LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A long-running tradition in the Norton Hospital nursery creates a happy memory for families at the hospital on holidays.

What You Need To Know

  • Nurses at Norton Hospital in Louisville take holiday-themed photos of newborns

  • The nurses take them on Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays

  • The gesture gives families a happy memory while they’re in the hospital 

  • Typically, the hospital delivers around 12-15 babies per holiday 

For the last few years, nurses in the labor and delivery department have taken holiday-themed photos of babies born on that day. This Thanksgiving is no exception.

“It’s not quite as easy as it looks, but I do think that is really special for us to think about all the families that we have maybe made a tiny little bit of a difference in their life and celebrating the birth of their new baby,” Stephanie Bowles, an assistant nurse manager at Norton Hospital said.

Bowles and fellow assistant nurse manager Ericka Hart are the ones behind this continued tradition. They say per holiday, they’ll deliver between 12 and 15 babies.

“They do turn out really cute,” Bowles said. “A lot of our moms are very excited to get them.”

The duo uses an iPhone and various props in their makeshift studio. The clothes used are donated by an area nonprofit and can be taken home by the families.

She adds over the years, she’s photographed “hundreds” of newborns.