Watching the reactions has been an interesting study in human interaction and behavior, and I haven’t always gotten the reaction that I expected.

Of course, the first person I told was my partner, Justin. His reaction was less than completely enthusiastic at first. We had talked about and planned on having kids in a couple of years, but the timing wasn’t ideal for us quite right now. Nonetheless, he quickly adapted to the idea of a shift in our timeline and has become a thoroughly supportive daddy-to-be.

The second person who found out was mostly by accident. When a local friend met us at an event with a free open bar when I was six weeks pregnant and asked why I wasn’t having a cocktail, my stuttering, hedging response gave away the answer before I could even say it. Her reaction was typical of the amazement and excitement I would come to see from most of the members of our tight-knit expatriate community.

After that, I started spreading the word among all of our local friends, while simultaneously extracting promises not to mention it on my Facebook, My Space, or any other places where my parents might see it. They were planning a visit right around the ten-week mark and I wanted to tell them in person that we would soon have their first grandchild. (We live in Asia, so a family visit from the US is a big deal on all sides)

When I finally told my own mother and father, their reactions were much as I expected, excitement over the idea of grandchildren tinged with a little “but you’re not married yet” from my mother thrown in there. The next big reveal after telling my own parents was to call Justin’s mother, father and stepmother to let them know about the upcoming birth. His family has many grandchildren already, but they were fairly thrilled to hear that their youngest child was finally having a child of his own.

I knew that my other family members would mostly hear about my pregnancy through the family grapevine, but I also sent a message to all of my close cousins and a few very good friends to let them know before I made a public announcement via Facebook, Twitter and Livejournal. (Yes, I know, I feel so 21st century!)

In the responses, I’ve encountered excitement, curiosity (especially about why now and whether I’m planning to have the baby in China), a little jealousy, and generally overwhelming support. It makes me feel good to know that my child will have all of these people rooting for him as he starts his life.