Doctor Has A Special Gift He Gives Every New Mother That Moves Them To Tears

Minnesota resident Lacie Hietalati, who was working as a certified paraoptometric at an EyeCare Center, was beyond excited when she found out she had a bun in the oven in 2018. She had a few important decisions to make.

When it was time to officially prepare for the birth of her child, Lacie and her husband chose to deliver at the Riverwood Healthcare Center. Family medicine doctor Dr. Erik Bostrom would be the one to deliver her firstborn. She was confident — he was not.

See, the then 33-year-old Dr. Bostrom graduated from medical school at the University of Minnesota and had only been working at Riverwood for about two years, making him the “new guy,” which the doc was a bit self-conscious about.

But Lacie was more than pleased with her physician. “When it came to my questions of labor and delivery and being a first-time parent, Dr. Erik Bostrom was always so patient and understanding,” Lacie said. There was something special about this doc.

“We felt so comfortable and confident with [Bostrom], and the OB nurses were phenomenal,” Lacie continued. And when it was all said and done, Lacie gave birth to a baby girl, whom her and her husband named Reese.

Reese’s two-week checkup was approaching, where Dr. Bostrom would request feedback from the Hietalatis regarding her sleeping and eating patterns and habits, as well as weigh and measure her once again. They had to make sure little Reese was developing flawlessly.

While Lacie was excited and a bit anxious about the routine checkup, Dr. Bostrom aimed to make it a pleasant, meaningful visit. “I just thought I had to do something to try and get patients to come [and] see me as the new guy,” he said.

See, Dr. Bostrom refused to be that monotone doc who scribbles on notepads and nods to patients’ common concerns; he wanted to build a unique, personal bond with his patients and their families, going far beyond what his job description requires.

And he aimed to achieve this special connection via… crafting! Dr. Bostrom, an experienced woodworker, wanted to make personalized gifts for each of his newborn patients, but struggled to think of something appropriate.

When a colleague suggested he make each newborn a customized baby blanket, the doc wasn’t too confident he could pull it off. “I’ve sewn a lot of people, a lot of skin. But I never sewed fabric,” he explained to the The Star Tribune with a giggle. How different could sewing cotton versus human flesh be?

Well, the doc would soon find out, as he immediately went to the wonderful world of YouTube in search of sewing tutorials and got additional pointers from his mother and sister-in-law, who happened to own a small business making decorative pillows.

“They taught me how to use a sewing machine. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be,” Dr. Bostrom said. His blankets initially featured “cuddly fabric” on one side and a warm flannel fabric on the other, but eventually boasted more intricate detailing.

He started sending the blankets out to be professionally embroidered, getting each baby’s name, birthday, weight, and length sewn into the fabric. But when his trusty embroiderer moved away, Dr. Bostrom taught himself to work some magic.

Of his new embroidering machine, the doctor said, “The best part of it in my mind is that it was made by Husqvarna, and that’s the same brand as my chain saw. And I thought it was cool that I could cut down trees and sew baby blankets with the same brand of equipment.”

Dr. Bostrom, who’d delivered approximately 240 babies as of 2018, spends approximately three to five hours on each blanket, the embroidery boasting about 20,000 stitches. Because efficiency is key, he sews a few blankets simultaneously and focuses on the personalized embroidery later on.

And after spending all that time on baby Reese’s blanket, the doc couldn’t wait to see Lacie’s face when he revealed his surprise baby gift. “At [Reese’s] two-week checkup appointment, [Bostrom] came in and then he said, ‘I have something.’ And he brings out this beautiful pink blanket,” Lacie explained to Fox 9.

She was stunned, touched by his warm gesture. “It’s a beautiful blanket. It’s something [my daughter will] cherish her entire life. He takes the extra time out of his busy schedule to do this for his patients. That’s a lot. He will be our doctor from now on,” she continued.

These genuine reactions made Dr. Bostrom’s little reputation worth keeping up. “They’re usually pretty excited. A couple of them have teared up on me,” he said of the new mothers. And because word got around regarding his personalized blanket gifting, the doc figured “a fair number of moms are kind of expecting it.”

The family medicine doctor was surprised at his ability, as well as how much he enjoyed the crafty hobby. “Three years ago, if you had told me I would be creating gifts for people by sewing, I would have laughed at you. But making something for someone makes it that much cooler.”

“I’m getting married in May, and my fiancée is expecting me to make these for our children,” Dr. Erik Bostrom continued.