Incorporating Your Dog in Your Pregnancy Reveal

A pregnancy reveal is one of the many fun steps in having a child. While the first few weeks of being pregnant are usually kept between partners, revealing the pregnancy marks the step when you’re ready to share your exciting news with friends and family, which gives the future mother and father a chance to celebrate their newest bundle of joy with the world.

For expecting parents who already have furry babies in their family, there are many ways to make pets a part of this momentous event. Incorporating your dog into your pregnancy can help keep her involved and feeling loved through your journey as you get ready to welcome your little one into the world. Luckily, there are countless ways you can do this.

Preparing for the Announcement

Typically, most women wait until after three months of their pregnancy to make the announcement due to the many risks associated with the first few months. While many women make the announcement right away, it is still advised to wait until you have at least one appointment with your doctor. This way, they can help you go over any pre-existing conditions that may affect the baby, such as asthma, diabetes, and depression. This may help you determine the right time to make the announcement.

Once you have decided when you are going to make the announcement, you should start preparing yourself for the many questions people are going to have, including:

• How long have you been pregnant?
• When is your due date?
• Is it a boy or a girl?

To prepare yourself to answer these questions, you can use a pregnancy calculator to easily determine an estimate of these dates. To answer whether you’re having a boy or girl since it’s clearly too early to tell, you can tell them when you’ll likely find out instead (approximately 18 to 21 weeks into the pregnancy). Of course, this list might far extend into inappropriate questions that pregnant couples always get bombarded with. While those questions may be hard to answer, you can prepare some answers so you at least know what to say when it happens.

Announcement Ideas That Include Your Pup

Once you are prepared to make your announcement, you can choose the way you want to do it. For many, the pregnancy announcement is a picture or card that they can send to loved ones and post on social media, but there are endless opportunities to get creative and personalize your announcement with the help of your dog.

Get Some Props

When it comes to pregnancy announcements, Etsy has your back. This website features handmade items that can be tailored to your desires. When it comes to props for your pregnancy announcement, there are hundreds of signs that you can choose from to include in your photographs. You can have a sign next to your pup, or you can get one that hangs on her neck. You can get a cute sign that says your dog is excited to be a big sister or brother, or even a funny one that shows some endearing jealousy. It all depends on your dog’s personality and your choice of style.

Use Baby Clothes

Another type of useful prop to have in the photo is baby clothes. There’s nothing cuter than a tiny pair of shoes or a newborn onesie. This can be a chance for you to buy your child’s first article of clothing and put it in a picture to remember as your baby grows. However, you may want to stay away from pink or blue, as some may wrongly take it as a gender reveal.

Get Doggie Accessories

To take it in another direction, you can get your dog some clothes to make the announcement. You can put a bandana around their neck or have them wear a doggie onesie, depending on what they will be comfortable wearing. Again, the dog clothes can say whatever you want, including “big sister/brother,” “waiting for my new best friend,” “Mom and Dad are getting me a human,” or other cute options.

Use Photoshop

If your dog does not sit still well, won’t tolerate clothes, and is generally uncooperative in making the announcement, there’s still hope. All you need to do is find or take a picture of them that you like and use a photo editor to add the announcement. Some people like to be funny and add word bubbles to show what the dog is “thinking.”

Get Creative

The only limit to what you can do with your pregnancy announcement is your imagination. If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, you can look at other people’s pregnancy announcements for inspiration. Your pregnancy announcement can be whatever you want it to be: funny, artistic, beautiful, sentimental, traditional, and more. You may want to get professional photos taken, as some photographers are experienced in dog photography, or take the photos yourself. There truly isn’t a limit to what you can do, since the most important thing is to include your pup in the welcoming of your baby.