What are birth announcements for?

[englishteacheralex]

Beyond...you know, announcing the baby.

Every friend I have who's had a baby always promptly sends out an adorable card with a picture of baby and an announcement with the kid's stats. I know from experience with Christmas cards that if we choose to do this it's going to run at least $50 including postage, and I just would rather not spend the money on this. Am I a bad parent if I don't do birth announcements? Am I missing something? Am I going to regret it if I don't bother? Will my kid grow up and think I don't love her when she finds out?

[MrsDinero]

If not doing birth announcements makes you a bad parent, then you have company with me.   I didn't do birth announcements for any of my kids.  I posted a picture on facebook, emailed photos to relatives not on FB and called it good.

I honestly do not know how people even do birth announcements right after the birth.  I was such a hot mess after giving birth that I considered myself good if I showered every day.

[little_brown_dog]

We didn't do birth announcements. If you use facebook or instagram, then boom. A pic, the baby's name and weight, and you have your free and immediate birth announcement. Takes a fraction of the effort and is far more efficient. Of course, you have to be cool putting a pic of the bub up there, but most parents are fine with it.

If you want to do the traditional announcements (say for grandparents) Walmart does them for $10 per 25 or something ridiculously cheap.

[I'm a red panda]

I am taking Frugalwoods Christmas card advice for my birth announcements.  I'm printing postcards, not "birth announcements" on vistaprint (cheap; $7.49 for 50- and yes, I really do need that many; my family is huge) and mailing them using a postcard stamp (way cheaper, especially with the rate hike).  To my mother, MIL, and grandmother in law I will put the card into an envelope to protect the photo.

But mainly, for my family, it is a social norm. People would be insulted if they did not get a birth announcement.
90% of people throw them away after thinking "cute baby", but if they don't get it- major uproar.  But some people keep them on the fridge for years.

But it will cost us under $30 for the whole shebang and keep the family happy.  No one lives near us, so very few people will actually see the baby as an infant.

[Guesl982374]

Don't bother. Email, Facebook, etc. work just fine.

[Guesl982374]

I am taking Frugalwoods Christmas card advice for my birth announcements.  I'm printing postcards, not "birth announcements" on vistaprint (cheap; $7.49 for 50- and yes, I really do need that many; my family is huge) and mailing them using a postcard stamp (way cheaper, especially with the rate hike).  To my mother, MIL, and grandmother in law I will put the card into an envelope to protect the photo.

But mainly, for my family, it is a social norm. People would be insulted if they did not get a birth announcement.
90% of people throw them away after thinking "cute baby", but if they don't get it- major uproar.  But some people keep them on the fridge for years.

But it will cost us under $30 for the whole shebang and keep the family happy.  No one lives near us, so very few people will actually see the baby as an infant.

Thanks for the tip. I haven't been able to convince DW to drop the Christmas card habit yet but will look into this next year.

[gipsygrrl]

I have an almost 2-year-old and I had to sit and think really hard to even remember if I sent announcements... I was in such a fog that whole first year. It turns out I didn't. I like Xmas cards though, so I sent those out with the baby's pic on them (he was 6 mos. at the time). But, yeah, the formal announcement card just blew me right by. Oops.

What I did do was one of those photo memory books at the end of his first year. I put in all the baby pics, monthly pics, etc. and had copies made for all the grandparents. It was a hit.

[brycedoula]

I am taking Frugalwoods Christmas card advice for my birth announcements.  I'm printing postcards, not "birth announcements" on vistaprint (cheap; $7.49 for 50- and yes, I really do need that many; my family is huge) and mailing them using a postcard stamp (way cheaper, especially with the rate hike).  To my mother, MIL, and grandmother in law I will put the card into an envelope to protect the photo.

But mainly, for my family, it is a social norm. People would be insulted if they did not get a birth announcement.
90% of people throw them away after thinking "cute baby", but if they don't get it- major uproar.  But some people keep them on the fridge for years.

But it will cost us under $30 for the whole shebang and keep the family happy.  No one lives near us, so very few people will actually see the baby as an infant.

Thanks for the tip. I haven't been able to convince DW to drop the Christmas card habit yet but will look into this next year.

I used Shutterfly to get Christmas photo cards printed last year (I paid for the cards & plain envelopes were included - so you won't have to spring for envelopes, only postage). It's similar to Vistaprint, but maybe(?) a little more $$ depending on where you live and what you want. Next year I plan to try out Vistaprint if I remember. PRO TIP: something is ALWAYS on sale, so you don't ever have to pay full price for items.

I've heard that Costco is also a very economical option, if you (or someone you know) has a membership.

I do agree that sending out photo announcements (Christmas cards/whatever) is very much a frivolity, but they are a nice, physical way (as opposed to digital) way to introduce your new baby to far-flung friends and family.  Especially considering how fast a newborn baby goes from looking like a squished potato to a proper baby to a toddler!

[PharmaStache]

We did newborn/family pics which was $200.  Printed out the announcement on 4x6 photos so that was cheap.  Hand delivered to most people, mailed around 15 so postage for that.  They serve as thank you cards as well- wrote a message on the back for those who gave us gifts.  Pretty sure thank you cards are still mustachian ;)