Gen Z Nurse’s Viral Bead Jar Captures the Heart of Labor and Delivery

At 25 years old, Jayuanna Thomas (@jayuanna.lenee) has found a powerful way to make sure no birth she witnesses is ever forgotten. Her method? A simple glass jar filled with tiny beads—each one representing a newborn she’s helped welcome into the world.

What started as a personal tradition back in nursing school has now become a viral sensation. In her TikTok, Thomas holds up the jar and quietly walks viewers through what each color means. The video has since reached over 5.7 million views, capturing the attention of both healthcare workers and parents alike.

“It’s more than just a jar of beads,” she says. “It’s a reminder that every baby matters—and so does every story.”

Beads That Tell a Story

The jar currently holds 211 beads, each placed with intention:

• 117 blue for boys
  
  
• 90 pink for girls
  
  
• 8 yellow to honor “angel” babies born sleeping
  
  
• 2 green for families she’ll always remember
  
  
• 1 purple for a delivery she handled on her own with no doctor present
  
  
• 1 for twins—a single birth, doubled in joy
  
  

Each bead is added at the end of a shift. It’s a quiet moment of reflection for Thomas, who began the tradition during her externship and has kept it going after graduating in December 2023.

“It helps me remember the emotional side of the job. Every color means something.”

@jayuanna.lenee Here’s my baby jar! So thankful to be apart of so many special deliveries🥹🩵🩷💛💚 #babyjay #babybeadjar #laboranddelivery #laboranddeliverynurse #landdnurse ♬ Walking Around - Instrumental Version - Eldar Kedem

Capturing the Full Spectrum of Labor and Delivery

While labor and delivery often gets painted in bright, joyful tones, Thomas knows the reality is more layered. Her bead jar reflects that truth—birth is beautiful, but it can also be complex, bittersweet, and deeply emotional.

The yellow beads, in particular, are a reminder of the babies who didn’t get to go home. “Those families stay with me,” she says. “They’re just as important as every other one.”

The green beads represent something less clinical and more emotional—patients whose stories impacted her in lasting ways.

And then there’s the purple bead: a moment when instinct, training, and presence came together. She delivered that baby alone, before the doctor could arrive.

Why the Tradition Matters

Thomas doesn’t just log deliveries in a system. She listens to music with her patients. Chats about books. Finds out what makes them laugh. To her, birth is personal—and the jar is her way of preserving that.

This ritual has struck a nerve with the public. Comments on her video include stories from other nurses, suggestions for bead add-ons (like linking twins together), and touching messages from parents.

“My daughter is someone’s yellow bead,” one comment reads, “but she is forever my pink bead.”

Another nurse chimed in: “I’ve been in L&D for 31 years. There isn’t a jar big enough for all my babies—probably close to 9,000!”

More Than Viral—It’s a Movement

Thomas’s story is part of a larger shift in healthcare, especially among Gen Z nurses who are reshaping what emotional labor looks like in clinical spaces. Instead of putting up walls, she leans into connection. Her jar isn’t just about memory—it’s about honoring the whole experience of birth.

“There’s a lot the textbooks don’t teach,” she says. “But you carry it with you. Every shift. Every baby.”

Her tradition challenges a fast-paced system that often skips over emotion for efficiency. And in doing so, she’s created something rare: a way to remember every baby and every feeling that came with their arrival.

🤔Nurses, do you have any rituals or traditions that help you remember meaningful moments on the job?