad that I had told people because they were there for me to share the loss. I couldn't have kept that all inside. I needed support from my parents and in-laws!

i would first of all tell you to relax. sometimes when your body is stressed it may be harder to get pregnant. go to the drugstore and buy a ovulationpredictor kit.also make sure your husband wears boxer shorts to make sure his sperm count is up. i told my parents at thanksgiving. it was a nice way to share my news with my family.

We made invitations. They said "You are invited to a very special event." I listed the date and the hospital. At the very bottom beside "Celebrating ________________", we wrote "The birth of your new grandchild."

We gave them out at a family dinner...it was a lot of fun!

Best of luck to you!

Hi S. - I'll tell our story if you're interested: My in-laws always recommend good books and I like to share what I'm reading with them sometimes, too. FIL loves history, MIL likes non-fiction bestsellers...so I was returning a book to them and giving them one of mine to look at and I slipped a "What to Expect When You're Expecting" into the pile. It worked perfectly. They non chalantly browsed thru the stack after dinner one evening while my husband and I watched with baited breath...it took a couple minutes, so I suggested they might be particularly interested in "this one" as I slid the "What to Expect..." toward them. Their faces were priceless as you could just see recognition dawning on them! Then hugs and kisses (and a few tears...from FIL, no less!) were passed around. It was really fun! Good luck with your announcement - it really is fun. Hard to keep the secret at first, then you just want to tell everyone everywhere! lol

How about mailing them a sonogram picture--with the little one circled? (Sometimes in early pregnancy the baby gets lost without some kind of mark.) My cousin put a copy of hers into my Gram's Christmas card.

For our first, we printed out pictures of the ultrasound photos and put them in "Grandma & Grandpa" picture frames and gave them as Christmas presents.

For our second, I bought a t-shirt for my daughter that said "I'm gonna be a big sister!" (I found big brother/sister t-shirts online) and then we invited the grandparents over for dinner that night. Sad to say, I guess we don't have the most observant parents because it took them forever to notice! Haha.

But they were both very memorable ways to find out they were expecting grandchildren!!!

It's such an exciting time! I sent my parents a Vermont Teddy Bear with a note addressed to Nana & Grandpa from the baby saying "I can't wait to meet you in July!" They were really touched! Have fun with it!

My husband and I invited our families over for dinner. Before they got there I cut out letters from colored paper that spelled congratulations grandpa and grandpa h, grandma and grandpa p, uncle john, aunt jenn, and so on and so on. I put them on an open wall that they would see as soon as they walked in. So as each family group arrived some got it right away and others took a little longer to see the "writing on the wall"!
My sister took marker and a t-shirt and wrote "I'm going to be a big brother" on both sides to tell us she was having another child.

hope this helps - we had fun with it!

Good Luck S..... Here is a couple of ways that our family shared. I sent balloons to my husband with a cute rocking horse and the words congradulations on it with a cute note that said "Roses are red, vilots are blue your no longer going to be the father of two." He had to sit down at work for quite awhile.. something he will never forget. That was my third child but his first biological child.

My niece and her husband gave their mom and dad Easter eggs in them was notes that read "Our egg will be hatching in 9 months" My sister in law still has the egg and the note.

A friend for her birthday was given a box with a rattle, bib and baby blanket in it with a note saying "You will need these while babysitting your new grandbaby."

Just be creative you will be surprised at what you can come up with..Good LUCK...

Both of our moms collect angel figurines. We found two different angel figurines holding babies, wrapped them up, and gave them to our moms. When they wondered why they were getting these gifts when it wasn't their birthday or any other special occasion, we told them to pay close attention to what the angels were holding. They both got the connection immediately, and they were overjoyed!

Grandparents day falls on the first Sunday following Labor Day. Mother's Day is in May and Father's Day is in June. I mention this because these are all days in which you can give your parents a card. The only day in which they probably won't be expecting a card already will be Grandparents Day.

Once you are pregnant, you will be sent for a sonogram during the first trimester. You will probably get a picture of the baby at that point from the sonogram. Take the picture from the Sonogram, make a copy. Use the copy to make a homemade card from your new baby to your parents. For instance, on Mother's Day, write on the front, Happy Mother's Day. On the inside, paste the sonogram picture and write something like, "I'm sorry I'll be a little late for the celebration. But I'll be here soon! Love, Your New Grandbaby" For Grandparents Day, I would put the picture on the front and write on the inside "Happy Grandparents Day! I'll see you soon! Love your Grandbaby"

You could skip using the sonogram photo altogether and just send a blank card from the card store. I would write on the inside "Guess who's coming for Christmas (or Halloween or Thanksgiving or for a visit)! I can't wait to meet you Grandma and Grandpa! Love your new grandbaby!"

Another idea is to go to the book store and buy one of those books that are made for grandparents to fill out for their grandchildren. Put a little note inside that says something like "Mom and Dad, I just wanted to give you a little head start in filling this out! We love you, Grandma and Grandpa!"

With my kids, we were trying not to tell them until we knew everything was alright but I was so sick with my first that my mom figured it out without being told. With the second two, I was really tired. My sister blurted it out with my second. I should have learned from that but NO. I told the same sister first with the third. She didn't exactly tell them. She just looked like the cat that ate the canary and my other siblings and mom guessed. For my third child (now 7 months old), we found out I was pregnant on Christmas morning. I had caught my son's cold and was running a day late. I knew there was a chance but thought it was really unlikely (we had stopped trying the month before after trying for 10 months). I took the test just to make sure I could take the over the counter cold medication that was in my medicine cabinet and found that I couldn't. Along came James late that summer.

Also, try not to get discouraged if it takes you awhile to get pregnant. While it can happen the first time you have sex with someone, the average time it takes for a couple trying is 9-12 months. So relax and have fun trying.

Good luck. Hope my thoughts and ramblings help.

You could invite them over for dinner...with a menu of baby carrots, baby potatoes and mini meatloafs or petite filets. Then you could ask them if they know what theme you are creating? H. l

I agree telling everyone you are pregnant the first time is pretty special. My husband and I had been married almost 5 yrs so it caught everyone off guard. I think they had given up on us. I wanted until my first dr. appt to confirm due date to tell our families. To tell my family I bought baby themed stationary and wrote a letter to each of them from the baby.
Saying Dear, Grandpa, Grandpa, Auntie I am your new ..... The dr' tell mommy and daddy I will be arriving ..... Make sure you have lots of toys and love waiting for me. I hope you are as excited about my arrival as my parents are. Can't wait to meet you. Love Baby (last name) I went to visit parents and my younger sisters. I handed to them at the same time and just watched their expression as they read them.
For my second baby I was 11 weeks pregnant at Christmas so we announced after everyone opened gifts that we had a gift for everyone. When I was pregnant with my 2nd baby one of my friends pregnant with her first. She also broke the news to her parents on Christmas by giving them baby clothes as a gift when they were opening their gifts.
Its a very exciting time anticipating finding out you are pregnant and telling everyone. The 1st pregnancy is the best. You are spoiled by everyone and you can spoil yourself. The second and third you have to chase after your first child and it's not the same. But it's great.

With our 1st, we had both my parents and his parents over for dinner and game night. We played the game catch phrase, which is a game that you make the members of your team guess the word on the screen. After we played for a while, it was my turn and I gave all kinds of hints that would make them guess that I was pregnant. It was so much fun since they weren't expecting it. With the 2nd, we had t shirts made that said worlds greatest grandma x 2 and gave it to my mom on her birthday. My mother in laws shirt read worlds greatest grandma x 5, and we put it in an empty pizza box and took it over to them with the actual pizza we were bringing for dinner. Hope this helps!!