Attention: I'm Pregnant

No, this is not me announcing that I'm pregnant.  I promise.  It's just the title of this post.  This is me discussing all the ways that pregnancy can be announced.  It only happens once and it's going to be memorable no matter what method you choose.  Here are some ideas to break the news for both the creative and the traditional individual.

Modern Online Method - There are tons of options for sharing your news on the glorious world wide web.

• Start a blog (www.blogger.com).  It doesn't have to be a public blog, it can be a private blog that requires a password for access.  Then, after you make the announcement, your blog can become an online forum for family and friends to keep up with all the milestones of your pregnancy through words, photos and even videos
• Tweet your news on Twitter
• Post it on Facebook
• Make an online photo album with a single photo of your first sonogram or the positive pregnancy test result and share it with your short (or long) list of need-to-know people.  
• Send a mass email.  
• Set up an Evite: title is "Your Name Is PREGNANT!", location is your belly, date is your due date and details are that you are overwhelmed with joy.  

Classic Phone Call Method - The phone call method is standard for friends and family that can't be easily told in person.  A few years ago my non-Spanish speaking friend called me from across the country and said, "Hola!  I'm having a bambino!"  I was so confused by the Spanish (not the complexity of what she said, thank you very much, but the fact that she was speaking Spanish) that it took me a minute to react.  We celebrated in high pitch English shrieks.  The face-time option on iPhones and video-chatting (through skype, gchat, etc.) are all ways of doing it from a distance but still getting the visual reactions.

Creative Face-to-Face Method - The direct face-to-face, "I'm having a baby" method works just fine and my guess is that it will be the best choice for most of your family and friends.  If you're inspired to do something more original here are a couple ideas:

• Try hand delivering a homemade greeting card that features your sonogram photo
• Get a group together for a nice dinner and game of Charades, your turn to act and you signal "I am pregnant" in whatever way you can without words...shouldn't be too hard.  Pictionary would work well too.
• Bring over a cake that says "We're Expecting!" 
• Invite friends and family over for drinks and dessert.  Serve a selection of cookies, brownies (whatever you want) with several bottles of sparkling apple cider.  You can pull out some actual champagne for your family and friends once they figure it out
• Show up in a t-shirt that says "I'm Pregnant"

Revealing Gift Method - This can be done in person or via snail mail by giving a gift that says it for you.  Purchase a "I Love Grandpa" mug or "#1 Grandma" bib and send it to your family members.  The message should be obvious, though I can imagine a call from an unsuspecting brother after he opens his gift to ask whether your clicked the wrong button on the website because he accidentally ended up with a World's Best Uncle t-shirt.