Wow, you can search social media for years and never run out of ideas on how to tell people you’re pregnant. There are so many ideas…from simple to sweet, and funny to elaborate.

After I found out I was pregnant, I knew I couldn’t keep it from my husband (aka Daddy Bear) for too long. He reads me like a book. So for him, I wanted to do the simplest thing possible…I left the pregnancy test out in our bathroom. And then recorded him asking “what does the second line mean?!?”

It still brings a smile to my face to think of his cute reaction.

We did something more elaborate to tell my step kids and extended family.

Telling the Kids

I was really nervous telling my stepdaughters, because I just wasn’t sure how they’d feel about everything. The last thing I would ever want is to make them feel insecure, replaced, or less loved.  But I really wanted to get their reactions on camera if they were really happy and excited.

This is what we planned…

We went to a local photography studio to get family photos taken. I try to do this about every 15 months anyway, so it wasn’t totally out of the norm.  I had my husband call ahead to tell the studio our plans:

1. The first half of the shoot we wanted normal family photos
2. Then we’d do our pregnancy announcement, having the photographer capture the girls’ expressions as we told them the news
3. Then we’d finish up the shoot with some “big sister” photos and some pregnancy shots

For us, this plan worked well. It was simple and I’m happy to have captured these moments with my husband and our girls.

Telling the extended family

Once we received the digital copies of our new family photos from the studio, we casually sent a few photos out in a group text. We included one with both of our girls holding understated “big sister” signs.

Then we waited…

It was fun to see who caught on first and then the subsequent reactions.