PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Any stay in the NICU can be stressful for parents, but a nurse at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital is trying to bring a little cheer to those families this holiday season.
A hospital room is the Bolling family's normal this Christmas.
"Laurel is seven and a half weeks old. She was born at 30 weeks, and she has been here growing ever since," said Miriam Bolling.
Bolling's daughter is in the NICU at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
Still, these families are getting a taste of the holiday season, thanks in part to Laura Straub, the NICU nurse behind their Elf on the Shelf project.
“It does take a lot of time, but it is so fun to see the joy and happiness it brings to families, staff," said Straub. "It’s something we look forward to every December just because it makes everybody so happy, and it embodies the holiday spirit basically.”
Straub sets up hospital scenes with Barbies while welcoming in the elf that joins them every December.
"Sometimes the scenes change daily, and sometimes if it’s a very big, intricate thing, it might be there for a few days with just subtle changes," said Straub. "The elf’s very busy and has a lot to do.”
They even have miniature items that are replicas of what they use in their NICU.
This elf is aware of infection prevention protocols, so it can't go back to all the besides, instead it usually visits right at the front desk.
“Our babies don’t know if their room’s decorated, they don’t know if we’re doing these celebrations, but their parents and their siblings in their families do, and it’s really important to them and really fun for them that we help bring that joy into the NICU, which is their little home and their nursery for the time being," said Straub.
The nurse's efforts don't go unnoticed, spreading cheer to families who need it most.
"Our normal every day is coming into a premature baby, then holding a little, bitty baby, and seeing the elf with all of the little baby dolls and all the formula and all the things, it makes it more normal, but it’s still Christmas," said Bolling.
