ONE | There Are So Many Ways to Plan Ahead!
At Rejoice, you can send us an excel spreadsheet with all of
your recipients names on them MONTHS before you give birth so we can have the envelopes
printed and ready to send as soon as you’ve got the picture taken and info
ready to send to us.
TWO | Who To Send Them To
- Anyone who came to any of your showers (this is a must!)
- People on your ‘christmas card’ list, if you generally send out christmas cards
- Your pediatrician and OBGYN (don’t you always see all those birth announcements plastered around their offices?)
- All extended family members
- Unlike wedding announcements, when people will later expect an invitation, birth announcements are an excuse to reconnect with people you haven’t heard from in years, and there aren’t really ‘strings attached’ or any expectations. This can include:
- Friends from high school/college
- Your parents friends
- Former teachers/mentors you were close with
- Your neighbors (so they know to stay quiet for the next few months!)
- Anyone you’d like to share your good news with!
THREE | When To Send Them
General etiquette says as soon as possible, but let’s be
real, it may not happen the week after the baby is born. It would be best for
people to have them within three months of the birth, so if it’s past your baby’s
12 week birthday, it may be better to just add it in to the Christmas or
holiday card (but you still can send one if you want!).
FOUR | Photography – The way I look at it, there are five options
for this
- You can just use good lighting and take a few snapshots yourself
- Have a talented friend or friend with a fancy camera to take some and to maybe take some with you in them
- After you get home from the hospital, either go to a professional studio or hire a photographer to come to your house
- At many large hospitals, you can have your baby’s picture taken while still at the hospital.
My baby theory: I will say I’m not a mother, but in my lowly non-maternal opinion, I kind of think that all babies look pretty similar when they’re two
days old. While it’s super convenient to shell out some serious $$ to have
pictures of your less-than-48-hour-old baby taken, it may make sense to wait
until they’re a couple weeks old and their ‘personality’ has developed a little
more.
Check out our baby photography pinterest board for some
adorable pose ideas
FIVE | What To Include
Baby’s name
Birth weight
Birth length
Parents names
Siblings names (even pets, if they’re that important)
City/state/time of birth
Bible verse/meaningful quote
A small note/introduction
SIX | Some simple etiquette pointers
The mention of gifts of any kind is a little bit of a no-no.
No need to say ‘no gifts please’ and especially no need to mention where you’re
registered
People understand that you’re busy, so you are absolutely
not expected to hand sign each card, or hand address the envelopes. At Rejoice,
we can even print your addresses for you!
