When to Announce Pregnancy to Family & Friends (And the Best Gifts to Announce Pregnancy)
Every single “when to announce pregnancy” post on the Internet is going to tell you to stay hush-hush for 12 to 13 weeks because the risk of miscarriage is so high during those first few months of pregnancy. Many moms feel it’s bad juju to announce before they’re in the “safe zone” — when the risk of miscarriage drops.
But let’s be honest, being pregnant and not telling anybody is really tough, and keeping the pregnancy secret from soon-to-be grandparents, aunties, uncles, and friends until the end of the first trimester can feel downright impossible.
Pregnancy is the most exciting time in your life and you’re, what…. just not supposed to say anything?
That’s why we recommend: bending that 12 – 13 week announcement rule — we’ve been there, and we know exactly what it’s like to find out you’re pregnant and want to tell the world. A lot of us mamas here at Bump Boxes are guilty of announcing during the recommended waiting period.
In fact, Karyn from our Customer Experience Team told anybody and everybody right after she found out — friends, family, expecting grandparents — she didn’t care to wait. So, we’d be lying if we said waiting to announce is an absolute must-do.
Really, you should announce when the time feels right for you. There is no right or wrong way to announce your pregnancy, and you might have reasons you want to announce sooner or later — follow your own rulebook for pregnancy: tell the people you want to tell, at the time you want to tell them. If you want to wait and tell your entire family and friend group at once after the 12-week mark, there’s no harm in that, either. (It is what your OB/GYN would recommend, anyway.)
Most importantly, you shouldn’t let the stress of how and when to announce your pregnancy news take away from the excitement and joy of actually announcing it!
But don’t worry, we’re not going to let that happen — we’ve put together this guide to help you decide how and when to announce your pregnancy to everybody in your life.
In it, we’ve covered everything you need to know on why some mamas may want to announce earlier or later, announcing to family, friends, and co-workers, shopping gifts to announce pregnancy, and at the end, we’ll even discuss our way of preparing mom for everything to come in her pregnancy beyond making the big announcement.
Reasons to Break the 12 to 13-Week Rule: Morning Sickness and Miscarriage
Not everybody can realistically stick to the 12 to 13-week rule for announcing pregnancy; this is definitely true for mamas who struggle with morning sickness or other early pregnancy symptoms and can’t make it through work or complete their day-to-day tasks around the house. Sometimes, you just have to let a family member, friend, or boss in on your secret because you need their support while you cope with pregnancy aches and pains. There’s really no harm in this — you’re better off being upfront than pushing yourself too hard or letting your work performance suffer.
The one thing we suggest keeping in mind when announcing to different people is: Would you care if this person knows if something goes wrong in your pregnancy? You don’t want to put yourself in a situation where you feel obligated to share sad news if you do have complications during early pregnancy, particularly to people you don’t want to share those personal life details with.
Those who’ve miscarried or struggled with infertility issues in the past might feel hesitant to announce even after 12 or 13 weeks and may want to wait longer to spread the big news — this is totally okay and very justified. That said, those who’ve suffered pregnancy loss in the past may feel more inclined to tell close family members upon becoming pregnant so they have a support network through those uncertain early weeks.
At the end of the day, the right time to announce pregnancy is up to you and your needs.
Announcing Pregnancy to Grandparents, Aunties & Uncles, Friends, and Employers
After their partner, most mamas announce their pregnancy to their best friends and immediate families — like grandparents, aunts, and uncles — first because they just can’t resist. Next, comes extended family, friends, co-workers, bosses, and everyone else closest to mom-to-be. (And obviously, there’s the social media announcement!)
Grandparents (To Be!)
Most expecting mamas, especially first-time mamas, jump to tell their parents the good news and there’s often very little waiting time between finding out you’re pregnant and announcing to the grandparents-to-be. Most moms find their immediate family is all they need to support them and celebrate with them during this very early stage in the pregnancy, especially since grandparents will refrain from telling other family members until mom makes the decision to do so herself. Many moms feel like if something went wrong with their pregnancy, they’d want the support of their parents anyways so they don’t mind telling them earlier than the 12-13 week “safe zone”.
Aunts, Uncles, & Other Family Members
It’s not uncommon for moms to announce to aunts and uncles (their siblings) very early on, too, and a lot of the time aunts and uncles will find out with the grandparents. However, mamas with bigger families or on their second pregnancy may hold off on announcing to their siblings or cousins until a little bit later. Some moms like to hear the baby’s heartbeat before announcing to too many people, so other family members sometimes aren’t clued in on mom’s pregnancy until week 6 or 7.
Friends & Those In Your Inner Circle
Mamas will sometimes confide in their best friends before sharing their pregnancy news with family, or in some cases, even their partners. There’s obviously never a hesitation in telling your best friend big news or a secret, but most moms choose to wait a couple of weeks before telling other friends and friends-of-friends. Mom’s closer friends may find out before the 13-week mark, but many women wait to share their news with their entire circle of friends until after the first trimester.
Employer & Coworkers
Unless early pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness impede mom’s ability to do her job, many expecting mamas will wait until their baby bump shows or it’s time to talk maternity leave with their employer. Moms close with their co-workers or bosses may share the news earlier, or when they announce it on social media or to friends, but for the most part, the majority of mamas only care to share the “need-to-knows” with their employer.
Best Gifts to Announce Pregnancy, and Our Favorite Pregnancy Announcement Ideas By Recipient
In this section, we’ve compiled all of our favorite pregnancy announcement gifts to break the news. We even added a note with each gift idea, including who we think it’s best for, to make choosing the right pregnancy reveal gift for all of your loved ones even easier. Plus, all of the items on our list are DIY or can easily be bought online and delivered straight to your door.
Editable Pregnancy Announcements
#1: Pregnancy Announcement Pop-Up Box or Post Card
Recommended For: Anybody; family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, your dentist — send away, mama!
One of the easiest ways to announce your pregnancy is with a letter in the mail. Just as married couples send save the dates, it’s not uncommon for expecting mamas to send pregnancy announcement cards with due date information to their loved ones. Making your own pregnancy announcement card to send to family and friends gives you room for creativity and flexibility in how you spill the big secret.
You can set up your pregnancy announcement with simple text, postcard-style with a photo of mama followed by a little note, or you can make your announcement more elaborate — many moms like to send a little box with baby booties, or a box with a stork holding a scroll.
This digital pregnancy announcement lets you easily customize your own announcement!
(P.S. These can also work for gender reveals, too!)
#2: Picture Frames
Recommended For: Grandparents, in-laws, close family and friends
Picture frames are the perfect gift for grandparents, partners, aunts, uncles, and other family members to celebrate the pregnancy and savor in the special moments. On our website, we sell two frames to gift to loved ones — the “I Love Grandpa” Picture Frame and “Love At First Sight” Sonogram Frame — for grandpas, close family members, and partners.
You can also find countless pregnancy announcement frames (for all of your friends and family) right on Amazon and order customized picture frames on Shutterfly.
Pro Tip: Moms can fill these frames with a picture of their baby’s first sonogram or a photo of their pregnancy photoshoot to complete the gift. And of course, photos can be swapped out once the baby is finally born!
#3: Personalized Jewelry
Recommended For: Grandparents, aunts, and mom’s closest confidantes
Websites like Etsy are full of sellers who specialize in creating handcrafted, custom jewelry pieces, and many of the sellers offer affordable necklaces and bracelets for mamas to give to their closest family and friends.
Personalized necklaces and bracelets with mom’s due date or baby’s initials are a cute way to commemorate mom’s pregnancy, and they work as the perfect keepsake for jewelry-lovers, grandmas, aunties, and mom’s best friends. These are also a sweet gift idea for partners, and some mamas will even get matching personalized jewelry to pair with their partners, making the gift that much more sentimental and meaningful.
#4: Customized Mug Sets, Tumblers, or Wine/Whiskey Glasses
Recommended For: Grandparents, in-laws, close family and friends
Another way to announce your pregnancy is with a customized glass, mug, or water bottle (or really anything used to hold drinks). Everybody loves a good coffee mug or travel water bottle, and wine glasses are always a cute idea. (Dads will probably prefer whiskey glasses and bourbon stones.)
There are a billion and one creative ways in which you can customize these mug and glass sets, so they can be tailored to suit any recipient of your choice; however, like personalized jewelry, these gifts aren’t the cheapest, so moms usually reserve these personalized gifts for close family members and friends. Custom water bottles (mugs, etc.) can be found on sites like Amazon and Etsy.
#5: Custom Pregnancy Announcement Shirt
Recommended For: Grandparents, in-laws, close family and friends; also perfect for soon-to-be siblings
Customized pregnancy t-shirts are a hit with grandparents-to-be and other family members, like aunties, uncles, and even best friends. Many parents on their second pregnancies also love buying these “big brother” and “big sister” shirts for their little ones to help them feel excited about baby’s arrival and understand they’re going to be an older sibling.
Custom shirts aren’t overly expensive, and they can be bought in multiples for mamas who want to give them to their entire family or friend group. Like pregnancy pop-up cards, custom pregnancy t-shirts are also wonderful gender reveal gifts, too.
Mamas can easily personalize and order their own pregnancy announcement shirts on CustomInk or Amazon, but personalized t-shirts (and other apparel) can also be purchased from independent artists and local businesses on Etsy.
#6: Baby Onesie
Recommended For: Grandparents, in-laws, expecting aunties, and uncles
Although this is really a gift for baby, everybody, especially mama’s closest friends and family, want to spoil the new baby, so a onesie saying “Auntie Loves You,” is exactly what most expectant aunts want for their adorable niece or nephew. Custom onesies are not only a cute way to celebrate mom’s pregnancy, but they also prepare mama with clothes for her little one.
You can find personalized onesies on the same sites you buy custom t-shirts and other clothing, including Amazon, Etsy, and CustomInk.
#7: Personalized Beer & Wine Labels
Recommended For: Soon-to-be aunts, uncles, and friends
Even though mama can’t drink while she’s pregnant, her friends and family still can, and custom wine and beer labels are a fun way to personalize an otherwise boring alcohol-based gift. You can order custom labels for wine and beer bottles online, and you can create them to say anything, so they work for all of mom’s friend groups, cousins, friends-of-friends, and other family members. And although gifting wine and beer is somewhat lame and generic, it’s a go-to for a reason, so there shouldn’t be much stress around choosing a bottle and slapping on a label.
#8: Customized Jigsaw Puzzles and Other Fun Keepsake Items
Recommended For: Older family members, distant family or friends
A little unconventional, but definitely fun for grandparents and other older family members, custom jigsaw puzzles double as a sentimental announcement gift and a fun way to pass the time. Many mamas like to turn a sonogram photo or a photo from their maternity photoshoot into a jigsaw puzzle and gift it to family members to share their special news. Once the puzzle is completed and reveals mama’s pregnancy picture, it can be framed and displayed to enjoy forever.
Apart from customized jigsaw puzzles, some mamas order small gifts like personalized keychains or magnets to gift distant family members or acquaintances during the big pregnancy reveal. And like most other custom-order items on this list, puzzles, keychains, magnets, and other commemorative goodies can be bought on Amazon, Etsy, and Shutterfly.
#9: Pregnancy Announcement Sign
Recommended For: Social media announcements, pregnancy countdown posts
A pregnancy announcement sign isn’t really a gift, but rather a tool for mamas to announce their pregnancy in a fun way on social media. Customizable signs can be changed as mom’s pregnancy progresses to provide periodic updates on where she is in relation to her due date. A lot of moms love to use these signs during their maternity photoshoots, too, so they’re a multi-purpose pregnancy buy.
These signs are inexpensive and available on Amazon, and they’re the easiest way to personalize mass updates for all of mama’s friends and family.
Don’t Forget to Pamper Yourself During Pregnancy, Too!
Announcing pregnancy is one of the earliest obstacles expecting mamas and partners face along their pregnancy journey. Although things do continue to get more exciting from here, things can also get more challenging and painful — bellies expand and the pelvis changes to accommodate a growing baby; hormones fluctuate, causing pregnancy acne and morning sickness; and pregnant bodies feel swollen and achy from head to toe. And to top it all off, finding pregnancy-safe products to combat all of those discomforts is a process.
When our founders were pregnant for the first time, they realized just how challenging it was to navigate the “rights” and “wrongs” of pregnancy, manage symptoms, and find clean, reliable pregnancy products. So that’s why they created Bump Boxes: to help expecting mamas find effective products with clean, safe-for-mama (and baby!) ingredients along every step of pregnancy.
Even better? We have a dedicated team of mamas who’ve “been there done that” available to support all of our expectant moms and partners when they need a helping hand or ear to listen.
We take our commitment to helping moms navigate pregnancy seriously, and we’re not like other pregnancy subscription box brands who send the same box of goodies to their mamas every month. Instead, we customize every monthly Bump Box for mom’s current symptoms — since we base each gift box on mama’s due date, it’s easy for us to hand-pick the best pregnancy products to help mom manage what she’s currently going through.
For example, one of our first trimester boxes may include morning sickness remedies because that’s what you need then, vs. a third trimester box would include muscle soaks and belly bands to help support your growing belly and body aches.
We started our own line of pregnancy-safe skincare to ensure we’re offering the best of the best when it comes to pampering our mamas.
And of course, we ship our Bump Boxes right to mom’s doorstep for free so she can score her favorite pregnancy goodies without even leaving her house. While this is a necessary perk during COVID, we’ve been doing this for our mama’s for years and will always provide that convenience.
Arguably even more convenient, our Boxes introduce mama and her partner to pregnancy-safe brands to make shopping for other pregnancy products easier. And we sell all of the products found in our boxes right on our website, so restocking mom’s favorites is super simple.
From 6-month, 9-month, 12-month, and month-to-month options, we have subscriptions for every mama, and we even sell specialty Trimester Boxes to double-up when you want even more variety in your pregnancy products. Want to get started with a pregnancy pamper box to fit your needs? We’re eager to help you find the right subscription and products for your pregnancy!
