Telling the Folks

Well Dh and I have decided to tell our parents this weekend that we are expecting, it will come as a shock to them all, but this is all we are sure on.
I think dh's parents are going to tell us we should wait till we are 50 or so,
And my parents will be thrilled because they thought we'd never have kids, but I feel bad as I am helping start up the family business and feel like I have failed them.
SO, how do we tell them without actually having to to say it straight up? When we got engaged we had our heads down and just mumbled it to them because we are both so scared and shy.
We want to do something a bit inventive, but then they may not take it well. So, we are not sure how to say it, or bring it into discussion.
Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated!

Not sure, I just blurted it out every time & waited for the crap to come...
I got my first congrats from my mum with DS.

When DF and I told our parents, I was 7 weeks too. We got both our mothers these really nice knitted shawls and knitting needles and said they better get used to them because they were going to be grannies! Lol it was a great way to tell them, although they were a little peeved, as my mother is 48 and DF's is 50, but they loved the way we did it none-the-less. Good luck telling them, I'm sure you'll think of a brilliant way :D

Both our Mum's are only 43 XDD
We just told 'em straight out... they were both thrilled, and if they didn't like it well that's just too bad, so sad!

Maybe ask them what they want to be called when they become grandparents.

:yeahthat:

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Both our Mum's are only 43 XDD
We just told 'em straight out... they were both thrilled, and if they didn't like it well that's just too bad, so sad!

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Both our mothers became nan's at only 36 :redface:

Just blurt it out. We told our family at 7.5 weeks, my mum now drives me bonkers and DH mother hasn't mentioned it since... But I definately like the idea of asking them what they want to be called when they are grandparents.

Thanks girls, such great ideas,
Muppity - What a great idea! I think I might do that one!
Pumpkin - That is hillarious!! Love that idea!
My parents are 44 + 43 and dh's parents are in there 50's, I think its a good age for grandkids.. even if they dont think so!

my mum was 38 when i told her i was pregnant with declan and she wasnt impressed & my dad was 50 he didnt really say to much but got used to the idea alot faster then my mum.. Im dads only daughter so i felt like i failed him at first but then he told me he was happy for me and would stand by me. & he loves his grandson & this time i rang my mum and told her because she knew we had been trying and she was all excited :D as for dad. he over the moon..

i was more scared telling them the first time. mum i just came out and said it. as for dad i broke down crying and shaking and he knew straight away, told me i should of used a condom and that was the end of it.

my mother in law on the other hand. the first time she wasn't real impressed. as i was 16 & DH was nearly 20 when we told her. but i didnt real care for what she had to say . she seemed a lil excited this time.. everyone did actually :/

its weird how everyone responds.

i hope your parents and inlaws take the news well :)

How exciting Poopie...
All the best on the weekend.

That's a good idea about asking what they'll liked to be called. Unfortunately for us, the parents are already name cause of the fur babies.

PumpkinZ, I love your knitting needle idea :D

I know how you feel Poopie! My family is the ones who think no kids are better than having kids and no matter how old your are you are never old enough! When I told my mum with DD she said 'How far gone are you?!' I was so upset, I didn't tell my fam we were trying with her as I didn't want to hear the constant lectures about it! This time I made sure the moment DD was born I was telling EVERYONE what sort of a gap we were wanting so they weren't so shocked. (I wont even go into my dad's reactions with DD, it was so bad this time I decided to do it by email!)

I VERY much doubt this wont be the same for you, I have the worlds most unsupportive family, even though I love them to bits as they do me and they now couldn't imagine life without their greaddaughter.

I'd be sure to make a big fuss about how excited you are and how much it all means to you. Try to be confident so they know just how you feel about it all. I don't like using the words "I'm preg" when telling family, so with the first I put it something like, "we are so happy to be starting a family of our own"

I wish you all the very best. Even if they are a little hessitant, they will be happy, everyone loves to have a baby in the fam, even the boys!!! :D

Take care

Good luck with it!!
Like Pish said, just say it proudly and strong and how happy you are. Even if they aren't excited straight away it will grow on them =)
My mum always tells me the story about when she told her mum she was pg with me, it was a month or so after their wedding and all grandma did was nod and go 'thats nice dear'. the next day after they left they got a phone call from grandma over the moon and crying she was so happy for my parents. It was only because she had had a chance to look at the calander and saw that yes, i was concieved after the wedding that she was ok with it =)
but if you and your husband are happy and it is what you want then thats all that really matters.
good luck!! and congrats!!!!

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'thats nice dear'.

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LOL! My Mum says "that's nice dear"

I worked out that my MIL was conceived prior to the grandparents wedding. Nan was a rebel.

Pish -they are great words to say, im not sure i'd be able to blurt it out and say "im pregnant" so thats a great way around it!

mzcatieboo - oh that would suck, such a negative response the first time round. Glad they are happier with the second one :)

Thanks for all your great responses!! Im feeling a little less scared having a bit of an idea of what we will say now:D When we told dhs sister the other day, we were really excited and she just guessed so we didnt end up saying much until she asked lots of questions. Im hoping this excitment hangs around when we tell the folks.

What about asking if they have any plans for next June/July/Winter? And then say cos we have a bub on the way who needs a grandma and grandpa...

Have you had an ultrasound yet? Maybe you could give them a picture from the scan. Tell them this is the first picture of their grandchild :)

where are you doing it?
like are you just rocking up to their place and doing it or have you organised to have dinner or something?

Kate - Another great idea!! love it!

Eluned - Nah, unfortunantly no ultrasound pics yet, but that would have worked really well.

Teirae - We have my parents and siblings coming over for dinner tomorrow night for dh's birthday and plan to do it then.. so we have to tell my siblings as well. And with dh's parents we are going to their house for arvo tea

Hi, Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I love the idea of the ultrasound picture but if you dont have one maybe you could buy your folks a card and write something nice like an announcement in it and present it to them, that way they could absorb it while they read it and you can be there but not feel so put on the spot. :) Good luck!

Firstly congrats :)

I so didnt want to tell my parents as I knew exactly how they would react (and it wasn't exactly positive..). We told MIL almost as soon as we found out because we knew she would be so excited and very supportive, which is what we needed before we told my parents who weren't exactly thrilled about it (told them at about 12 weeks..I think I told my boss at work before I told my own mother!). We just said "we have some news for you..." and then told them, I think it was easiest that way, to get it out in the open as quickly as possible! Then we just said we are very happy about it, and would like you to be happy for us as well.

My parents did get better about it as time went on, my dad is still a bit indifferent but is getting better with time and my mum is excited to be a grandparent (although it probably does make her feel old...she only just turned 50!). They are a 6 hour drive away, so we don't see them that often, I think sometimes the distance is a good thing! On the bright side it means DD can grow up (hopefully) knowing her great grandparents, and she also has a great great grandma who she has met!

You'll have to let us know what happens!

Hey everyone, thought I'd let you all know how it went,
Friday night we told my parents. I told my mum that i had a new addition to the spare room and she should go have a look.. (it was a cot)
She came out and said.. "oh thats so cute! .. but what are you going to do with it?"
after a while of her trying to figure it out she burst into tears and cried for a while, then i cried, then dh started to cry because i was crying.. but then she ran down and sat next to me with a MASSIVE smile on her face, gave me a big hug and yelled.. "Im GOING TO BE A GRANDMA!!!"
So.. she was happy. my dad didnt say much but he was happy, and congratulated us.
We told Dh's parents on saturday night. I was going to do it, but then realized.. nope, cant do it, so i gave dh the go-ahead. So he started to talk about mil's best friend whos daughter had just had a baby. He said "so does *** like being a grandmother?.." "yeah coz your going to be grandparents next year"
Bit of a silly way to say it.. but it worked and MIL shouted for joy and said.. "its about time somebody did!" FIL just said "oh" and didnt congratulate us or anything. but I just ignored him and it didnt bother me much..

So thanks for all your help, we are thinking of putting our first ultrasound in everybodies christmas cards to let the rest of the world know. :)

Well we knew my parents would be thrilled, so I called mum as soon as I POAS! They have been great, excited about it all - they both have the What to Expect app on their iPhones LOL! They are a bit anxious about what they will be called though - late 40s and early 50s, PLUS my sister is only 8, so they don't want to be called 'grandma' etc.

DH's mother is an evil wench and hates me and we don't have much to do with her. DH told her and apparently she cried! hahaha! He isn't too concerned, in fact we are pretty happy that she hasn't even said anything to me, hopefully she will stay well away and leave us alone. She is toxic.

My friend had her parents and PILs over for dinner, and at everyone's plate, when they sat down, was a fortune cookie. She had made them especially, and the notes inside said, "we are having a baby!!!"

Great memories.
Glad everything went well (except for the FIL, maybe it might take some time to sink in that he is going to be a Grandad)

:dance: :dance: :dance:

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What to Expect app on their iPhones LOL!

My friend had her parents and PILs over for dinner, and at everyone's plate, when they sat down, was a fortune cookie. She had made them especially, and the notes inside said, "we are having a baby!!!"

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WoW! I didn't know there was an app for iPhones for What to expect. That's awesome!

The fortune cookie idea is pretty groovy.

why wouldn't anyone not be happy???
thats what i dont understand...but oh well
YAY congrats on the pg again, and so glad it all worked out =D

Maybe it's just the fact that they know their kids are "doing it"!!! :)

Poopie...so glad you got the positive reaction from your family that you wanted :)

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WoW! I didn't know there was an app for iPhones for What to expect. That's awesome!

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Yep it's pretty cool! It's free - you put in your EDD, and every day it tells you how far along you are, how long to go, how big is the baby...

And week-by-week, it tells you what is happening to you, and to the baby. It also lets you take a photo each week!