I consider myself to be a very sentimental person. I cherish the little things and hold treasures, memories, and keepsakes dear to my heart. If you read my post on pregnancy keepsake ideas, then you’re well aware of how much I love all the special little items that mark pregnancies and the arrival of new babies into this world. In that post, I included a section on birth announcements for after little ones arrive! I love the birth announcement my parents did for me when I was born so I always knew I wanted to do birth announcements of my own for my darling babies when they arrived.
Pregnancy announcements are memorable for both parents and babies as they are a lovely treasure to see when babies grow up! Birth announcements seem to be a dying tradition but I’m determined to not let the tradition die on our little family. I swoon for any and everything paper (designing our wedding paper was one of my favorite parts of the wedding planning process) so this added to my desire to do a birth announcement for Rowan. I’ve rounded up 10 great baby announcement ideas in this post for anyone with a similar affinity for paper and marking life’s milestones and memories.
13 Great Baby Announcement Ideas
Holiday Birth Announcement
Since Rowan was born at the end of September, we took his newborn photos in mid-October. We then received the adorable photos back at the end of October. Suddenly, there wasn’t enough time to do a birth announcement and a Christmas card because we would essentially be sending them at the same time or back to back. So, I set out to find a holiday birth announcement that would satisfy both needs, a birth announcement and a Christmas card. A holiday birth announcement is a great way to share the news of your little one’s arrival that isn’t just social media!
I found the most adorable card in the world from Dogwood Hill that we are sending out this year! I am in love with it! Dogwood Hill has an entire section of holiday birth announcements if you find yourself in a similar timeline situation to mine or if you have a holiday baby born in November or December. They are beyond precious. I know our 2020 Christmas card will go down as one of my most favorite Christmas cards ever because it’s also Rowan’s official welcome to the world announcement! I’m so excited that our friends and family are receiving the baby announcements now!
I also found a few Christmas themed birth announcements from Dear Eloise that are too precious not to share: one / two / three / four.
P.S. See our past Christmas cards are here: 2017, 2018, and 2019).
Ribbon Birth Announcements
I’d love to do a ribbon birth announcement for a baby someday. Before the internet and photo cards becoming so easy online, parents used to do way more ribbon cards and mounted photo cards. They are so beautiful and definitely remind me of passed generations, which I love. Ribbon cards can get a bit pricey but the ribbon element really adds to making a birth announcement feel like a keepsake.
I found a handful of ribbon birth announcements from Dear Eloise that my heart just melts over. Ribbon birth announcements for littles: one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten.
Crest Birth Announcements
Crests are timeless because they go back to family crests. So, it’s a really nice motif to bring into a birth announcement. If you are a monogram lover too, then a crest birth announcement is your first chance to show off your new baby’s beautiful initial or monogram as crests for birth announcements often involve one or the other. Crest birth announcements are usually a bit more fanciful than a more simple or traditional monogram birth announcement (never fear, I have those below!).
I found a handful of crest birth announcements that make my heart sing: one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen.
P.S. If crests are your thing, I wanted to give my girlfriend Markey a shoutout because she does the most beautiful custom crests that can be used for any and all of your paper needs!
Monogram & Initial Birth Announcements
As they say, if it’s not moving, monogram it! Well, birth announcements are a great opportunity to share your baby’s monogram loudly and proudly. I often gravitate toward monogram birth announcements because they can be either super cute and girlier or can be super straightforward and more masculine. So, they work for baby boy or baby girl birth announcements.
I found a handful of monogram birth announcements that pull at my heartstrings: one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen / eighteen / nineteen / twenty / twenty-one.
Gold Foil Birth Announcements
I have done a gold foil Christmas card before and loved it! The gold foil adds a little something extra to cards or announcements. If you want your birth announcement to have that extra punch but you aren’t interested in ribbons, then gold foil is a great option.
I found a handful of beautiful gold foil birth announcements that will make your birth announcement shine: one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten.
Traditional Photo Birth Announcements
There are tons of straightforward, simple, traditional photo birth announcements like these two that I love: one / two. If you want a birth announcement that isn’t a theme or is on the less is more side, then I suggest looking here, here, here, or here!
Animal Theme Birth Announcements
Animal themes are always sweet when done with littles. I had a farm theme nursery when I was a baby, which was so cute! Animal theme nurseries, nursery art, milestone cards, and baby announcements are all always precious! I found some super cheerful animal theme birth announcements below.
I found a handful of animal theme birth announcements that will make your heart go a flutter: one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten.
Stork Theme Birth Announcements
I’m honestly surprised I didn’t find more stork theme birth announcements. The stork is such a classic baby theme. I think the three I found below are super sweet if you want to play up the stork theme.
I found a handful of stork theme birth announcements that will have you in a tizzy: one / two / three.
Nautical Birth Announcements
A nautical theme for a birth announcement feels like such a natural fit to me. Like with the stork theme, I’m surprised I didn’t find more nautical birth announcements. I found so few that it didn’t really need it’s own section but I’m so smitten with the nautical birth announcements that I did find that I kept the section.
I found a handful of nautical birth announcements that will have you jumping for joy: one / two / three / four.
Floral Birth Announcements
There are so many gorgeous floral-forward birth announcements out there. I tried to contain myself and only include a few of my favorite options below! I included block print florals, watercolor florals, and more.
And I found a handful of feminine floral birth announcements: one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten.
Religious Birth Announcements
I don’t think there is any greater proof of God’s greatness than arrival of a perfect little baby boy or baby girl. The birth of a baby is the best excuse to rejoice and praise the Lord so I really love the religious birth announcements that I found below!
I found a handful of beautiful religious birth announcements to help you rejoice the arrival of your new one: one / two / three / four / five / six.
Bow Theme Birth Announcements
Bows and babies go hand-in-hand so I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a bow section. I actually came across a bunch more bow theme birth announcements but limited it below to my ten favorites. Bows are most commonly associated with baby girls but I found some super cute bow theme birth announcements for boys too!
I found a handful of precious bow theme birth announcements: one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten.
Transportation Theme Birth Announcements
You might be thinking “hmmm transportation theme announcements? I don’t know about that.” I don’t blame you for thinking that! It reads like an odd baby announcement theme, which is why I almost didn’t include this section/ However, I thought these four announcements that I found were simply too cute not to share. Think trains and hot air balloons… so cute for kiddos!
I found these four surprisingly sweet transportation theme birth announcements: one / two / three / four.
Where to Shop for Birth Announcements
Local! If you want your birth announcement to be extra special, then take the opportunity to create it through a local paper and stationery shop or artists. It is a wonderful way to support local, small businesses! Here in Charleston, I suggest Studio R Design (they did my wedding paper!), Julie King Studio, and Ashley D Studio.
Baby Announcement Q&A Tips & Tricks
Is It Really Necessary To Send Printed Birth Announcements In Our Digital Age?
Necessary? No. Special? Yes! You’ll be sharing the joyous big news of your little one’s arrival over email, text, phone, and Instagram so the birth announcement won’t be the way anyone finds out you’ve had a baby. However, a baby announcement is much more than a way to share your baby news. It is a treasured keepsake to save forever. Loved ones like grandparents will love the sentimental value of a tangible baby birth announcement. I think it’s important to mark milestones with more than just an Instagram post. Your little one is no doubt the love of your life and your pride and joy so why not channel that into a beautiful paper birth announcement?
When After Baby’s Birth Do You Send Birth Announcements?
There is a lot to paper etiquette! Traditional etiquette for birth announcements advises that you send them in the first six months of your baby’s life. Of course, your loved ones understand that new parents are very busy and sleepy so no one will mind if you send them out a little after the six month mark.
Can You Prepare Birth Announcements Before Baby Arrives?
Absolutely! If you work with a local stationery shop or artist, you can fully design the announcement pre-baby when your little love is just a bun in the oven. After your baby arrives, you can just fill in the missing information (name, length, weight, etc.). If you find a birth announcement online, then you can select one or two of your favorites before the baby makes his/her debut. This way, you don’t have to shift through all the options when the baby is born and keeping your hands full. Of course, this can be trickier if you are waiting to find out the gender of your baby until birth.
What Do You Include On A Birth Announcement?
I think this is up to the parents. You can go more traditional with it or keep it a little more casual. On more informal birth announcements, include baby’s name, birthdate, time of birth, weight, and height. On more formal birth announcements you can include extra information like the place of birth, the parents’ full names, and even the names of family members including siblings and grandparents. You can make your birth announcements what you want them to be!
Do Birth Announcements Have To Include A Photograph? When Do You take Newborn Photos?
Birth announcements absolutely do not have to include a photograph. Although, people are always dying to see babies so I prefer announcements that do include a photograph. The photos don’t need to be professional because iPhone images are pretty great quality these days. However, if you do choose to take newborn photos, I included a bit of information on then next.
Newborn photos are typically taken about 3 weeks after babies are born. This give parents a little time to recover but your baby is still very much a precious, sleepy, newborn. After having Rowan, I can confirm that the first few weeks of your baby’s life go by in a blur. I’m so glad we set aside time to take professional newborn photos and do a little photo shoot at our house. Otherwise, I’m not sure we would have properly documented that stage of Rowan’s life, which would make me so sad! I truly love looking back at his newborn photos (I look at them just about everyday!).
P.S. Have you seen our newborn photos of Rowan!?
I hope this post gave you some inspiration when it comes to baby announcement cards or encouraged you to do a birth announcement for your baby. There are so many fun ways to announce the arrival of your beautiful baby but a paper birth announcement is without a doubt the most special.
