Santa gives big surprise to tiny babies at Baylor Grapevine

Some of the hospital’s tiniest patients and their families at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Grapevine received a jolly visitor last week.

Santa Claus came down early from the North Pole on Dec. 20 to stop by to see how the little ones were doing and have a few pictures taken.

Hospital staff said a visit from St. Nick brought a lot of smiles during what can be a stressful time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), a special care nursery.

“At Baylor Scott & White – Grapevine, we understand giving birth to a sick or premature baby can be unexpected and frightening for a parent,” said Megan Jacob, Baylor spokeswoman. “Our neonatal intensive care unit is designed to promote optimal developmental care for premature and seriously ill newborns by providing advanced life-support services and technologies.”

Santa — a nurse practitioner who hid his identity behind a big white beard — was making his list and checking it twice when he found two sets of infant twins in the NICU.

His visit included twins Xander and Connor, sons of Matt and Stephanie Cashion of Colleyville.

Connor, who is two minutes older and has blond hair, weighed 3 pounds, four ounces at birth. His dark-haired brother, Xander, weighed 3 pounds, 14 ounces.

Matt, 43, said Connor is “laid back and pretty chill” while Stephanie, 42, said his twin “is pretty rambunctious” — even before he was born — and “is going to be the troublemaker.”

Although they are fraternal twins, Stephanie said her sons who arrived eight weeks early are easy to tell apart.

“I can tell by by their faces,” Stephanie said. “Xander has my nose and Connor has his daddy’s nose.”

When Matt, an accountant for an oil company, found out they were having twins, he said, “Yup. We’ve got double trouble.”

Both lauded the care their sons have been receiving, with Matt adding, “This is an A-class facility right here.”

Another family, Jonathan and Kendra Everitt of Euless and their newborn twins, Kathryn and Kayleigh, also got a visit from Kris Kringle.

“It was great,” Kendra said.

At home with family was their 1-year-old daughter, Kristina.

Born nine weeks early, Kathryn weighed two pounds, 12 ounces and Kayleigh weighed three pounds, two ounces.

Although the girls are identical, their mother said Kayleigh is “more energetic” and Kathryn is “more laid back.”

Although her due date was Jan. 18 — about the time the preemies will get to go home — Kendra said their coming before the holidays was special.

“I think it’s kind of a blessing to be with them early,” Kendra said. “It’s a good Christmas present.”

Jonathan, who sells musical instruments, said they were touched by gifts for kids made by the staff, a big Christmas stocking for the boys and tutus for the girls. All received crocheted hats.

“Everyone here was amazing,” Kendra said.

The specialized clinicians in the hospital’s 21-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) make it their goal to provide parents with the information they need to understand their baby’s condition, possible treatments and how they can best help, Jacob said.

Its Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit combines advanced technology and highly trained healthcare professionals to provide specialized care for the tiniest patients.

They care for newborns and infants for a variety of reasons including premature births — less than 37 weeks — respiratory distress, birth defects, infections and other illnesses.

Staffed by board-certified neonatologists, specialized nurses and neonatal nurse practitioners, the hospital provides advanced life support and technologies for infants as early as 23 weeks gestation.

“Dedicated nurses, neonatal nurse practitioners, neonatologists and other specialists provide quality, compassionate care to the hospital’s tiniest and most fragile patients,” Jacob said.

This story was originally published December 20, 2016 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Santa gives big surprise to tiny babies at Baylor Grapevine."