kittenlm and I are trying. And trying. And trying some more (no complaints with *that * part here, mind you). And who knows? Maybe she’s all preggers right now and we don’t even know it yet.
When she finally is expecting, we need a good way to tell our parents. We’ve kicked around a few ideas, such as giving them baby-themed picture frame with something along the lines of “coming soon” where you place the photo, but we’re looking for a few more options.
Any ideas? How did you let your parents know?
One caveat – it can’t be anything that requires waiting a long while before telling them. Nothing that requires the first ultrasound picture or anything. One of us is way to impatient to wait that long.
If you need more info, this will be the first grandchild for her parents, and the third for my mother (dad died many years ago).
Please not this really only works if it’s the wife doing it. If you do it, Hal, you’ll probably be explaining to your wife why her parents think you’re crazy.
FOr our first baby, we wrapped up a little book called 101 things to do with your grandchild and gave it to them. For our second baby, we had a bunch of blue and pink balloons delivered to their house with a little card with a poem that said “Roses are red, violets are blue, 9 more months, that’s when I’m due”. Cheesy, I know, but fun!
Maybe for your folks it would be OK, but my sister tryed to pull this w/ me. Fortunatly due to circumstances I was spared this. Also both times I knew she was pregnant, possibly before she was sure herself, I don’t know how I knew, but I did.
I’ve had customers have a photo album engraved with such incredibly witty sayings as “Grandma’s Little Angel” or “Our First Grandchild”. One customer had a set of double old-fashioned glasses engraved with a star and the words A Starr is Born…yes, their name was Starr. They were having the parents over for dinner and were going to serve them their drinks in the glasses and see if they noticed. If yoiu can tie it in to a regular gift-giving occasion, like the up-coming Father’s Day, that’s always nice.
Have your wife walk up to someone and say “Lets have sex. No, it’s okay, I’m already pregnant, so there’s no danger there.”
Sending cards from the kid on Father’s day, sending a card from the kid that’s for the next nearest holiday, sending a card from the kid for the holiday coming near their birth …
(I won’t be here for this Father’s Day/Flag Day but I will for the next!)
(I know this card is a little early for Administrative Assistant’s day, but I couldn’t wait!)
Other things include getting those “paint your own plates” and paint them up saying “Hi Grandma, Hi Grandpa” and serving them to the prosepective grandparents covered in food (so the message is revealed as you get down to the plate), serving special dinners (baby carrots, baby corn, etc though that’s a little gross in my world).
Have her walk around in a bikini top, a big dotted line circle on her belly (use a sharpie) and the words “watch this space” written on there or something along those lines (or a teeshirt if she’s picky about indelible markings).
My parents knew we were trying (although clueless about the myriad of hurdles we’d been jumping to get there) and I just went down and told them when we finally got it accomplished. My dad did the usual “what have you done to my daughter” but in a joking way (we were long married and this was going to be their fifth grand child).
We were visiting my in-laws, and somehow or other my wife got my mother-in-law talking about grandparenthood in the abstract, and ultimately she said: “I’d love to be a grandparent!”. This set my wife up to reply: “Well, you’re going to be!”
One of those rare occasions where the perfect setup is followed by the perfect riposte.
Since you won’t wait for ultrasound pics, then this won’t work for you.
In 2000, my mom (then age 81) was grandmother to 28 children. All seven of my siblings had at least three children each. I (then at age 40) had yet to become a father.
After several years of trying and IVF procedures, GrizzWife became pregnant and her doc allowed us to videotape the first several ultrasounds. (She’s high-risk, so ultrasounds were a common thing for us.)
I took the tape with me on a road-trip to visit my Mom while my wife stayed home. I popped the tape into my Mom’s VCR and told her that I had something for her to watch. As the tape played, I explained what she was watching and that I was finally going to be a father. I expected tears and hugs.
.
.
.
I was wrong.
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.
.
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As soon as I got finished giving my news, and still having tears in my eyes, Mom asked me “Can you get that machine to play the tape from my birthday party?”
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.
<sigh>
Get your wife a t-shirt with the word “Wuss” printed on it, with an arrow pointing to the left. Have her wear that when your parents will see it. Do not explain.
Then get a t-shirt for yourself with the word “Baby” printed on it, with an arrow pointing to the right…
My brother and his wife gave her a box for christmas, inside the box was an ultrasound picture and video. That was pretty cool, but you probably don’t want to wait for christmas for this one. On my first kid, I told my mom that I’d gotten this girl pregnant. It didn’t seem to go over as well.
When I saw the title of this thread, I thought the OP was going to be a teenaged unmarried girl, and I was about to suggest, “Mom, Dad, you’re going to be the envy of all your friends. They’ll look at you and think ‘They look so YOUNG to be grandparents!’”
Apparently my parents-in-law told their parents about their first by giving the grandma-to-be a gift of knitting needles and some yarn. If your parents are the crafty type, this could be a way to go.
Snicks
I found out I was pregnant with my son two days before Christmas. We made a Chirstmas card that had “From the three of us” on the front, then I signed it misstee, stromchaser and babytoo. My mom didn’t even pay attention to the front, she just opened it up and then looked at me like I was crazy.
Then it sunk in they were going to be grandparents.
I figured they’d be mad at me, and telling them when I did, I also figured they wouldn’t be mad long since it was Christmas time.
