Christmas cheer is alive at the Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital with newborn babies being sent home in commemorative giant, red holiday stockings — as the ultimate stocking stuffer – a tradition that’s brightened the season for more than six decades. The stockings are given to babies born between Friday, Dec. 22 and Tuesday, Dec. 26, and serve as a special keepsake for the family.
In a holiday parade of joy, nurses donning Santa hats, festive headbands, and glowing light-up necklaces, and families wheeled a dozen bassinets into the nursery, each newborn nestled in an oversized red stocking. Families gathered to capture their newborn’s first holiday photos, turning a simple keepsake into a cherished memory.
For one family in particular this holiday experience was one that they will never forget.
“Our daughter, Fernanda, arrived a couple of days earlier than we expected, but the care team made it such a great experience and so easy,” said Fernando Hernandez, father of Fernanda. “Their compassion, constant support and the fun holiday activity of placing the newborns in giant red stockings made her arrival even more special and truly unforgettable for our family.”
The Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center delivers more than 5,500 babies each year. In addition to top-quality labor and delivery care, the BirthCare Center offers comprehensive programs for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of newborns with a range of preventive services, education, and advanced capabilities, in additional to high-risk pregnancy care. Validating this quality of care, is a recent “High Performing” rating in Best Hospitals for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report, which is the highest award a hospital can earn for U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care.
“For more than six decades, this sweet tradition has sprinkled extra holiday magic across our halls,” says Nicole Noche, RN, assistant unit manager, Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center, Miller Children’s & Women’s. “There’s nothing quite like seeing tiny newborns tucked into bright red stockings; it’s a joyful reminder of the holidays past and the new beginnings we celebrate today.”
