Announcing on Social Media

smsaulino · January 2018

Do you plan on announcing at 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 weeks? Have you already announced? Have you decided not to announce?
How do you plan on announcing?
Are there any tips that you could give to others for when they announce?

smsaulino · January 2018

Me and DH had planned on announcing at 12 1/2 weeks, the week after Valentine's Day... but DH came home the other day so excited with several cream colored onesies that said "love" in red letters on the front of them and now wants us to announce on Valentine's Day with ultrasound pics in the shape of a heart around the onesies. I'm fine with the change in date but I am just thinking that one pic in the middle of one onesie will suffice. We plan on having the nickname "little love" for the child, even after it is born.I don't have any tips... this is my first time expecting.

lilsebastian · January 2018

We announced with DS around 5 months and will probably announce around then again, too. I wanted to wait until I was comfortable with EVERYONE knowing about the pregnancy - even my employer - because once its on social it's pretty impossible to keep the news underwraps (obviously).

@smsaulino - I think both pics sound really cute! I'm admittedly not a huge fan of ultrasound pics - they feel SO intimate to me - but of you're comfortable with them, i think it's fine to share! For us, I plan to take a picture of the book "siblings without rivalry" and say something like "we're adding to our parenting book library." I like parenting books so it fits well for me!

smsaulino · January 2018

@lilsebastian I love the book idea! We have the book "The Wonderful Things You Will Be".. and when we first found out, I really wanted to share just using the picture of the book.. but my DH marked that off of the ideas.

knitknitread · January 2018

With DD, we waited until just after 12 weeks. She wasn't planned and it was just when we felt comfortable and we had finally processed that it was happening.

This time, we will probably waiting until we are comfortable doing so. No idea when yet or how. Honestly, knowing myself, I'll just stick DD in a big sister shirt and post the picture ::shrug::

My biggest advice is to just do it when you feel most comfortable. If you don't ever feel comfortable announcing, then just don't worry about it.

born2run911 · January 2018

I will be 12 weeks on Valentines Day exactly so I’m thinking of an announcement for then but haven’t thought too hard yet!

prpl11butterfly · January 2018

With DS we waitied until 19wks for FB but we had already announced to aunt's/uncles/close cousins at Christmas. This time they will all be finding out with FB so I'm thinking Easter, which will be about 16 weeks or so I think. With DS we didn't really do anything super cute, just a pic of me holding baby on board sign. I want to do something cute and Easter-y (which I wanted to do for DS but DH was to excited to wait a few more weeks).

Jyoung327 · January 2018

I was hoping to hold out a really long time to announce this one because of all our losses, but since finding out its twins, my ramped up MS and likely earlier showing, we've already told family and some close friends. For social media I was thinking if I could wait so long for Easter, and having been toying with having DS wear a shirt and have a sign or something, or Eastery ideas I saw on Pinterest were having two of those peep bunnies crammed into a plastic egg and some line about adding a few peeps to our family or two peeps in a pod (not really my style but idk what else). Easter just seems SO FAR AWAY so I dont know if I'll be able to resist until then. Most definitely 12 weeks though for us.

heyitserin · January 2018

My brother and SIL are due with my niece in the next 2-3 weeks, so we want to give a “big cousin” onesie to them. My mom has a necklace with me, my brother, DS and my niece’s birthstones so I want to give her one with a sapphire to tell my parents. Neither of us have FB and it’s so nice lol.

MandyMost · January 2018

I think it’s important to wait on putting anything on social media until you have told everyone you actually care about first. Our first we didn’t tell family (beyond some immediate exceptions) until close to 16 weeks, then our friends, then work...I Don’t remember exactly when we did Facebook, but likely by 20 weeks.

This time we’ll likely do something similar...make sure we take the time to tell people we care about directly before putting it on FB. We did the same thing with the birth, btw...announced on Facebook at least a few days after it happened after we told everyone first!

im planning on doing something with a “BigSis” shirt and photo this time for the announcement.

JLyn821 · January 2018

With DS, I was about 15.5 weeks. It was after we’d has a chance to tell everyone we wanted to in person.

With DD, I was 12 weeks and we just had a pic of DS reading a Big Brother book and the ultrasound pic.

This time, we’ll just wait until after my first ultrasound on 2/23. I’ll be just shy of 13 weeks then. Maybe we’ll throw DD in a Big Sister shirt. I don’t know. We’ll see.

nsquaredlife13 · January 2018

With DS we announced at 13 weeks. We just made a cute little graphic with our US.
With DD we announced at 13 weeks. It also happened to be on National Sibling Day. We had photos taken previously with DS wearing a shirt that read "I'm going to be a Big Brother!" and posted it on FB.
Not sure what we'll do with #3. Probably something along the lines of the above ideas.

hoosiermama-2 · January 2018

I think around six months, I posted a picture on Facebook with my mom on her birthday and that was that. I had been posting pictures of myself on IG, but no official announcements. We called/told in person our families and close friends. This time around, it'll probably unfold the same.

I love seeing others' creativity when it comes to announcements, and I don't think of myself super private, but it's not something I've ever felt an affinity for.

Can't wait to see everything everyone comes up with here!

meg+on+the+DL · January 2018

I think we are just going to do a generic one around 15 weeks. I’m showing and it’s going to be obvious sooner rather than later. I made this pic with one of the pics we took for my daughter’s 2 year old pics.

pourmeanothermocktail · January 2018

Last time we posted at 13 weeks, a week after telling close family and friends, and a day or two after sending out an actual paper note with photo to the rest of the people.

This time it'll likely be 9 weeks (end of this week). I can't hide it at work or in person, and my mom is stuck in Florida for a couple months and wants photos, lol.

Hoping to post a couple of cute pictures, one with me in a shirt showing I'm carrying Thing 4 (we did this for DS with Thing 3), one showing two different sized cloth diapers, and something with our new puppy and DS.
Here's the diaper pic!

Gizmo1231 · January 2018

*Lurking from the non-existent October 2018 board*
Last two pregnancies we announced on social media right at 12 weeks... but I'm thinking we may hold off on this babe. I've been more and more distant from social media so I'm thinking we may do some type of announcement closer to October- like, oh yeah, we are having our 3rd baby

DanyTargaryen · January 2018

For DS we told our parents the 2nd to last week of February because my dad's birthday was that week and we also had our 1st tri NT scan. Once our parents knew I called/texted some cousin and friends that I knew would want to hear from me directly and gave our parents permission to share the news within the extended family.

A few weeks later I told work (waited until after our bonuses were released) then did a FB announcement on St Patrick's Day using a picture of our dog and this sign (this is not our information, it is the stock picture from the shop we bought it from):

Image: https://img1.etsystatic.com/106/1/8853450/il_570xN.897209691_35my.jpg

For this pregnancy, we'll wait about the same amount of time to announce. Since I love Game of Thrones (obviously) I'm thinking about getting a shirt for me that says Mother of Dragons, a shirt for DS that says Little Dragon, and a onesie for #2 that says Baby Dragon a posting a picture.

jaylii · January 2018

Do you plan on announcing at 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 weeks? Have not announced on social media. I'll be visiting my parents in Florida right around 11 weeks and will tell them then. Will then tell my ILs and extended family. Because of when I'm telling my parents in person, I will be telling work right before I leave for that trip.
How do you plan on announcing? Not planning a social media announcement. I have distanced myself a lot from social media in the last 6 months. It took me awhile to get pregnant and all those baby announcements made me feel sad.
Are there any tips that you could give to others for when they announce? FTM here so I have no tips on this! Enjoying reading everyone's responses on this.

Question for everyone: Does anyone have a family member that is an over sharer on social media/doesn't have appropriate boundaries on fb? I'm worried that my ILs, despite us asking for them not to share on social media, will trash our announcement. Later on I can see my MIL sharing personal details about the pregnancy on social media as well. Not sure how to best handle this issue.

smsaulino · January 2018

@jaylii yes!!! my mom is an oversharer on FB. She already knows the next time she throws a stunt.. she will be deleted. my FIL is an oversharer outside of social media. He told all of his siblings the day we told him. My aunt, especially, was upset that she had to hear it from my FIL instead of us.

faithandababy · January 2018

I'm really excited to announce this Valentine's day! I'll be about 9 wks. I was gonna hold off but Valentine's day just sounds fun! Plus all of our family and close friends already know. Still deciding how we're going to do it tho. I know I want our 4yo in the mix as 'big bro'

jaylii · January 2018

@smsaulino I'm glad to hear I'm not alone! It's so hard to deal with this kind of thing. My MIL loves to tag my husband and I in stupid memes and in her posts. She does it all the time and it drives me nuts. Finally turned on a feature where I have to approve things she tags me in.

My husband is an only child and we have been married for 7.5 years. In recent years they've made it clear that it bugs them that they don't have grandchildren. I just have this feeling that they will want to blast the news all over the place and later share tons of pictures of the baby. I'm not OK with either of those things.

hoosiermama-2 · January 2018

@jaylii My stepdad is a Facebook oversharer. Everyone's family dynamics are different, but I candidly told my mom that I didn't want him sharing everything about my pregnancy or about DD after she we born. Again, dynamics, but my mom knows when I mean business, haha. He's shared photos of her on big days... birthday, baptism, etc. but not much between. And definitely not during my pregnancy, except for maybe an ultrasound photo, after I was far along.
It's easier said than done, but if you can, have a candid convo with the ILs. And have your partner lead it!

nlc8424 · January 2018

@jaylii I definitely understand the concern, I'm pretty sure my dad is the only person in my family able to keep a secret. Depending on what it is that you don't want to have become public knowledge I would just limit whatever you share with your ILs. No one is entitled to any of the information related to your pregnancy beside you (and your SO). I tend to heavily filter what I pass along to our parents since news spreads like wildfire with both big families, and my mom is a total worry wort and will make a huge deal about any little thing and adds more stress onto me unintentionally. It kind of sucks having to be so private, but I'd rather that than everyone know how much weight I've gained at 32 weeks pregnant.

smsaulino · January 2018

@jaylii if you delete them off of there... they won't be able to tag you in anything at all.. I'll admit that I love FB and Instagram.. but I don't like to be tagged in things.. my mom used to tag me in every "daughter" post she could find.. I hated it because we aren't that close at all. She hasn't tagged me in anything since I let her know that the next thing she tags me in, I will delete her. Also, if you do keep her as a friend and she keeps putting pics up of the baby, you can delete it or report it to FB.
My response to the bugging about no grandkids would be to get a puppy.

dexnie · January 2018

We told immediate family at 7 weeks after we heard the heatbeat. We are 8 weeks now and I have no urge to share on SM in the near future, but I do have some plans including an adorable onesie I snagged off Etsy when the time feels right. It’s the only baby purchase I’ve made.

smsaulino · January 2018

@faithandababy maybe have the older child have a shirt that says "mom's valentine".. and have them hold up a onesie that says "mom's little valentine" We plan on doing a Valentine's announcement also.

jaylii · January 2018

@hoosiermama-2 Yes, I agree, a candid convo is necessary with my ILs. I'm comfortable with the amount of sharing that you've done with your daughter. It's fine if they want to post an ultrasound pic later in the pregnancy, then later a couple of pics on big milestones. I just don't want hundreds of pics of the baby posted by them all the time. I won't be doing a big announcement or posting tons of photos. They should follow the lead of us, the parents, but I know we will need to be direct. Also good advice to have MH lead this convo.

clbness · January 2018

With DD, we told our family privately around 7 weeks and social media around 12 weeks. We posted a pic of us in front of Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, NE) holding a Husker onesie and word art that said "Baby's 1st Husker Game!!" This time, we'll probably tell family around 9 weeks (after our 1st appointment) and social media, well, I don't really know when...I've really kind of dropped off the social media map! As long I I call/text my best friends, I really don't care if the gal I bartended with in college knows right away.

@DanyTargaryen I LOVE the mother of dragons idea! I wanted to dress as Daenerys for Halloween this past year and have DD be a dragon, but I thought it would be more fun when I have more than 1 kid (because she's not mother of dragon, amirite?!)...maybe this year with a little dragon strapped to my chest!

@pourmeamocktail That pic is ADORABLE (I didn't realize that your profile pic was cloth diapers)! I didn't start cloth diapering DD until she was 8 months, so I'm excited to go through the NB stage in cloth.

@jaylii Sorry you have to worry about them oversharing your news/business! I agree with PP advice about being proactive with them and have the talk early on. Make sure DH knows what you're expecting of them and that he's on the same page as you are. He needs to get the point across just as strong, if not stronger, than you do. My IL's are VERY overbearing and I feel like DH is FINALLY on the same page as me when it comes to what they say and do and whether it's acceptable or not. I could seriously go on all day about them. Good luck!

DanyTargaryen · January 2018

@clbness - Love that idea for Halloween! Agreed that it makes more sense with more than 1 child.

MandyMost · January 2018

I've dealt with some social media over-sharing relatives. Definitely make sure your settings have it so you can approve any tags--I do this anyway! The serious (and often repeated) conversations with the over-sharers is key. I remember my husband telling the in-laws (his parents), who were new to Facebook with our first, "do not post anything about the baby or the pregnancy on Facebook, including any congratulations to us, or asking us how we're doing. We are happy to have all your questions and comments via phone or email, but not on Facebook.". I had to make sure my crazy sis-in-law understood not to put ANYTHING until I had already posted it. She's been surprisingly good about it. I also closely monitored the over-sharers at first to make sure I would know first if they DID post anything!

Spylon · January 2018

I'll probably do a SM announcement after my first ultrasound, so around 11 or 12 weeks or so. With DD it was around 13 weeks, and I posted a picture of our cats next to an ultrasound picture, looking very unimpressed. This time I'm thinking a picture of DD in a big sister shirt or reading a big sister book.

@jaylii I like the way you put it; they should follow YOUR lead as parents. Your child, your rules.
@pourmeamocktail I did part-time cloth diapering with DD, but I'd really like to do more of it with this next one. I have so many cute colours and patterns in the size 1's!

AdmiralKitty · January 2018

We announced to our family around 6w both pregnancies. I really wanted to wait this time but I’ve been on vacation with my parents this week and there is no hiding not drinking and my exhaustion from them. I did a FB post last time around 11w with a photo I took on our 1st anniversary in New Orleans (where we got married and go back every year in march). Thinking I might do another pic this March and announce after that. I’m not in a rush this time- all my family and close friends already know so that’s al that really matters. I’ll go back to work in April so it’ll be pretty obvious at that point since I’ll have to wear a maternity uniform.

faithandababy · January 2018

@smsaulino that would be a cute idea! I'm gonna search on etsy for shirts now!

Kabazaba · January 2018

I I have been training for a 10-mile race in early April, around week 16. If I can wait that long, and if I can continue to train and complete the race, I plan on announcing with a pic of me that day and something like: who has two thumbs and just completed the Cherry Blossom Ten-Miler while pregnant? THIS GIRL.

JustAnotherUsername16 · January 2018

DDs first birthday is in March and all our family and very close friends are coming together for a small birthday party. I made this design and am putting it on a shirt for DD to unwrap as a birthday present and show to everyone:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/vz/1suqejdsgj1t.png

codesoncodes · January 2018

I’m probably not going to announce until baby isn’t here. It’s not the best situation so I don’t really want to AW

smsaulino · February 2018

@AdmiralKitty I love that photo.. I kept thinking it was the Disney castle and read that it was taken in NO.. kept thinking now I know NO doesn't have a Disney... then I remembered that there is a gorgeous place in NO and this is it. I love NO this time of year.

jhjocelyn · February 2018

So, I have an idea for our announcement, but need some help coming up w the catchy wording...

actually, the whole idea needs work. Usually I’m super inspired and pull of something creative out of thin air, this time I am drawing blanks. Maybe once we pass the next ultrasound I’ll feel more?

Anyways, we’ll be ready to announce around daylight savings time, so I’m thinking of some sort of play on the lost sleep?

Although, now that I’m thinking about it, maybe we’ll wait till the genetic results are back so we can get all the info out and done at once.If this one has cf as well i may wanna do something along those lines.

Too much thinkingn, not enough coffee! Prolly not worth posting but at least it will bump this thread, I love seeing everyone’s ideas!

Wishilivedinflorida · February 2018

@JustAnotherUsername16 DS is a March baby too and we will probably do a pregnancy reveal at his party too for our more distant friends/relatives. We plan on telling our parents and close friends after our NT scan next week. Your idea is so cute! I may have to “borrow” it!

Edit: posted prematurely

Brieb33 · February 2018

I announced at like 4 weeks to my family and 5 on social media. I don’t wait. Even after having a miscarriage in the past, I would rather have the support from family and friends.

babyg333 · February 2018

I think your idea sounds super cute!!

I will be 12 weeks right around Valentine’s Day as well, so of course I had the same idea to announce with a cute Valentine’s Day theme. But my DH isn’t having it. Lol. He wants to wait. So unfortunately, there goes my heart themed ideas. Most likely he will let me announce between 14-16 weeks. He’s a big worrier so I know this is coming from his anxiety to want to wait longer.

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