Show & Tell: The Big Reveal, For Real

After much angst over when to tell and who to tell that we are pregnant, I finally decided that it was time to pull on my big girl panties, let go of my apprehension that something will go wrong after we tell, and let the cat out of the bag to our families. We hit 12 weeks yesterday, and it's just time. I have been waiting, waiting, waiting for each next milestone to successfully pass, thinking that I would feel better once it was behind me. . .bloodwork, ultrasound, gestational sack, heartbeat on ultrasound, heartbeat via doppler, NT scan, bloodwork. The reality is that after this long journey, there is never going to be a time when I feel completely comfortable with this pregnancy. It will never seem "safe" to tell.

Once I finally decided that I was okay with telling, I decided that I really wanted to tell all of our families at once, which is geographically impossible. Deciding who to tell first also became a challenge. My solution?

First, I picked up picture frames at a local discount store. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything bright and cute, so I went with sort of a classic look, square frames with a circular cutout. Then, I glued on letters I picked up at the craft store. Finally, I blew up one of the ultrasound photos that the tech was kind enough to make sure we got on Tuesday. And voila:

























On the front, it says "Baby _____", and then on the back it says "Due in January." I wrapped each one up, and included a card with instructions for each one. I mailed one to my mom, who lives out of town, with explicit instructions on her card that she is to open it with her husband, and that she shouldn't call anyone other than me upon opening it (I want to tell my grandmother, etc. myself).

My dad is away at the lake, but some other family members were driving up to join him today, so I sent along his package with them. There will be a large contingent of family with him for the weekend, so his instructions were a little more explicit--he's not to open his until Friday (because my brother won't be with him until then), everyone is to be present when he opens it, and they are to call no one but me (we'll see how THAT works out!)

Then, we will see T.'s parents over the weekend, and will give them theirs then. My parents will probably find out a little before T.'s parents, but everyone will basically find out at the same time. Since we are seeing T's family in person this weekend, they surely can't feel bad if my parents found out first. I am sure to get some interesting phone calls at the end of the week, since my parents have no idea that we've been trying.

Want to see what everyone else is showing? Hop along over to Stirrup Queens and check out what the rest of the class brought with them this week.