Luanda Azevedo holds her newborn Oliver who weighs 5 pounds 8 ounces. "He's just so precious, they are so perfect at the same time."
This is Luanda's second child, but this time she's getting an extra gift she didn't get before. It's a sign outside of her hospital room with Oliver's name. "I think it makes us feel very welcome and makes my baby feel special."
The hospital wanted to add the extra personalized touch-- hoping mom and baby and the entire family bond before leaving the hospital.
"I think that there's a little bit of time after you deliver that there's a little bit of fear, there's some uncertainty and it's something about the way the hospital says we have embraced your baby," said West Boca Medical Center Volunteer Coordinator Debbie Lindsay.
Before long, every mother was requesting a keepsake sign.
"They are so warmed by it and the dads too. They will come out and snap photographs and they will say 'thank you' and I can tell they are texting it to people," said Lindsay.
Teen volunteers like Tatiana Cavarretta use paper, buttons, ribbon and plenty of creativity. "They're kind of surprised to see the kind of detail into their child being born just to bring a splash of joy to their lives like they care that I just had a baby. And they want to show my baby off in the hall and like, 'oh here's my baby.' "
Volunteers make sure to have some pre-made signs on hand, but most of the time it's still not enough to meet the high demand.
"When we started out, we were making maybe anywhere from 30 to 50 signs a month. And we are up to 500 a month now," Lindsay said.
For mothers like Luanda Azevedo, these are unforgettable memories. "I will probably keep it with his things from the hospital."
