The announcement of a baby should be a time of celebration but one woman’s story has taken a very different turn.
The 22-year-old told anonymous forum Reddit she was afraid to tell her already pregnant sister she was expecting a baby as she feared it would steal her thunder.
“My sister got married when she was 23 and so has been married six years. With her husband came a stepchild, and this is her first pregnancy (due April 2017),” she wrote.
“I, on the other hand, just got married two months ago, and just found out I am pregnant (due August 2017 – also first pregnancy).”
Celebrity maternity fashion is a whole other ballgame. (Post continues after gallery.)
Celebrities during pregnancy
The pregnant woman explained her sister had previously wanted to raise children together but only if it was their second child.
“My sister has talked about us having kids at the same time so they can grow up together,” she wrote.
“But she always says ‘obviously not this first one, I want you to wait’ and she tells me that my husband and I need time to just be a couple first, without kids.”
The expecting mum said the situation was compounded by the recent death of their father and her wedding.
“So with all the heartbreak that has come with my dad dying and my wedding happening, I feel like she feels she has been cheated,” she wrote.
“I’m so afraid to tell her. She has explicitly said she doesn’t approve and I don’t want to be one more thing that is taking away her happiness/attention.”
Expecting a child? We’ve been there and this is what happened. Post continues after audio.
Readers responded with advice on how she should pass on the happy news.
“Since it wasn’t a planned pregnancy I doubt she will feel like you stole her thunder, and if she does she’s not that great of a sister. Family is about loving and supporting each other, it shouldn’t be a fight about who gets the most attention,” wrote one reader.
“I would say she will be more hurt if you don’t tell her early (especially if one of the mums/brother-in-law/sister-in-law accidentally spills the beans) so just go for it. Let her know that it’s not for public release yet and she is one of the very few people you are trusting this with until you are three months on,” wrote another.
What would you have said if it were your friend?
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Top Comments
When I fell pregnant with my third child my sister stopped trying for a baby because she didn't want to "steal my thunder" and we had accidently gotten pregnant at the same time 3 years earlier (5 months difference). When she told me she had stopped trying I said don't be so silly. She had fertility problems after her first child and how selfish would it be to expect her to miss might be her only chance for another baby. Two weeks later she found out she was already pregnant it was great fun being pregnant together. We have tons of fun double belly pics a few private breastfeeding pics together and our children have the most adorable pics together all the way through their lives. I even have a few pics where my daughter was actually bigger than her son. He outgrew her within 2 months and now she comes up to his shoulders at 11 years of age. I have a whole album dedicated to their shenanigans called the terrific two I loved sharing that experience with my sister it brought us closer together.
The sister totally has to harden up. She has no right to an opinion on when you decide to have a baby, accident or planned. Al you can do is tell her, make sure that you direct all the focus onto her for her pregnancy milestones (like the baby shower, gender reveal and birth announcement) and then enjoy your own. If she can't handle not being the only pregnant woman in the village that is her problem. You deserve to enjoy your pregnancy too.