All Wrapped Up

Southeast Hospital OB nurses cradle some of the December babies in special Christmas stockings. From left: Kristin Branum holding Jacob Hicks, Jaimie Cannon holding twins Paisley and Christian Neader, Debra Nance holding Jaelyn Fisher and Megan Rayburn holding Hailey Jane Luckey.

At Southeast Hospital, the best Christmas gifts are decked out in bright red flannel, white "fur" trimmed stockings. They are the December newborns in the Hospital's Obstetrics unit.

Southeast has been sending home December birthday babies with a special Christmas stocking for more than 30 years. Moms and dads appreciate the holiday touch. "They love having the stocking as a memento of their special Christmas season delivery," says Women's and Children's Services Nurse Navigator Jane Unterreiner, BSN, RNC-OB. "Some parents have even personalized the stocking and hung it from their mantle every Christmas."

SoutheastHEALTH Auxiliary members lovingly create the baby-sized stockings. The latest "stocking elf" is Jean Wetzel of Cape Girardeau. She has sewed the majority of the stockings for the past several years.

"I made 100 last year and 100 this year," she says, adding that she starts collecting all the material she will need for the stockings in the middle of October. Each stocking takes about an hour to make, she notes. "I enjoy doing it," she says.

Auxiliary member Jean Devore of Jackson sewed the Christmas stockings for more than a decade. "It's quite a job, but it was fun to do," she recalls. "It puts you in the Christmas spirit."