I’ve gotten a couple of questions lately from prospective clients who are interested in creating and sending out a birth announcement for their new baby, but are conflicted because a few months (or more) have gone by since the baby’s birth.

So what is the etiquette for how long you have to send out a birth announcement?

Ok, before I get into the nitty-gritty, consider this:  photos of babies are cute and make people smile.  People generally do NOT find gorgeous things in their mailboxes every day that make them light up with joy.  But finding a custom designed birth announcement among all the bills and junk mail?  Guaranteed to put a smile on just about anyone’s face, no matter what kind of day they are having.

So go for it – whether your baby is 6 days old or six months old (or even older).  No-one is going to call the birth announcement etiquette police on you for this one!  I’ve never known anyone who thought it was in bad taste to receive a birth announcement with a gorgeous baby and words of good news – even if that baby is closer to turning 1 than you can believe.

Some great ways to make a birth announcement for an older baby work:

-tie the birth announcement into an upcoming holiday or season.  Obviously Christmas or Hanukkah works well, but consider others as well.  I have a cousin who sends out a photo card every spring of her daughter that usually just says something simple like “happy spring!”  There’s no real reason for it, but we LOVE it and look forward to it.

-Use a multi-photo layout for your birth announcement that shows a photo at birth and a recent photo of your baby.  Include some text like “Look How I’ve Grown” or “I’ve Been Keeping Mom and Dad Very Busy” and then the birth stats and current stats.

So don’t be shy about sending out a belated birth announcement to your family and friends.  They are sure to love it, especially those out of town relatives who may not have met your new child yet.  The birth announcement may be the first “connection” they feel to your new bundle of joy, which strengthens family bonds and will most definitely bring a moment of joy into their lives.