Jon and I spent a week in Portugal for Thanksgiving 2019 to attend a friend’s wedding. At the time, I had an inkling I might be pregnant but I didn’t want a positive pregnancy test to ruin all the celebratory fun while traveling (wine + raw seafood galore). At the end of the week, we flew from Lisbon to London together because I had work in London. Jon spent less than 24 hours with me in London before heading to the airport for his flight back to NYC. When he left for the airport in the early morning, I went to the pharmacy to pick up a pregnancy test. The results line on the first test was so faint I took a second test to make sure —but yes, I was pregnant! I couldn’t wait to get to NYC later that week and share the news with Jon.
*Do yourself a favor and get a pregnancy test that spells out “Pregnant/Not Pregnant” because the ones with lines are so confusing!
How I Told Jon: Nov 30, 2019
By some will of God, Jon’s original flight from London to NYC was delayed 10 hours that day. He had spent a frustrating 12 hours at the airport so we decided to delay his flight to the next day. While I waited for Jon to get back from the airport, I debated whether to share my new little secret with him or to wait until we were back home in NYC. Jon arrived back to the hotel room close to midnight, exhausted from a lame day at the airport. I knew that this news would turn his mood around. I hid the pregnancy in my eyeglasses case and told Jon I had bought new glass frames that day. (We had gone window shopping the day before.) Excited to see the frames, Jon opened the case to see the pregnancy test. He had the sweetest reaction, jumping up and down the the bed. This man was born to be a father!
How We Told Our Sisters: Dec 21, 2019 & Jan 7, 2020
For both our sisters, we wrapped up the pregnancy test into a cookie box and gave it to them to open, under the guise of a Christmas present.
The first person we told about the pregnancy was my sister at 7 weeks. At this point, I hadn’t even been to my OB-GYN yet for any ultrasound or confirmation of the pregnancy. All we had was a pregnancy test that I retook back in NYC. My doctor had wanted to see me at week 8 but we were going to be out of town for Christmas for 2 weeks at my in-law’s. I wouldn’t be able to see a doctor until we got back. Because we didn’t want to raise any suspicion with my in-laws during our holiday, we decided to tell my sister earlier. My sister had the most visceral reaction when she first found out - bawling her eyes out and questioning where the pregnancy test even came from. She helped to conceal my extreme fatigue, and new eating/drinking habits during my first trimester.
The second person we told was Jon’s sister at 10 weeks. This was immediately following our first ultrasound. When my SIL opened the cookie box, she was in pure shock. It was doubly exciting because not only did we get to share the news with her, we also showed her the first sonograms and a video of baby’s heartbeat.
How We Told Our Parents: Jan 25, 2020
The end of my first trimester (Week 12) coincided perfectly with Lunar New Year. That’s when we told our parents about Baby Hu. While our sisters knew for a bit longer, we wanted to be sure that Baby was healthy and growing well before breaking the news to our parents.
My parents love to travel so we decided to make the reveal travel-themed. I made fake boarding passes for “AGIONDA AIR” (아기온다 - “baby is coming” in Korean). The travel date was baby’s due date, the origin/destination: JFK to GRNDPA and JFK to GRNDMA. It was hilarious watching my parents trying to decipher where they were going. My mom was very confused why they were going to different destinations. For the first 10 minutes, they thought my dad was going to “Ground Pennsylvania (PA)” and my mom was going to “Ground Massachusetts (MA).” When my dad finally figured out that it was “Grandpa” and “Grandma” he leaped up with joy, completely pushed my mom aside and gave us a hug. The entertainment value of this moment was 10/10.
To tell Jon’s parents, we coordinated a group Facetime with Jon’s sister for Lunar New Year. In order for us to capture his parents’ reactions, we sent them a sonogram of the baby to another phone and made them open the file while leaving the Facetime on. They were so caught off guard it took them a minute to react but their smiles filled the screen. It was so special to be able to share this moment together even though they’re miles away!
How We Told Our Cousins/Friends: Feb 14, 2020
Valentine’s Day on Week 15, Jon and I were ready to share the news with our cousins & friends. We created a simple Valentine to send to them. One of my girlfriends took me out to get a pedicure and I had Galentine’s Day dinner with my cousins.
It really didn’t hit us that we were pregnant until we started telling our extended family and friends.
The World!: March 18, 2020
By Week 20, Jon and I shared the news with our coworkers, and we posted photos of our gender reveal party on the interwebs. At this halfway point of pregnancy, the countdown to Blobby’s due date was in full swing.
During a global pandemic, our little Blobby brought us a continued sense of joy & excitement. Today, I can’t believe he’s already 1 month old! We hope you continue to grow healthy & strong, little one! Also, please let your parents sleep. :)
Love, MH
