The topic of whether to announce a pregnancy early on can be a touchy subject. There are some that tell the whole world as soon as they pee on a stick, while others stay mum about it until they actually have their baby in their arms. Most people start sharing the news or make their Facebook/ Instagram pregnancy announcement post when they are out of the first trimester. But there are others (like myself) that wait a bit longer.

When I was pregnant with Little Schoolbus, we only told family and very few friends. We didn’t make an announcement on social media until I was well in my second trimester. My coworkers, students, and parents in my class didn’t even know I was pregnant until I was almost in my third trimester. It was also during the winter so I wore a lot of thick sweaters and jackets. They had no idea (or maybe they just thought I was getting chubby but just didn’t want to say anything!). The news of being pregnant is such a joyous one and I wanted to tell the whole world about it, but I refrained from doing so for a number of reasons.

  1. I am generally a private person about certain topics. It’s not that I won’t talk about things, but I’m definitely not one to text all my friends a picture of the pregnancy test as soon as I take it. I usually don’t share big news like that right away, but take my time to reflect and then share.
  2. We had two miscarriages before and didn’t know if this one would “stick.” The first time I was pregnant, we started telling people when I was almost 12 weeks. A few days later I started bleeding and the pregnancy ended. Having to tell people that I lost the baby was heart wrenching because it was like reliving the whole experience. The first miscarriage was so traumatizing to me and even though people meant well, I wanted to be left alone to grieve and heal. So when we got pregnant again later that year, we only told a handful of people. Sadly, that pregnancy also ended but because we told less people, it was “easier” in a sense because it wasn’t brought up often. It was lonely in some ways but it also gave us time to heal on our own.
  3. It was a secret just between Mr. Schoolbus and me. I liked the idea of having this “secret” that only my husband and I shared about being pregnant with Little SB. It was such a precious time – sharing the joys, fears, dreams, and hopes together before letting others in on it. Despite having gone through miscarriages, we were still hopeful and looked forward to what this child would be like and how our lives would be turned upside down once she arrived.

Everyone is different and there’s no right or wrong time to announce a pregnancy. I know that some like to share early on about their pregnancy so that they will have the support that they need through the good and bad. You know your needs and what is best for you!

When did you announce your pregnancy? Did you share right away or were you like me and waited?