Riverton Hospital ‘delivers’ holiday cheer to new moms this Christmas

Riverton Hospital’s Labor and Delivery unit is bringing new meaning to the term “stocking stuffer” this holiday season. Through the month of December, parents will get to take home their newborns swaddled in a Christmas stocking.

“It’s a fun holiday tradition we wanted to start for our patients,” says Tiffany Spencer, nurse manager of Labor and Delivery at Riverton. “It’s a fun and memorable way to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. What better gift could you ask for?”

Traditionally, after the baby is born, Labor & Delivery nurses will wrap him or her in a blanket and hand the little bundle over to mom. But in December, moms will receive their new babies in a soft, holiday stocking — handmade by the staff at Riverton Hospital.

Hospital volunteers worked through much of November and into early December cutting out fabric stockings while nurses in Labor & Delivery sewed the pieces together. So far, they’ve made over 80 stockings.

“It was like being in Santa’s Workshop,” says Andrea McConkie, volunteer director at Riverton Hospital. “We had over a dozen volunteers helping cut out the stockings. They loved being a part of this project and we’ll look forward this tradition each year.”

New moms love the new holiday tradition too. “It’s so cute,” says Megan Sims, a new mom of twin boys from Herriman. “It feels like they’re handing you an early Christmas present.”