For all new parents, the pressure is on to publicize each detail of a little one’s arrival. Gone are the days when couples would share the news of their pregnancies and deliveries with close friends and family—now, couples dream up creative ways to announce their pregnancies, stage a gender reveal, and introduce their bundles of joy to the world via social media.
If the pressure to publicize is on for us “normal” folk, it’s incredibly high for celebrities. Eager fans (like us!) love to “like” adorable pregnancy announcements, baby bump selfies, and newborn Instagram posts.
But we’ve noticed that the growing trend to share all the details is coming under fire: some celebs are bucking the trend by keeping their baby news ultra-private.
Take Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. A few months ago, we were drooling over Blake Lively’s maternity style, and on September 30th, the couple welcomed baby #2 (their daughter James is 22 months). But instead of uploading a picture of their newborn to Instagram, or releasing the gender or name of their new arrival, the couple has chosen to keep the details private. That is, until Reynolds accidentally revealed that they had welcomed a baby girl—on live television! While I totally respect their desire for privacy, I selfishly hope we get to learn the name and see a pic of this little one—because with these two as her mom and dad, I know she’ll be gorgeous!
While parents like Lively and Reynolds are keeping their babies off of social media, other parents are all too happy to share newborn pictures with their followers. Take Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis, who welcomed their second baby, Daisy Jospehine, on October 11th (big brother Otis is 2).
Wilde’s Instagram was instantly filled with adorable images of her daughter sleeping, cuddling, and even breastfeeding.
Clearly, this couple is completely comfortable with allowing us to peek into some of their most intimate moments with their new baby girl.
While we might not all face the paparazzi, we do have a public platform on social media. So like the stars, all new parents face a choice: do we post it all, or nothing at all?
Of course, there’s no right and wrong: what you decide to share is a personal decision.
But asking the following over-arching question may help you to decide if sharing on social media is for you: Do I want to share this moment with strangers? Am I comfortable with people I don’t know looking at this picture?
I struggle with the question of what to post and when to post pictures of my daughter. Below are a few helpful pros and cons to posting your baby’s pics online-
PRO: You have a chronological photographic timeline of your child’s life saved on the Internet, where no image can be lost, deleted, or destroyed (as someone who famously loses EVERYTHING, this is huge for me)
CON: No image can be lost, deleted, or destroyed—so what I post is permanent. If a pic could potentially expose or embarrass your child, it’s out there forever. Post wisely!
PRO: Posting online is an easy way to share those ridiculously cute moments and milestones with tons of family members and friends with one quick upload (as opposed to emailing them individually, or—throwback alert—printing physical copies and mailing them!)
CON: There’s a tendency to create an alternate Internet reality in which life is glossed over, filtered, and perfect. When everyone is playing this game, it quickly escalates into a competition. Beware.
Take a cue from the stars, and make a thoughtful decision about what you upload. But as someone who can’t help but “like” any baby photo on my newsfeed, I selfishly hope to continue seeing those babies on my screen!
What side do you land on when it comes to pics of your babies on social media: post all, post nothing, or somewhere in between? Let me know your take in the comments below!
