A newborn at MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach snuggles up in an adorable giant Christmas stocking.

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 adorned with positive holiday wishes. The tradition has been upheld year after year as a way of celebrating with families and welcoming holiday babies into the world. The giant stockings are offered to babies born between Dec. 19 and Dec. 25, and serve as a special memento for their family.

The Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center provides compassionate, quality health care for expectant mothers and delivers nearly 6,000 babies each year. For high-risk pregnancies, the Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center offers a Perinatal Special Care Unit with a leading high-risk perinatal program providing constant monitoring of mother and baby. The high-risk program is designed to ensure a safe delivery and smooth transition to the level III (tertiary) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – keeping mom and baby together under one roof.

“I’ve been a part of this tradition for more than 40 years now,” says Marilyn Rodriguez, RN, director, clinical operations, Mother/Baby Unit, Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center, Miller Children’s & Women’s. “Even though I’ve seen it before, it’s just as exciting every year seeing the adorable babies welcomed into the world in such a special way.”

In 2018, Miller Children’s & Women’s became a Baby-Friendly birth facility. The initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.

Newborns adorn giant, red Christmas stockings, held by Miller Children’s & Women’s nurses, in celebration of the upcoming holiday.
Newborns adorn giant, red Christmas stockings, held by Miller Children’s & Women’s nurses, in celebration of the upcoming holiday.
Alysa and Anthony Riggins prepare to bring 2-day-old Anthony Jeremiah home for Christmas with a giant, red stocking.
Alysa and Anthony Riggins prepare to bring 2-day-old Anthony Jeremiah home for Christmas with a giant, red stocking.