Every baby that Dr. Erik Bostrom delivers at Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin, Minnesota, goes home with a parting gift: a blanket made by the doctor himself.
Bostrom is a family medicine doctor, not an obstetrician, but because he works in a rural area, delivering babies is part of the job. When the 33-year-old arrived at the hospital two years ago, he told a colleague he wanted to do something that helped him connect with patients, and they told him he should sew each baby a blanket. Bostrom is a woodworker, but decided to give sewing a shot, asking his mom and sister-in-law for assistance.
He learned how to use a sewing machine, and about a year later, taught himself how to embroider, adding each baby's name, date of birth, height, and weight to their blanket. He estimates he's made about 15 blankets, with each one taking three to five hours to sew. "Three years ago, if you had told me I would be creating gifts for people by sewing, I would have laughed at you," Bostrom told the Star Tribune. "But making something for someone makes it that much cooler. I never thought sewing could be so much fun."
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