Sweet sweet/little baby/little fingers/little toes

March 14, 2012 6:50 AM

What are some fun creative ways to announce me pregnancy tto my parents?

I am looking for something that's not too corny, something on the darker side of humor.

posted by Subterranean Homesick Pygmalion to Human Relations (24 answers total)

Have you seen this?
posted by devinemissk at 6:56 AM on March 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

cupcakes or a cake with fetuses on them? a la: This?
posted by kpht at 6:57 AM on March 14, 2012

"How many people do you think are in this room right now?"

You could drive somewhere that has those parking spots reserved for pregnant women.

I'm not sure how "dark" you want to go but you can go along the lines of "I have some important medical news... the doctor tells me I only have about nine months ... to live ... it up, because after that I'll be taking care of the baby."
posted by mikepop at 7:05 AM on March 14, 2012 [5 favorites]

Sit them down and really draw it out, as if you can't bring yourself to actually say it out loud, like you have some unspeakably bad news. "Mom, Dad.....I have some news...." go on for as long as you can before breaking into the good news. Really draw it out. Try to give new meaning to the phrase 'pregnant pause.'
posted by troika at 7:10 AM on March 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

Send them a picture of your tummy with a thought or speech bubble coming out of your belly button.
posted by dgeiser13 at 7:12 AM on March 14, 2012

I remember my cousin and his wife were like, hey, let's watch this DVD! and it was the ultrasound. Going the "I have medical news" route, there was a great episode of House where he talked about how a woman was infected with a parasite when she was pregnant. I don't know how you feel about describing your little bundle of joy as such but it's an idea.
posted by kat518 at 7:12 AM on March 14, 2012

Not a lot of "dark" suggestions, but you might get some ideas from this previous AskMe.
posted by TedW at 7:16 AM on March 14, 2012

It's not dark, but my husband walked up to my dad and said, 'Hello, Grandpa." It took my dad about five full seconds to figure out it and then the look on his face was priceless.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:23 AM on March 14, 2012 [7 favorites]

If you know it's going to be a boy, there's the lovely "Guess what - I've got a penis inside me RIGHT NOW!"
posted by Mchelly at 7:54 AM on March 14, 2012 [9 favorites]

Empty out a champagne bottle and fill it half way with sprite, then proceed to act happy and blow a paper-roll noise maker. When your parents ask you what you're celebrating, tell them "I'm drinking for two, now!" then jump off the bridge, having carefully hidden the bungee cord beforehand.
posted by Feel the beat of the rhythm of the night at 8:03 AM on March 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

My dad always joked that once we finally had kids he would have to eat nothing but beanie weenies because it was the only thing he knew how to cook for himself and my mom would probably want to be away visiting us all the time. We announced our pregnancy by mailing him a can of beanie weenies with a note explaining that he'd also be welcome to come and visit, but just in case we wanted to make sure he would be fed.

On the more cutesie tip we mailed packets of sweet pea seeds to my husband's mom and dad and let them know that we also had a sweet pea on the way.
posted by goggie at 8:03 AM on March 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

My husband and I refer to our kids fondly as "Our Favorite STDs".
posted by TooFewShoes at 8:04 AM on March 14, 2012

Sorry, I hit post too soon. The point of that was to go along with the 'medical issue' way of telling them.

"Mom, Dad, I've got.... news. [Father of the baby] gave me an STD. There's no cure and I'll be feeling the effects for the rest of our lives. The good news is that it will work it's way out of my system by around [your due date.]"
posted by TooFewShoes at 8:07 AM on March 14, 2012 [2 favorites]

Make them this cake? You could even make it red velvet.
posted by jeather at 8:21 AM on March 14, 2012

Keep in mind that it is probably going to be less of a surprise to them than you think: any serious couple of child-making age is sort of expected to say they're pregnant when they announce that they have 'news'.

I like the "Hello, Grandpa" approach!
posted by Dragonness at 8:39 AM on March 14, 2012

The daughter of family friends announced hers by bringing in a bowl of ice cream studded with pickles.
posted by brujita at 8:53 AM on March 14, 2012

We got my parents a baby/grandchild-themed picture frame. We put a piece of paper inside the frame that said "picture to follow in 9 months."

For my in-laws we bought them the cheesy "Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul" book since this was going to be their first grandchild.
posted by Ostara at 9:31 AM on March 14, 2012

Tell them to read Ask Metafilter and look for questions by Subterranean Homesick Pygmalion
posted by jozxyqk at 9:33 AM on March 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

This is totally theoretical so far, since I have no impending baby plans, but my dream announcement has always been to dress up in a mad scientist outfit, clutch my belly, and scream "LIFE! I have created... LIFE!"
posted by Nibbly Fang at 10:35 AM on March 14, 2012 [7 favorites]

My sister's description for her son during pregnancy was the somewhat apt but very harsh term "parasite". You could try riffing on that theme?
posted by fearnothing at 11:34 AM on March 14, 2012

We did exactly what Ostara did with the picture frame. Presented it as a birthday gift, since the timing was appropriate. 10 seconds of complete, silent confusion, followed by whoops and hollers.
posted by vignettist at 12:55 PM on March 14, 2012

My sister announced her pregnancy to me by telling me to go look in the oven, where she had placed a bun. Unfortunately I was not feeling well at the time and it took me quite a while before I caught on.
posted by sarajane at 2:24 PM on March 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

A friend just sent out email announcements entitle "Picture Charades". Inside was a picture of his wife dressed up 1950's-like, lacy apron and all, in front of an open oven door with bun inside.
posted by kamikazegopher at 2:58 PM on March 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you're all sushi-lovers: go out for sushi but make a big deal about refusing the sushi. This is what my sister did to me.

Along those same lines, I suppose you could make a big deal about refusing to clean the litter box. Potentially less effective. YMMV.
posted by bendy at 8:27 PM on March 14, 2012