Seasonal newborns

Ruth Campbell/Herald-Tribune. Pictured with three festively dressed babies born Dec. 14 at Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott, Kan., are registered nurse Bev Nelson, Dr. Amy Sachau, who practices family medicine and obstetrics at Mercy, and RNs Cynthia Yartz, Lordina Needham and Nancy Durnal.

Five babies were ensconced this past week in fleecy red Christmas stockings, thanks to the handiwork of Mercy Health Center Auxiliary member R. Caroline Lowery.

Lowery has been making the stockings for about five years. She's also on the Care Bears Committee, with which she sews and distributes bears to pediatric patients. All babies from after Thanksgiving to Christmas Day receive a stocking, Mercy spokeswoman Tina Rockhold said.

This year, Lowery said she made 24 stockings -- in small, medium and large -- based on figures from Mercy's obstetrics department. The first time she made one, she tried it on a newborn and that gave her the idea for the tradition.

Three of the babies born Dec. 14 had their photos taken -- Wyatt Chandler DeLaughder, Harper Brin Newell and Carter Reid Hensley.

Wyatt, the son of Rhonda and Rusty DeLaughder, weighed 7 pounds, .37 of an ounce, and was 20 inches long at birth.

Harper is the daughter of Brooke L. Newell. She weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces and was 19 inches long at birth.

Carter weighed 7 pounds, .15 of an ounce, and was 21.5 inches long at birth. Each baby's arrival is heralded by a short lullaby played over the public address system at the hospital.