expressionsphrase-requests
Can I say "we are expecting a baby" when my wife is pregnant or does that sound funny to native English speakers, saying it as a man? (In German, the phrase has become somewhat common, but it stills sound a bit funny to some. Some use it, some don't.)
I don't like the sound of "my wife is expecting a baby" – it sounds too distant, like I don't care, but that's an intuition of a non-native speaker.
What other (not overly formal) ways are there to express that one is becoming a family?
The origin of this term is a borrowing from a brand name of a Kraft Foods product line, first released on the market in 1965:
Almost since its inception the term has been borrowed to described tricky moves in sports, especially basketball. An example of this may be heard in the 1994 film The Air Up There.
In the film The Air Up There, Charles Gitonga Maina's character is taught "the Jimmy Dolan shake n' bake move" (fake left, fake right, between your opponent's legs) however he was not allowed to use it when he played at Lynn University because his coach would not allow it.
Its transference to the meaning of "awesome" is obvious. Putting a "shake 'n' bake" move on an opponent usually meant leaving him flat-footed while the person with the ball glides past for a score. The time to use it for yourself would be when you have done something particularly tricky or dazzling that permits you to achieve a desired goal.
You could try "cut off your nose to spite your face".
This is used where you bring a lot of trouble on yourself pursuing a minor victory, such as getting even with somebody. As it has this 'angry' aspect, it might not be exactly the same as throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but I can't think of a closer one.
Best Answer
Yes, in English the idiom is for both parents to say "we are expecting [our first/a baby...]".