Friday, July 02, 2010

To Announce or Not to Announce

There are things that matter and there are things that don't matter. And guess which ones I spend most of my time fretting over.
Ever since I was pregnant with Hazel, 5 1/2 years ago, I have been admiring baby announcements. I pore and scroll through page after page on websites like Shutterfly, Tiny Prints, Metro Baby Cards, etc. I drool over graphic designs. I jot item numbers and font names, then lose the papers they are written on. Time passes. The baby gets older. Vitals are shared with friends and family by email, and this time around, blog. I never have the right picture. (And any cute ones already get posted on the blog.) My camera sucks, I need a new one. More time passes. And then the window is gone. The baby is big. And anyone who cares knew long ago that she was born. Next time, I tell myself. I'll do them next time. When I have more time. A better camera. More money.
I KNOW birth announcements don't matter. Or do they? They are expensive. Frivolous. Redundant. And beautiful.
So which is it? Are they worth it? When is too late? Who do they go to? How perfect does the picture have to be?
Why exactly can't I shake my unfulfilled obsession with birth announcements? Do I just like looking at them or would I actually feel better if I got some? These are the questions.

4 comments:

Lindsay said...

I always regretted that I didn't do birth announcements for Garrett, and I vowed that I would for my next child. I did (as you know), and when I was working with Ashley to design Caleb's, I also had her design one for Garrett. I wasn't planning to send that one out (because it was like two years too late), but now I could say that he had an announcement, too. I don't know. Birth announcements might be something frivolous, but at the same time, they're not, you know? I say go for it, and if you want to make things even for your girls, order a couple for Hazel and Ginger, too. :)

Emily said...

We struggle with this, too. You'd think with having a husband as a graphic designer, it would be a no-brainer, but he was always so worried about making it good enough (and, like you, that his camera isn't good enough) that it never happened.

GR82BAMOM said...

I, too, regretted not having them done for Liam. I echo Emily's feelings on the graphic designer husband. I should have just done it myself and not waited until the time passed. I vote that you go ahead and do them for Poppy and a couple for Hazel and Ginger for keepsakes. I don't think it would be unthinkable to send out the three announcements just to your closest family.

Disco Mom said...

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem! And Lindsay, that is a great idea. I don't know why I never even thought of having some made anyway for the older girls. It is a lot of pressure to pick a picture, pick a design, but not impossible.

I read on Design Mom that she was too perfectionist so she outsourced her announcements even though she is a designer. Again, a lot of pressure to make it just right.

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