Baby Announcements

Once you’ve made the decision to send birth announcements, deciding when to send them is important. Here’s a little on the whole birth announcement etiquette.

Basically the rule is to send them as soon as you are able. Some parents wait six weeks, others six days. Some people plan their announcements two to three months in advance of the birth. They have the envelopes addressed and stamped and the design and general wording all picked out. They just have to choose an image and upload to the online printer and they are good to go.

But life isn’t always so well organized is it? The latest date I have found online is six months from the baby’s birth. Any later than that and they may seem like a strange thing to send people. People understand being busy but if you are not starting to get things on schedule by six months well…

But seriously, the birth announcement is a formal declaration of birth to the people that matter in the baby’s life. Those people deserve the respect of receiving an announcement within the first couple of months after your baby is born. In fact, as for most parents, this is the time the baby will sleep the most, making it ideal for finishing up the birth details such as photo albums and birth announcements.

Be sure to send out all your birth announcements at the same time. This prevents people from thinking they are not as important as the next person because they received an announcement two weeks after another family member. Order enough announcements and have the mailing list prepared in advance so that everyone receives their announcement within the same week.

A new mom is a busy person trying to get everything organized and keep everyone happy. Show respect and good etiquette by printing and mailing birth announcements as quickly after the birth as you can manage without putting yourself out. Everyone will appreciate your effort and take it as a sign that the new proud parents and baby are doing well.

Filed under: Uncategorized on March 18th, 2010