Get inked for your new arrival! Baby tattoos are the latest trend for celebrating parenthood.

Tattoos are usually reserved for mature adults, but these days, getting inked can be part of your coming-of-age ritual. As the saying goes, What’s old is new again and that definitely rings true when it comes to parents getting body art to commemorate their babies being born. Here are the hottest baby tattoos out there right now so you can choose one that’s perfect for you!

What Are They?

Baby tattoo sleeves seem to be popular among expecting mothers and father, who often get them before their child is born. The ink on these body art designs runs from elbow to wrist and is placed with a purpose: it’s a reminder of their baby’s heartbeat or a reference to measurements taken during an ultrasound session at four months. Then, when their bundle of joy arrives, they can show off their little one with that artwork for life on a sleeveless shirt or tank top (depending on how many arms they have!). If you’re not sure about tats as part of your office attire, no worries; baby tattoos usually take up less than one-third of one arm – meaning you still have plenty of room left to show off your hard work outside (and inside) the office.

Where Do You Put Them?

There’s no wrong place to put a baby tattoo, but you should think about how you’ll feel when you look at it every day. (Hint: It might be difficult.) And if there’s any question whether or not to get one, remember that it will last forever (or until laser removal). In fact, some parents use baby tattoos as a way to help remember their kids—just don’t put something on them that they can’t cover up with clothing when they’re older. No one wants to see Christopher or Robert scrawled across your kid’s neck during gym class—that is, unless it belongs to your husband or boyfriend!

When Do You Get Them?

Traditionally, people get a tattoo to mark a milestone or important event, like graduating from college or surviving cancer. If that’s not you and you’re getting it just because it’s trendy, don’t do it—it won’t have any significance and will be meaningless a month from now, if not sooner. But if you truly want to memorialize something significant, then by all means: Get inked! Just know that while many tattoo artists believe they can permanently remove unwanted ink with laser treatments (they cannot), no doctor will approve of permanent body art until an infant is old enough to make her own decisions about personal appearance later on down the road.

Who Gets Inked?

New parents are no strangers to sleepless nights and endless diaper changes, but now a unique way to commemorate their devotion is taking off. New moms and dads are having ink applied that reflects their love of newborns—and just how much time they spend with them. So if you’re expecting a baby anytime soon, here’s a cool new way to remember all those precious moments spent together: baby-themed tattoos!

Where Can You Go For These Tattoos?

If you want to show off that you’re a parent, you can get inked at many tattoo parlors around town. Be sure to ask how long after birth you should wait before getting a tattoo, and look into what methods they use—some will simply ink over scars while others might use permanent ink or special needle types to ensure no scarring occurs (and it doesn’t hurt more than usual).

Who is Doing Them?

Parents who want to celebrate their pregnancy or their child’s birth with a body tattoo are doing so themselves rather than getting a professional inking by a tattoo artist. Tattoo shops across America report that they’re seeing plenty of pregnant women and parents with children under 3 years old wanting to get ink that fits into one of these two categories: A sentimental design representing their child (usually done on an area of skin easily covered by clothing) and/or some type of parental pun. For example, many moms-to-be get a personalized mommy tattoo on their belly as part of their pregnancy announcement and then extend it into some sort of motherly design after childbirth. Or maybe dad would like to have his baby’s name permanently etched on his arm?

Cost

Depending on where you get a tattoo, expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $500 or more per hour. It’s important to consider that most tattoos take between four and six hours depending on size and location of design on body. The length of time spent getting a tattoo is important because it affects cost: an artist’s hourly rate may vary according to whether he works quickly or takes his time, and since you’ll likely be paying by the hour you want it as painless as possible (figuratively speaking). Also keep in mind that prices are rarely static; some artists raise their rates over time while others offer frequent discounts.

Think About The Future

They’re often done on the back of an infant’s ankle, a location that’s visible but not likely to be exposed. Tattoos may seem like a crazy or unusual idea, but they make sense when you stop and think about it: It’s fun to take pictures of your little one while they grow up and look back on them later (not unlike high school yearbooks). And what better way to do that than with a photo of their own tattoo? Remember when we all got our first real jobs after college? We usually made marks on our bodies—if only with a highlighter pen—to commemorate our new status as grown-ups.

Others To Consider

A surprising percentage of people never get a tattoo, but over half of us have one already—whether we realize it or not. Tattoos often don’t become visible until you’ve spent a good amount of time and money getting them, so if you’re considering adding to your existing collection, stop by and see your tattoo artist after baby arrives! And if you don’t have any tattoos yet, try out a few different styles that could be well-suited to baby ink on you before deciding anything else. (After all, what will we tell grandma when she asks about it?)