Repping the 3-1-9: C.R. babies gifted ‘319’ onesies at local hospital

CEDAR RAPIDS - Babies born at Unity Point-St. Luke's Hospital are being given onesies that read 'Born in the (319)”, Cedar Rapids' area code

The program launched Saturday and is expected to last at least through 2018, according to hospital spokeswoman Danielle Rauser.

'The onesies come from the Cotton Gallery in Marion,” Rauser said. 'We bought 5,000. We birth around 2,500 babies a year, so this will get us through about two years.”

Diane Seelau, St. Luke's Women's and Children's director, said in a news release that the onesies are meant to celebrate those born at the hospital, and 'share in the excitement with new parents.”

'Those of us who live in Eastern Iowa and choose to raise our family here know how wonderful our community is,” she said. 'We thought these Born in the 319 onesies were a great way to have a little fun, celebrate our community and show how proud we are to celebrate over 2,500 birthdays each year at St. Luke's.”

The hospital also is encouraging parents to snap pictures of their babies with the hashtag #Borninthe319.

Rauser said the hospital will look at extending the program if there is enough demand. The onesies aren't available for purchase yet, but that may change, Rauser said.

'We'll have to see if there's a demand for it,” Rauser said. 'We think it might take off but we're going to wait and see.”

Sizes other than newborn also could be added, she said.

Cedar Rapids resident Alaina Shaffer, who was due to give birth to a boy this week, said she thinks the onesies are a cute idea.

'It will be a nice memento to have for our son to remember his birth,” Shaffer said in the news release. 'We love living in Cedar Rapids and appreciate that it's a smaller community with a lot of options for entertainment. Our favorite things are using the trails, biking and the NewBo area restaurants. There is a lot to enjoy in our community.”

St. Luke's also gives out knit hats to newborns. Rauser said they usually try to mix things up around the holidays.

'At Christmas we did fun hats, at Halloween we did ones that looked like candy corn. We try to have a little fun with that too. It's a feat to get cool hats,” Rauser said.