Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

that announcing you're pregnant by text is weird.

26 replies

BlackBag · 05/03/2011 09:06

DH got a text at 7.30am this morning from his sister to say baby due later in year.

Is it normal to tell your family like this.

AIBU to think she could have rung up for a chat, find out how things are going etc,tell us the good news.

OP posts:
bythefire · 05/03/2011 09:08

It depends. I have a large family with 4 sisters and 2 brothers and parents ans stepparents so it would be a lot of phone calls

hairylights · 05/03/2011 09:08

Yabu. Perhaps for some reason she doesn't want to do the whine "big announcement" thing.

RealityIsKnockedUp · 05/03/2011 09:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HecateQueenOfWitches · 05/03/2011 09:10

people are having really serious relationship make or break talks by text these days.

and big rows with friends over very important issues.

both of these examples come from mumsnet itself.

I am not surprised that a pregnancy announcement should be made by text.

I am surprised that it was not made via facebook.

People seem to publicise their entire lives on there Hmm

FetchezLaVache · 05/03/2011 09:10

YABU- maybe she's horrendously sick and knackered and CBA to talk to everyone individually?

PlasticLentilWeaver · 05/03/2011 09:12

Better that than finding out via your best friend that your brother and Sil are expecting, because they told your mother, who told her mother, who told her and she then congratulates you on something you knew nothing about.....

Bitter, moi?

CinnabarRed · 05/03/2011 09:18

I texted a couple of friends who I knew were having fertility issues before calling them, to give them a chance to absorb the news in private (and have a private little moment if they needed it).

nymphadora · 05/03/2011 09:20

My friend tested me as she knew I'd be upset as we were ttc & I was happy for her but upset for me & it gave me time to be nice to her. I found out a few weeks later I was pg so all worked out well!

PepsiPopcorn · 05/03/2011 09:24

YABU. Particularly agree with hairylights and CinnabarRed.

Bogeyface · 05/03/2011 09:28

Its not something I would do but DH would, if he was speaking to his family that is!

Some people, like my DH, communicate via text for preference and while it drives me nuts I wouldnt be surprised to get a message like this from someone.

As Hecate said, atleast it wasnt FB! I felt almost accused of keeping it secret when a friend said that she was surprised to hear that I was pg as I hadnt put it on FB! She genuinely didnt see why I wouldnt announce it that way, and made a snidey comment about when she would hear I had had the baby if I wasnt planning on announcing that on there too!

JojoLapin · 05/03/2011 09:30

I'll break the trend... I find it odd and completely agree with OP.

Bogeyface · 05/03/2011 09:30

^^^That said...

I am planning on using FB to stop people ringing me to do the usual "Have you had the baby yet" thing. I figure that if I do a daily update of "No she isnt here yet, dont ring me, we'll let you know when it happens" then it will buy me a few days of peace when she does come as I wont update straight away :o

Original poster
BlackBag · 05/03/2011 09:32

Baby due in August so she's had all the scans etc.

I can see pros and cons about announcing life changing events by text, so yes it warns you but you don't have any control over when you recieve texts not sure I'd like to be notifyed of my parents death so I'm walking accross the school carpark at pick up time.

Feel so old, being from the pre mobile era not quite got a grip on the etiquette.
My girls, aged 6 & 4, ring up my brother just to boast of a particularly huge fart.

So what do we do? Text back? Send an email? Any text speak I should be aware of:

Baby BIo - baby bun in oven

OP posts:
Original poster
BlackBag · 05/03/2011 09:35

Shocking spelling/grammar on that post.

OP posts:
PlasticLentilWeaver · 05/03/2011 09:35

Pick up the phone and call them. Just because they have texted doesn't mean you can't use your preferred route.

Bogeyface · 05/03/2011 09:41

I agree with PLW, their method of choice is text, there is no rule to say that you should use that too if you dont want to. I would ring.

PErhaps this is why they have done it, thinking about it. To ring around would cost them a fortune, so they send out a group text and wait for everyone to ring them! Quite sensible when you think about it, I might change my attitude to it.....:o

PepsiPopcorn · 05/03/2011 11:09

Ring them up :)

Linnet · 05/03/2011 12:10

My sister did this with her second pregnancy, I thought it was a bit weird.

PepsiPopcorn · 05/03/2011 12:14

Don't you think people who are "upfront" about their family plans to potential employers are perpetuating the belief that this kind of sexism is OK?

And who would want to work for an unenlightened, sexist employer anyway?

PepsiPopcorn · 05/03/2011 12:15

Sorry, wrong thread! Blush

QueenOfFlippingEverything · 05/03/2011 12:16

I did this Blush

I didn't want a Big Enormous Fuss about announcing it. I told my parents by phone, and then various friends and prospective uncles/aunts all got a text.

I waited until 13 weeks to tell anyone other than DP as well, which seems to be practically unheard of now. A friend who found out the same week as me was posting pictures of the pissy test stick on Facebook that very day - now that is odd if you ask me. But each to their own and all that.

foundwanting · 05/03/2011 12:25

I would think it was weird from family, perhaps not from friends.

Really weird is when a school-gate mum you have spoken to half a dozen times sends you a grainy image of her scan picture and the due date. And then weekly up-dates of her pregnancy. Hmm

Original poster
BlackBag · 05/03/2011 12:28

Just feel a bit sad for DH really.
Because we don't do a lot of texting, very poor mobile reception here, and they have n't spoken since we saw them at xmas.

OP posts:
hairypotter · 05/03/2011 16:15

i found out sil was pregnant when her ex boyfriends mum told me!! Grin we were actually quite close at the time. (or so i thought)

viewfromawindow · 05/03/2011 16:39

I know someone who texted a friend a condolence message a month ago...Hmm