Christmas presents come each year in a variety of shapes and sizes. For parents at MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach, Santa “delivered” their Christmas miracle in a giant, red stocking!
For more than 55 years, the Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center at Miller Children’s & Women’s has been sending newborn babies home in keepsake stockings. The giant stockings are offered to babies born between Dec. 21 and Dec. 25, and serve as a special memento for their family.
Parents even had the chance for their newborn to take their very first picture with Santa just a couple days after they were born. “I think this is a good experience for parents whose babies are born this close to Christmas,” says Joseph Polanco, new dad. “Without this event, they most likely wouldn’t get their first Santa picture until next year. I really appreciate Miller Children’s & Women’s for doing this.”
Each baby took a special picture with Santa and their care team as the new parents shared their bundles of joy.
The BirthCare Center provides compassionate, quality health care for expectant mothers and delivers more than 5,500 babies each year. Miller Children’s & Women’s has maternal-fetal medicine specialists and neonatologists in-house 24/7 to ensure a safe and healthy delivery.
“The stockings are a great way for us to spread Christmas cheer to families during their stay in the hospital and create memories that will last a lifetime,” says Marilyn Rodriguez, RN, director, clinical operations, Mother/Baby Unit, BirthCare Center, Miller Children’s & Women’s.