CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — At the UVA Medical Center’s NICU unit, patients and their families received a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus on Wednesday ahead of the holidays.

“We came in from the North Pole because we heard that all the NICU babies at UVA were very, very good this year,” Santa, a.k.a. neonatologist Peter Muray, said.

Muray has filled the boots of Santa for the past three years following the retirement of his former boss. The role of Mrs. Claus has been filled by nursing supervisor Naomi Rademeyer for the past nine years. Both are committed to their roles, with Muray even growing out his beard every year, starting in August this year.

“I think it brings a sense of normalcy to an otherwise abnormal time for families,” Muray said, “and for several babies every year, this is the only time that they’ll ever have a picture with Santa Claus, which is just an unfortunate reality of an intensive care unit, that not every baby will make it out of here. So, it is very meaningful for some of the families to have that sense of a normal childhood experience with their baby while they’re still in the NICU.”

One of the babies Santa and Mrs. Claus met with this year was six-month old Miracle. Her mother, Crystal Parker, said it was great to have the visit.

“Having a baby in a hospital with chronic lung disease is really tough,” she said, “and being here, being able to have people supporting her and Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and stuff like that, it’s really nice.”

Parker called her journey with Miracle “a roller coaster,” but said the support she’s received from UVA’s NICU unit has been amazing.

“The doctors here are great,” she said. “The nurses are awesome. Everything we need, they provide, so it’s been great.”

Muray said he believes visiting with families as Santa helps “lessens some of the angst that families have” amidst the hardships of having a baby in the NICU. He said his favorite part of the experience was seeing the babies dressed up in Christmas-themed outfits by the nurses, including some Santa and Mrs. Claus outfits. Rademeyer joked that her and Muray will soon have “competition” from the Santas and Mrs. Clauses in training.

For now, both Muray and Rademeyer said they hope to continue working in the NICU and playing the role of Santa and Mrs. Claus for as long as they can. Mayer said he plans to continue playing Santa until he can’t grow out his beard anymore. Rademeyer, who previously worked as an active NICU nurse before moving to her current role as supervisor, will celebrate her 10th year as Mrs. Claus and 40th year as a registered nurse next year.

“As a NICU nurse, it was the best job in the world,” she said, “and I always think back at all the babies that I took care of … I still have contact with a lot of the babies that I have taken care of, and being Mrs. Claus, they all know me as Mrs. Claus now, so it just makes you humble, absolutely, every day.”