New baby cards
What to write in a new baby card for a friend
For a friend who has just had a baby. Lines that are about them as well as about the baby.
Congratulations. You are going to be so good at this, and on the days you are certain you are not, I will be telling you otherwise.
HeartfeltWelcome to the world, little one. You have landed with genuinely excellent people.
HeartfeltSo happy for you both. Bringing food on Thursday, staying eleven minutes, absolutely not expecting the house to be tidy.
HeartfeltCongratulations! Do not forget that you are also a person in all this. I am asking after you, not the baby.
HeartfeltCongratulations! Your new manager is extremely demanding, pays nothing, and you will adore them anyway.
FunnyCongratulations to you both. Sleep was overrated and you were getting far too much of it.
FunnyWelcome to the world. Your parents have no idea what they are doing, and neither did anyone else's.
FunnyCongratulations! So happy for you both.
ShortWonderful news. Love to all three of you.
ShortWelcome to the world, little one.
ShortCongratulations on the arrival of your baby. Wishing your family every happiness.
FormalWith warmest congratulations on your wonderful news, and best wishes to you all.
Formal
Almost every card a new parent receives is addressed, in effect, to the baby. That is lovely for about the first eleven cards. What friends can offer that nobody else does is a message aimed squarely at the adult, who has just been through something enormous and has become largely invisible in the process.
Say something about who they are and who they will be at this. Then, ideally, offer one specific thing rather than a general offer of help — a meal on a named day, a walk, an hour of holding the baby while they shower. "Let me know if you need anything" is warm and never gets taken up.
Three things worth getting right
- Address at least one sentence to your friend rather than the baby.
- Offer something specific with a day attached. Vague offers politely die.
- Say they are doing well. Nobody tells new parents this, and all of them need to hear it.
Common questions
What do you write to a friend who had a difficult birth?
Centre them, not the baby, and do not ask for the story. "Thinking of you, so glad you are both here, I will call in a couple of weeks and not before" acknowledges what happened without requiring them to narrate it to yet another person.
What do you write for a second or third baby?
Mention the older sibling by name, and make the joke about the parents rather than the newborn. Second-baby cards are noticeably thinner on the ground than first-baby ones, and parents notice, so the effort counts for more the second time round.
One card, signed by everyone
You have the words. Card Event collects everyone else in one link, with photos, video and voice notes, and no app or account for the people signing.
Start a cardWriting to someone else?
All card wording guides — lines for a friend and everyone else