Every birth announcement tells a story, but some stories are more complex than others – even happy stories. Today I’m honored to share the whimsical announcements that Brooke from Paper & Parcel created for her beautiful baby boy, Cooper, and to give Brooke a chance to tell her story in her own words.

From Brooke: The first time I looked into my son’s eyes, I knew he had Down syndrome. We didn’t know prior to Cooper’s birth so the diagnosis took us by surprise. The weeks following his birth were a blur of doctor’s visits, sleepless nights, and falling head-over-heels in love with our beautiful baby boy. While most of our friends and family knew of his arrival and condition, as a stationer, I knew I had to send out birth announcements.

I wanted to design of the announcement to be as unique and special as my darling boy. Right away I knew that I wanted the design to be an envelope within an envelope. Recipients peel off the polka dotted washi tape to discover Cooper’s photo peeking out of the envelope. The back of the photo includes all his birthday stats. The photo/birthday stats and note are flat printed on 120# paper. I also wanted to incorporate fun, whimsical patterns. Both envelopes are lined with a flat printed triangle pattern and the cross-hatch pattern is letterpress printed on 220# Crane Lettra.

My husband and I felt it necessary to include a note about our little man. Learning that our son had Down syndrome was a mix of emotions – grief yet joy, sorrow yet happiness. It took a while to write the note.

My husband and I went through at least a dozen iterations before finally landing on: “Cooper came into the world a month early. As our midwife put it, “He has things to do. People and places to see.” Shortly after he was born, Cooper let us in on his little secret: he has a genetic condition called Trisomy 21, otherwise known as Down syndrome. We were shocked and confused at first. But in our son’s emerging personality, we see a young man infinitely curious about the world. His blue eyes catch on shapes and patterns that make him giggle with delight. He is tenacious and precocious and will be crawling and walking before we know it. Cooper may have Down syndrome, but it’s clear there is much more to our little man than an extra chromosome. We are delighted that he has chosen us to be his parents. Please join us in welcoming Cooper to our family.”

Such a beautiful announcement – thank you Brooke!

Design + Calligraphy: Paper & Parcel

Photo Credits: Paper & Parcel