There are few moments more life-altering than the moment you find out you are pregnant. Seeing those two tiny pink lines staring back at you on a pregnancy test pretty much tells you that your life is about to change drastically — in the most amazing way humanly possible. And, of course, the first person you want to tell is your partner.
One of the most exciting moments second to actually finding out you’re preggers is actually getting the chance to break the news to your significant other. This private pregnancy announcement might not get as many likes as the one you post to social media later on, but it’s more special as it officially begins the journey that the two of you are about to embark on.
If you’re looking for ideas on how to tell your husband you’re pregnant, or if you’re just here for the feels (because who doesn’t love a heartwarming story?), we reached out to twelve women to hear their sweet stories of how they broke the news. Grab the tissue box, ‘cause you just might need it!
Ideas for how to tell your husband you’re pregnant:
Personalize a onesie
“The day my husband and I were set to leave for our honeymoon, I decided to take a pregnancy test because I was several days late. I didn’t think I was pregnant, but I wanted to be sure before spending the next few weeks drinking champagne on a beach. I took the test, hopped in the shower, and then looked at the results. Much to my surprise, I saw the positive sign — and couldn’t believe it. I’m a mega type A over-planner, so I bought a specially-designed onesie many months before so that I would have a special way to tell him when the day came. It said ‘Daddy’s future rock climbing partner,’ since my husband loves to scale indoor climbing walls.
I took the onesie out of storage in my closet and laid the pregnancy test on top of it on our bed. I then went upstairs and asked my husband to help me with packing something for our trip and filmed his reaction. He was immediately in shock, scooped me up in his arms, teared up and we laughed about the fact we had to board an international flight a mere four hours later. While I don’t recommend a sober honeymoon with first trimester morning sickness, the timing made for a very memorable experience. I’m counting down the days until we welcome our baby girl in March. And maybe next year when she’s a bit older, she can finally go climbing with her dad.”—Lindsay T., Arden, NC
Play a special recording from your doc
“I’m currently 5 months pregnant with my second child. With our first child, my husband arrived home from work one night and I just looked at him and said, ‘I’m pregnant.’ To this day, he reminds me of how underwhelming that was. I had no idea that he desired a more thoughtful announcement. This go-around, as he was working in his home office on a hard deadline and not paying attention to me, I played a recording from my doctor not only congratulating me on my next pregnancy, but also confirming that it’s a girl. To say he was in shock was an understatement. He completely stopped working and was filled with excitement.” —Gabrielle G., White Plains, NY
Do it with dessert
“Upon finding out that I was pregnant, I booked a reservation with a very nice restaurant in the Kansas City metro area. On the phone, I told the restaurant that I wanted to tell my husband that I was pregnant with dessert, much like people do when they propose. We squared away the dessert order on the phone, so I didn’t have to order it in the restaurant suspiciously. Before the dinner, I picked out a couple of KU Jayhawk baby items (we are huge fans) as a gift for my husband and the new baby and stashed the wrapped gift away in my purse. Then, I told my husband that I had a date night planned — which I never do so he was extra excited.
We got to the restaurant, and he kept recommending drinks and high-mercury fish dishes that I knew I couldn’t eat, so I dodged them and somehow he wasn’t suspicious. When dessert arrived, the plate read ‘Surprise! You’re going to be a daddy!’ It took him a few seconds to really get the message, but he was so shocked and excited. I gave him the little gift, and we shared a very memorable dessert together before heading home and planning how to tell our families and friends! —Chelsea R., Overland Park, KS
Wrap up your positive test
“My husband John and I were finally getting to sleep through the night with our first child when we started to discuss expanding our family again. I had everything planned in my head, but we know with fertility that doesn’t matter. We struggled to have our first baby and it was a very long journey. I knew that because of my age (41), we would need to get started sooner than later. After trying for about 3-4 months and having no luck, I began to worry and decided we would try another month before seeing a doctor. During that time, myhusband mentioned he was good with the workload of one child and that it was in God’s hands. I truly believed that, too, but struggled with his statement because I was willing to do anything for another baby.
After our last discussion, I felt upset and defeated that he didn’t feel the same way. We didn’t speak for a week. Within that week, I felt really tired, sad, and hot all day. I thought to myself ‘This doesn’t seem right.’ I decided to take a test just in case, and there it was starting back at me confirming I was, indeed, pregnant! I screamed so loud. Luckily I was alone. I decided to take two more tests within the next two days to make sure, which all came back positive. I waited until Mother’s Day to tell my husband and wrapped all three tests in a gift bag and gave it to him as a gift. He didn’t understand why he was getting a gift on Mother’s Day until he opened the first test and his mouth dropped! We didn’t get a surprise with our first baby, so this was a brand new experience for us. I get chills now remembering when John and I had the discussion of a second child because I was already pregnant, but neither of us knew. It truly was all in God’s hands. —Stefani M., Houston, TX
Customize something he’ll use regularly
“Kurt and I got pregnant about four months after getting married! I had a 5 year old and this was going to be his first. We were actively trying, so I already had a stash of pregnancy tests. I didn’t get my period and just knew. At the time, a good friend made custom mugs for clients. I immediately reached out and asked if she could create a mug that said “#DILF” with the outline of a woman’s pregnant belly. Five days later I miscarried, but she still made the mug. Kurt and I cried together and hoped for another pregnancy soon, and just a month later, I became pregnant with Stone, our now 3 year old. He still has the mug, chipped and faded, but one we both use weekly.” —Kristjana H., Rapid City, SD
Sneak it into a normal convo
“My husband was playing PlayStation after work. I snuggled next to him and chatted about my day while he vaguely nodded and killed things on screen. Then, I just casually slipped it into the conversation something like ‘but we’ll have to think about that after the baby is born in March.’ He nodded, killed some more things, froze, looked at me, looked at the screen, looked at me, and started crying. He shouted ‘Are you pregnant?,’ abandoned his game, and we had a cuddle and a cry. He’s not a super emotional guy so his reaction meant a lot to me. I wish I had videoed it!”—Gian M.
Use something from his childhood
“For years doctors told me I had less than a 5 percent chance of getting pregnant due to my PCOS. I remember waiting month after month for a sign of a possible missed period, but it was always a guessing game because I would often go months without one. I took tests in silence in the early mornings while my husband slept, hoping to see those two little lines. Yet every month, I would inevitably be disappointed. This went on for three years. Eventually, it got to a point where the sex felt completely pointless and it really took the joy out of being together and enjoying the moment.
We decided to stop trying and look towards what was most likely going to be a childless future. I remember it clearly: Our lease was up and it was the last night in our North Hollywood apartment. We had the day off, the boxes were packed, and there wasn’t much left to do so we called it a night and decided to enjoy our last evening in what had been our favorite place by getting busy. Without the pressure to conceive in our minds, we had a great time. One month later, in the middle of the night, I remember feeling off. I was certain it wasn’t pregnancy, but wanted to rule it out so I took a test.
I saw what I had been longing to see for so many years clear as day: two blue lines. After a few more of those lovely double lines, I hatched a plan to tell my hubby the news. He had an old teddy bear from his childhood, so I took it and placed it in a gift bag. I added the pregnancy test and a card that said ‘It’s time for a new Macdonald to enjoy this…daddy.’ When he came home from work that day I gave him his gift and the moment he opened the card his eyes went wide. He was just as shocked as I had been, but incredibly excited. He hugged me and kissed me and couldn’t wait to go to the first ultrasound.”—Dai M., Pasadena, California
Apologize for being cranky
“My husband and I had been arguing and I was sniping at him all morning without really knowing why. I was just short and a bit crabby. He left to help his parents with something, and I have no idea what possessed me to take a pregnancy test because it was too early to do so. But something told me to do it and behold, it was positive! I was in shock. So when he came home a short time later, I said to him ‘Hey I’m sorry for being cranky earlier, but I have a good reason….I’m pregnant!’ He lit up, laughed, and joined me in shock. We were both so excited and also in disbelief!” —Ashley B., Cleveland OH
Let your appetite do the talking
“My husband and I have five children, so by the third, forth, and fifth pregnancies, he knew my ‘tell’ and would guess. One evening before I knew about my third pregnancy, my husband, two kids, and I were sitting down to a dinner of hamburgers and french fries. I hadn’t taken a pregnancy test, so I was unaware that I was expecting. I enjoyed my first hamburger and serving of french fries, but was still starving. I looked at my husband and said, ‘I want another hamburger!’ I never eat two hamburgers, ever. So he looked at me, raised his eyebrows, and laughed. ‘You’re pregnant,’ he said. He was correct, I took a pregnancy test and was pregnant. The story is the same with the 4th and 5th pregnancies. I developed a ravenous appetite that wasn’t satisfied with my regular portion sizes and he would look across the table at me and say, ‘You’re pregnant.’ So, essentially, I told my husband I was pregnant by eating.”— Brenna B., Mountain City, TN
Get creative with your other children (fur babies included)
“I had a feeling I was pregnant for various reasons, but I wasn’t sure. I fibbed to my husband telling him I for sure wasn’t pregnant so the surprise would be real! He left for work that morning and I ran to the store to get a test. I took the test and within seconds the second line appeared. I didn’t even have time to set the test down! After I got over the initial shock, I got to work planning a cute reveal for my husband. Being someone who cannot hold a secret for the life of me, I knew I had to tell him that night, so I had to think of something within a couple of hours.
I decided to take a picture of our dog with reading glasses while looking at a book called ‘How to Be a Big Brother.’ It was my cheeky way of saying, we are adding someone to the family! I got the photo developed from the 1-hour photo in our local Walgreens and framed it in our entryway picture frame so it was the first thing he saw when he walked through the door. As I heard his steps coming up the stairs to our front door, my nerves reached a peak! Would he understand? Would he be happy? Scared? When he walked through the door he put his keys down on the entry table right next to the frame and instantly noticed the new picture. He looked a little closer and then looked at me. I was standing in the living room holding my tests. He was shocked!” —Kyrie, L. Lake Tappas, WA
Cook his favorite meal
“My husband and I had decided to start a family about three years into our marriage, and I guess we just assumed it would take a long time. So when I felt nauseous a couple months later and took a pregnancy test, I really didn’t expect it to be positive but it was. This was in the morning, and my husband wouldn’t be home from work until dinnertime. I decided to make him his favorite meal, which at the time was linguine and mushrooms in a white wine sauce, and tell him over dinner. I only made him this dish on special occasions, since I detest mushrooms. When he got home and asked what I was making for dinner, I told him. And he was immediately suspicious. ‘What’s going on? You hate mushrooms.’ I couldn’t hold it in any longer and just blurted out that I was pregnant! For years afterwards, every time I made him something with mushrooms, I had to assure him I wasn’t pregnant.”—Amy O., from Brooklyn, NY
Don’t let distance deter you
“I had always planned to tell my partner that we were pregnant in some big, elaborate way, but unfortunately, it didn’t really turn out that way. I was away on a work trip without the love of my life when I got the big positive sign on my pregnancy test. I was in the middle of setting up the venue for my client’s wedding when I decided to sneak 10 minutes away to myself and take the test. Of course, when I realized that the test was positive I immediately dialed my husband up and told him that he was going to be a father through a stream of happy tears. That evening when I got home he grabbed me by the door and we celebrated with a quiet evening in.”—Madeline B., Nashville, TN
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