Birth announcements are designed to help you spread the good news.  Actually, in today’s fast-paced world, spreading the news is usually taken care of instantaneously with delivery room pictures snapped with cell phones and shared via email or Facebook.  Proud parents post pictures from the hospital, giving their loved ones a look of the new baby more quickly than has ever been possible. The role of the birth announcement, then, is a little more formal and traditional.  For those without cell phones and Facebook accounts, it provides the anticipated information about the baby.  For others, it provides a real photo that can be hung up, taped to the refrigerator, shared at work, or put into an album.

The announcements are typically sent between two and six weeks after the birth of the baby.  If they contain a photo, they are typically sent sometime within the first two months after the birth.  Sending them out as close to the birth as possible is always a great idea, but it is certainly understandable if you lag behind. You have a good excuse!

It can be helpful to have some elements of your announcements chosen before the baby is born.  You obviously can’t have them printed because you’re missing the most vital information and, of course, the baby.  But you can decide on your wording and templates.  Do you want to go with the traditional postcard style, or will you opt for a modern option like tea birth announcements or birth announcement honey? After your son is born, you can simply insert the photo, then add the relevant information, and print.

Babies tend to bring out the sentimental side of people, particularly the proud new parents.  Wording can range from very simple and concise to poetic or religious to sweet and sappy.  The key is to choose or create wording with which you are comfortable.  If you are very sentimental and verbose, “We announce the birth of our son,” that may be too curt.  If you are more reserved, rhyming couplets may not be ideal.

Here are some samples for all styles:

• It’s a boy!
• After nine months, we are happy to say, It’s a boy, and he’s ready to play!
• Our family rejoices as a new life’s begun, We are richer with the birth of our son.
• Baseball, football, soccer anyone? Look out, Little League, here comes our son!
• Our little boy is as cute as a bug. We can never resist giving just one more hug.
• We joyfully announce the birth of our son.
• We are proud to introduce our son…
• Double the trouble, double the fun,
• We’re proud to welcome our second son!
• Our home has grown by two feet!
• We made a wish and he came true.

No matter what your wording, make sure to include the vital information that your friends and family want.  The wording will only add to the charm of your announcements.

Related Content:

1. Congratulations Card Message Ideas
2. Birth Announcement Wording Ideas for Girls
3. Tips for What to Write in Thank You Notes
4. Preparing For A Second Baby

Depending on your personal style, you can make your announcements as sweet and sentimental as you like, or as short and sweet as you like.  If you are a very straightforward, decidedly non-cutesy person, try the following:

• It’s a girl!
• We are proud to announce the birth of our daughter.
• Announcing the arrival of our beloved new daughter.
• We have been blessed with a baby girl.
• We are tickled pink over the arrival of our daughter.

If your baby girl is joining siblings, rework your wording as follows:

• Sarah and Sam are proud to welcome their new sister.
• Sarah and Sam have a new sister.

These are all very direct and concise.  They convey your message clearly, and when joined by your baby’s birth information, including name, weight, height, birth date and time, it will create a beautiful announcement.  If you can’t resist sharing a little more of your sentimental side, try the following (courtesy of www.classyannouncements.com, www.mycreations2.com, and www.mykindacard.com):

• She’s a sweet treasure sent from above,

wrapped in pink and covered in love.

• Tiny hands, adorable feet,

our new daughter is incredibly sweet.

• She’s pretty in pink and oh so sweet,

from her soft little cheeks to her tiny little feet.

• So sweet, such tiny feet!

our precious baby makes our lives complete.

• Sarah doesn’t mind that she’ll have to share her throne…

She’s very excited to have a sister of her own!

Introducing our own little princess…

• Sweet as candy, good as gold, our precious baby girl, a miracle to hold.
• We made a wish and she came true.
• Our home has expanded by two feet!

There are also wording choices that may honor your family’s religious heritage.  If your child is a blessing from above, try one of the following:

• Truly a miracle, a gift from above.  We have been blessed with a child to love.
• Our hearts whispered your name and God answered.
• A star fell from heaven and landed in our arms

with all of mommy’s sweetness and daddy’s charm.

We are star struck by the arrival of…

• Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. – Psalm 127:3
• From God’s hands to ours…
• In patience and faith we waited for our miracle. And now, with love we joyfully announce the arrival of our angel.
• The heavens rejoiced, the angels sighed,

when this beautiful baby girl arrived.

• God’s most beautiful thoughts bloom into children.

There are so many wonderful possibilities, especially when you look at your new daughter.  She is sure to inspire you.  Even short and simple announcements have an eloquence to them that is unmatched when they are made personally by the proud new parents.

More on Birth Announcements:

• How to Make Cute Baby Announcements
• Homemade Baby Birth Announcement Ideas
• Five Unique Baby Birth Announcement Ideas
• How to Make a Photo Birth Announcement
• Custom Birth Announcements

You can get premade birth announcements at virtually any box, discount, or dollar store in the country, and while they can be very cute, they lack the personal touch that means so much.  Why settle for less when it is just as easy to have custom cards made?  You can either have them made and printed for you or you can create your own custom announcements with the help of an online service or simple computer program.  Either choice will result in gorgeous announcements.

There is no shortage of services that can help you create custom birth announcements.

Some options include:

• Tinyprints.com.  They have an excellent array of templates for boys, girls, twins, and multiple births.  The designs are fresh, fun, and sophisticated.  Prices start as low as 99 cents per card.
• Walmart.com. You upload your images through Walmart’s website, and they will make 5.5” x 4.25” cards with a printed message.  A set of 24 cards with envelopes is about $25.
• Smallfri.com. This site has a great variety of announcements, and they pride themselves on being “hip and modern.”  The color choices and templates are fresh and chic, perfect for the hipster baby.  Prices typically start at about $1.50 per card.
• Shutterfly.com.  Shutterfly has a mix of modern and traditional designs that are fully customizable.  Prices typically start at about 90 cents per card.
• Hallmark Card Studio Deluxe (the 2009 edition is the most popular, and less expensive than the 2010 and 2011 versions).  With this software, you can create beautiful announcements at home.  The program costs about $20, and you will obviously have to supply your own paper, ink, and envelopes.  The advantage is that you can use this program to make everything from greeting cards and announcements to banners and calendars.

The most important aspect of a custom birth announcement is undoubtedly the picture.  Many announcements now incorporate several photos of the new baby and his parents or siblings as well.  The design is up to you.  Many people prefer how black and white photos look; they tend to give the announcements an elegant, traditional look, but again, it is up to your preferences.

Also make sure to include the following information in your announcements:

• Your baby’s full name.
• The time and date of his birth.
• The location of his birth.
• Birth weight and height.
• The parents’ names.
• Siblings’ names, if any.
• A personal message.  This can be a simple, “We are proud to welcome…” or it can be a cute poem or verse.  There are many options available, and you can browse online to find the right wording or create your own.

Your custom birth announcements will be appreciated by friends and family, and they will make a great addition to your baby’s scrapbook.

The first step is to take a good digital photo of the new baby.  You can either make him/her the star of the show with a solo picture or you can take a photo with the parents.  If the baby is joining a sibling or siblings, it is a cute idea to include them in the photo with a caption like, “John and Sara are happy to welcome their new brother, Josh!” or “Sara and John have a new baby brother!”  This keeps them involved with the baby and helps them feel more a part of the events that are taking place.

Next, decide what type of birth announcements you would like to send.  You can find pre-made announcements that allow you to fill in the blanks with your baby’s information and insert a picture.  This is a perfectly fine way to announce your child’s birth, and your family and friends will appreciate it.  However, it does add a touch of class if you print, make, or have printed your own personal announcements.  This is easy to do if you have a printer and a program like Microsoft Word or, if you are a little more tech savvy, Adobe Photoshop.  There are also card making programs that will work beautifully.

If you opt to use a card making program, there are great ones, including:

• Hallmark Card Studio Deluxe 2010 ($20-$40) - Note: the 2009 version is about half the price.
• PrintMaster Greeting Cards Deluxe Version 2 ($20)
• Art Explosion Greeting Card Factory Deluxe 5.0 ($16)

The benefits of using such a program are that you will be able to easily use your photos to create a personalized announcement, and you will be able to use that same software to make cards, banners, stationary, certificates, calendars, and much more for virtually any occasion.  After you’ve designed your card, simply print them on card stock for a polished, professional look.

If you don’t have a printer, you can create birth announcements on a site such as Shutterfly.  All you need to do is decide which template you’d like.  You personalize it with your baby’s birth statistics, name, and your name or siblings’ names and add a photo. Shutterfly or the photo printing service will print the announcements on professional quality paper, and the cost is typically very affordable.

If you love to do crafts, and have some time after the baby is born, you can make your own birth announcements.  Get cardstock in the color of your choice and print or handwrite the baby’s birth information on the bottom.  Punch two holes on the top.  Print your favorite photo either at home or at a drug store (photo paper looks best) and punch two holes on the top to correspond with those on the cardstock.  Cut a piece of overlay material, like vellum, and punch the corresponding holes.  Line everything up and tie with pink or blue ribbon.  This is a very thoughtful, beautiful announcement that will be treasured by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other close friends and family.  It’s not a terribly practical idea if you need to send dozens of announcements, but it does add a special touch to a chosen few.

When you have a baby, you want to shout the news from the rooftops.  You can do that, too, but make sure to send beautiful birth announcements first!

While you can order pre-made announcements or have a printer make them for you, it is also a great activity to do yourself or to share with some close friends.  Here are some ideas for announcements that are almost as cute as your baby.

• One of the easiest ways to make cute baby announcements is to find free templates online.  You can choose the template you like, import your picture, add your child’s name, date and time of birth, height, and weight. From there, you simply review and print.  You can use photo paper for a more polished look.  These are technically pre-made, but they will save you time and money, and you can add a personalized comment in the text box.  If you are sending out 100 announcements, this is the way to go.
• If you’re not especially crafty, you can still make great homemade announcements.  One idea is to purchase some baby scrapbooking paper.  Cutting this in half will yield two good sized cards.  The patterns are cute and certainly appropriate for the occasion.  On the outside, glue a favorite baby photo. Inside, simply write (or print from your computer) your baby’s information and a nice message.  That’s it.  It’s personal, unique, and easy to do for a moderate number of recipients.
• Purchase a stack of blank greeting cards and a box of “Hello, I Am…” stickers.  Simply affix the sticker to the front of the card and write your child’s name.  Inside are his birth stats and a photo of the beautiful baby.  It is a good time to note that everyone wants a photo with their announcement!
• If your baby is willing, and sleeping, you can buy an ink pad and stamp his footprint on blank cards, with photo and birth information inside or below.  These make excellent baby keepsakes and are great to cherish later on when they have grown. If it is unlikely that your kicking baby will lie still for this, you can just get a rubber baby foot stamp.  No one needs to know!
• Vellum offers a very easy way to make elegant announcements.  Purchase fun scrapbooking paper, vellum (a filmy paper often used in wedding invitations), and double-sided tape.  Use double-sided tape to affix a large photo of your baby to the paper (if the page is 5x7, for instance, you can use a 4x6 or even 5x7 photo).  Step one is done. Next, print your baby’s name and stats on the vellum.  Check to make sure the paper is compatible with your printer and select “transparency” for the paper type.  Step two is done.  All you need to do is put two small strips of double-sided tape on the top of the photo page and affix the vellum over it.  Attach the top only so the recipients can lift the vellum and see the picture more clearly.  In place of double-sided tape, or in addition to it, you can use a blue or pink ribbon.
• You can always announce your child’s birth online.  Many parents are doing this through a website devoted to their baby or sending emails.  This is perfectly acceptable today, especially if you have a large amount of people with whom to share the news.

You could send out a photocopied picture of your baby with hastily scrawled birth information, and people would be happy.  You are playing to a friendly crowd, so don’t be afraid to experiment. You can really do no wrong. In the end, they will care about your baby’s photo, his name, and whether he is healthy and happy.

If you prefer a hospital birth, the next question is which hospital? Most care-givers have privileges in one hospital, but some use more than one. Tour each of the hospitals your care-giver uses. It also may be useful to tour other hospitals-for comparison purposes, if nothing else. You might discover that you prefer a hospital where your care-giver does not have privileges. If so, and if you do not feel a strong tie to your care-giver, you might decide to change care-givers in order to use the facilities that appeal to you. If your community has more than one hospital, you might be surprised at how different they are from one another in their facilities, policies, and philosophies of care. Most hospitals offer tours of the maternity ward. You should call the hospital itself to sign up for a tour.

What do you look for when touring a hospital? First of all, observe the atmosphere. Many hospitals have attractive private labor rooms and bathroom facilities. What provisions are there for the mother's comfort? Some have very comfortable labor beds, while others have very narrow, hard labor beds. Some provide nice touches like rocking chairs, couches where the partner can rest, showers and tubs to use for pain relief, and beanbag chairs for getting into comfortable positions. Others make no provisions at all for the comfort of mother or father.

Does the hospital have birthing rooms [attractively decorated rooms where the mother can labor, give birth, and spend time with her newborn afterward? In some hospitals, the birthing room is the only room the mother will be in throughout her entire hospital stay. In others, she labors and gives birth in the birthing room, and then goes to a postpartum room for one, two, or three days before going home. In still other facilities, she labors in one room, is moved when she is about to deliver, may go to another room to recover and then goes to still another room for the rest of her hospital stay. Currently, many hospitals are beginning to convert their maternity facilities so that a woman can labor, deliver and recover in the same room. [A so-called L.D.R. room].
Check the nursery. What does it look like? Are the mothers encouraged to keep their babies with them in their rooms, or do the babies spend most of their time in the nursery? Do the nurses seem friendly and warm? What about the person leading the tour? Is she friendly and does she answer your questions, or is she simply herding you through brusquely? [Some hospitals are so busy that they don't take potential clients on a tour of the actual facilities. In place of a tour there will sometimes be a slideshow and discussion of policies and procedures with a member of the staff.].

Ask some specific questions about admitting procedures. Ask to see the general consent forms that require your signature when you arrive at the hospital. Be sure to read these in advance and clarify any questions you may have. It is certainly not easy to read consent forms carefully if you are already in labor.

Questions about hospital procedures need to be carefully worded. For example, if you ask," What usually happens to the baby after he or she is born?" you will learn more than if you ask, "What is the hospital's procedure for routine newborn care?" There are few hospital policies on these kinds of things, but there certainly are customs, and those are what you want to know about. You may ask for a step-by-step description of what usually happens after a woman in labor arrives. Do most women have a nurse assigned to them, or do the nurses take care of more than one laboring woman at a time? Are they understaffed sometimes, and what do they do if this happens? Do women usually receive pain medications, or do many women use little or no pain medications? If a women desire to have an unmedicated childbirth, is she actively encouraged and supported in this by the nurse? Do most women receive intravenous fluids, continuous electronic fetal monitoring, and rupture of the membranes, oxytocin and episiotomies? Does the hospital have a high rate of cesarean births? Ask how cesareans usually done [for example, what type if anesthetic is usually used, and is the father encouraged to be present?] Can a woman have a vaginal birth after a previous cesarean? How long is the usual hospital stay? Is there a short-stay or early-discharge program that allows mothers and babies to go home within a few hours after birth? Does the hospital provide any kind of follow up?

Clarify the costs of labor and delivery rooms, nursery charges, postpartum care, and so forth. You also, of course, will want to check your insurance policy, if you have one, to see how much you have to pay.
Out of Hospital Births

If you are considering giving birth outside the hospital, find out what services are available in your community. Are there competent people offering home-birth care? Is there a licensed birthing center in your area?

Out-of-hospital birth is a choice only for women who are in good health and who have had normal pregnancies. Interventions are often not necessary for healthy women having normal labors, but if the need arises, the woman is transferred to the hospital. Those planning out-of-hospital births, therefore expect to labor without pain medication and without medical intervention. It must be remembered that the care-givers in out-of-hospital settings have fewer facilities [and possibly less skill] should emergency situations arise. Minutes count. How long will it take to receive adequate care?

Many women, of course, are not comfortable giving birth away from emergency medical facilities available in hospitals. This disadvantage of out-of-hospital births should be carefully considered by all women contemplating birth outside the hospital.

If you plan to make your own announcements, we do recommend that you gather the supplies, address and finish as many of the announcements as possible before the baby’s due date.  After baby arrives, you likely won’t have as much time to spend on the announcements so if time is at a premium, you could try to do just 5 or 10 announcements a day until all of them are sent to your list.  Several ideas to consider are outlined below.  Making the announcements can be very fun and a great way to let your creativity shine!  

1)     Create a postcard birth announcement with your baby’s footprint.  You can buy plain white postcards and either a pink for a girl or light blue stamp pad for a girl at just about any office supply store (if you don’t know the sex of the baby, either buy one of each or buy the stamp pad after the baby is born).  You can pre-address and stamp all the postcards prior to the due date.  After the baby is born, use his/her foot on the stamp pad and then stamp the front of each postcard.  Your friends and family will all be thrilled to have their very own copy of the baby’s foot.  We recommend doing this one day when the baby is taking a nap.  Then just write the baby’s name and any statistics you want to include on the back of the postcard.  Or add one of these clever sayings: ‘Ten Little Toes, Each One As Precious As The Other’, ‘We’ve Increased The Size Of Our Home By Two Feet’ (you should use both of your baby’s feet on the card),  or ‘We Have Ten New Toes To Tickle’.

2)     Create a photo baby announcement.  After the baby is born, buy a baby t-shirt with his/her birth information and then take photo of them in the t-shirt.  If the baby has older siblings, you could include them by purchasing “I’m The Big Brother/Sister” t-shirts as well and then take the photo of all the children.  These shirts can be purchased at many online at stores including Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets. Buy postcard paper – three hole punch the photo and then tie together with ribbon.

3)     Using greeting card software, type the baby’s name and birth statistics right onto a picture post card featuring your new baby. Print addresses on the reverse, stamp and mail for a no-hassle, no envelope birth announcement.

1) Cookie Birth Announcements from CookieGiftBaskets.com. It’s like getting two gifts and one – a unique outline of all the baby details along with an edible photo cookie that the recipient can savor. We can’t think of a sweeter way to announce the new little baby boy or girl. You just send in a digital image of baby and they’ll print it on edible paper that is adhered to an extra large fresh-baked cookie. You can choose frosting colors and ribbon colors to match the photo or gender of the baby.

2) Candy Wrapper Announcements from Welcome Baby or another candy wrapper vendor. These candy wrappers are available in numerous colors and themes ranging from Noah’s Ark to Yellow Duckies. You can even get a photo of your little one added to some of these customized wrappers that also include the baby’s information like name, weight and birthdate. What a sweet way to announce the arrival of your little sweetie pie! Usually the vendor prints the labels on glossy paper which is then wrapped around the chocolate bar of your choice – milk, dark, Ghirardelli mint, milk chocolate and almond, etc. Mailers are often available so that you can either drop these birth announcements in the mail or hand them out to friends and family.

3) Coffee & Tea Birth Announcements from Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets. Whether you’ve had a sweet little baby girl, bouncing baby boy or set of twins, this company has a coffee or tea packet that is appropriately themed. Pink stripes, blue stripes, baby carriages and teddy bears are just a few of the motifs available to let your friends and family know the big news. Each coffee or tea packet includes the baby’s name and birthdate. They even have an adorable ‘New Additions To Our Line’ theme that is perfect for multiples. Again, these fun and unique announcements can either be dropped in the mail or given out by hand.

4) Baby Announcement Photo Magnets from The Magnet Queen. These unique birth announcements will be displayed on the refrigerators of friends and family for years. They won’t soon forget your child’s birthday! Each magnet is customized with the child’s photo along with their birth information and name (that you supply). Magnets are available in numerous sizes and come with matching envelopes making it easy to send them via the US Postal Service.

5) Personalized Honey Jars from Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets. These little jars are literally the sweetest birth announcement available! Small glass jars are filled with pure clover honey and then a custom label featuring the baby’s name and birthdate is applied to make these announcements extra special. Numerous colors and themes are available including a clever ‘Bee Loved’ jar with a bee carrying a bundle of joy on the label.

Add your favorite Birth Announcement Idea or join the discussion on our DIY Baby Announcements message board.