How we dropped our big baby announcement (or the lack thereof)

Finding out that you’re pregnant is one of the best feelings a woman can experience — especially if you’re like me, who waited 3 years before actually conceiving. Making baby announcements is just the kind of happy news that you just have to share with those close to your heart.

You also don’t need to be Kim Kardashian or Meghan Markle to make one. As a proud mother (or father), you have every right to tell anyone or everyone about this achievement in whatever manner you wish. You can blast a message to all your relatives and friends, post your first ultrasound scan on Facebook, or make a short video about it. Celebrations like this are meant to be shared.

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When my obstetrician-gynaecologist finally confirmed that I was with a child, my husband and I immediately told our parents… for obvious reasons. But when it comes to telling other people — extended family and close friends included — we really had to pause and mull things over. We even asked our parents to keep it under wraps until we feel that the time is right to let the cat out of the bag.

It’s not that we think it’s none of other people’s business or anything, but we just didn’t want to put the horse ahead of the cart. For Salman and I, it was important to leave a room for all possibilities — including the unfortunate ones like miscarriage.

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It may sound a little bit pessimistic, but that was the reality for us at that point. I was 32 when I first conceived and being 33 now isn’t exactly considered as ideal for a pregnancy. We also knew some friends and relatives, who have had miscarriages or had experience pregnancy complications, and their stories reminded us that not every implantation leads to a smooth conception.

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Yes, the probability of having a miscarriage may have significantly dropped after the 12th week. But even when I went past that stage, we still didn’t make a big reveal. The excitement was no longer there for me to make a dramatic baby announcement like I’ve always pictured in my head.

Things also started to get real for us. Me experiencing Hyperemesis Gravidarum or severe morning sickeness really made us worry about our baby’s safety. I was just feeling too sick to care. My husband was also the secretive type and he never liked bringing attention to himself. And since all the people that I’m closest to are in the Philippines, it was easier for us to keep the happy news to ourselves unless we are asked about it.

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Of course, I told a couple of friends over virtual chats and Skype calls about it. And for us, that was enough. We really didn’t feel the need to issue a Press Release type of statement published on our social media account.

My ill-conceived baby announcement.

I was actually in my fifth month into the pregnancy when, knowing that all those close to me were already privately made aware about it, that I began to talk about this wonderful journey publicly in a non-news, tongue-in-cheek manner. Looking back, it kinda makes me regret downplaying it. I can think of a lot of fun, creative ways to drop our baby announcement now. Sayang!

And it was only around the sixth month when we both completely processed the reality of my pregnancy. It eventually turned into an inspiration behind the existence of this very blog, which I have to admit is almost like an after-thought. Because I wasn’t able to document the early stage of my pregnancy, (I wasn’t able to take weekly photos of my baby bump or anything like that), I was hell bent on making up for lost time, and I’m glad to be able to share all these things with you through this blog.

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