For more than six decades, Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach has upheld a heartwarming tradition: wrapping newborns born between December 23 and December 26 in festive Christmas stockings.
A Special Holiday Tradition
The oversized stockings are carefully placed around the babies, creating a memorable keepsake to celebrate their first Christmas. After being swaddled in the stockings, the newborns are then gently returned to their parents.
“It was beautiful,” said Hivon Quezada, a local mother who witnessed the tradition firsthand. “I liked it—it was such an amazing experience.”
Quezada’s newborn son, Andre Armani, peacefully lay in his giant red stocking on Monday morning, eagerly awaiting his first journey home.
A Full-Circle Moment
Nearby, another baby added to the festive atmosphere with his cries, filling the room as he too was wrapped in a Christmas stocking. For the Cardwell family, the moment was especially meaningful. Seth Cardwell, the father, had been part of the same holiday tradition over 40 years ago when he was born at the same hospital.
“We thought for sure he would come on Christmas, but we’re grateful that he’s able to join our family and his siblings right before,” said Ahrisa Cardwell, Seth’s wife. “He’s so precious.”
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