Babies in the NICU wear Halloween costumes

They may be too little for trick-or-treating, but these NICU babies are celebrating Halloween in style.

Every year, the staff at the NICU at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit organizes a Halloween costume event for the babies on the ward.

Spending the holidays in the hospital can be challenging for parents and children alike, so NICU nurses are making sure to conjure up a little more magic for Halloween.

Each baby has their own little costume – and all are handmade by a nurse's mother.

Henry Ford Hospital's NICU has been planning an annual Halloween event since 2016, but the costumes haven't always been so elaborate.

In 2018, nurse Christin Braun asked her mother, Valerie Atkinson, if she would be interested in helping with the costumes.

Atkinson, a lifelong crocheter, has been making the NICU babies' Halloween costumes ever since.

“This is very special to me,” says Atkinson.

Every year, the NICU team comes up with a theme for the babies' Halloween costumes.

This year's theme was Disney with costumes including Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, Simba from The Lion King and many other popular characters.

All the nurses in the NICU help make the Halloween costume spectacle a success.

“Everyone donated their time,” says Braun. “People come in on their day off or stay afterward to make sure everything looks perfect for the baby.”

Atkinson begins making the tiny Halloween costumes in August — long before many of the NICU newborns are even born in October.

She takes inspiration from Etsy patterns and then adapts the costumes to a range of small sizes.

For babies with feeding or breathing tubes, Atkinson creates “layover” costumes that can be placed over the baby like a blanket to avoid interfering with medical equipment.

This year, Atkinson was busy crocheting costumes until the last second: three NICU babies were born the night before the Halloween photo shoot.

“She was crocheting in the break room,” says Braun.

Halloween isn't the only special event at Henry Ford Hospital's NICU: On Christmas Eve, nurses dress each baby in themed pajamas.

Having a child in the NICU is a tremendous challenge for parents, and these holiday events are designed to give them a sense of comfort and normalcy.

“A lot of times they're grieving – they may not have had the birth they wanted and their baby isn't home with them, but they can still have a Halloween costume and Christmas pajamas,” Braun says. “No matter what their situation is, they can all do this.”

Atkinson is pleased with the response from grateful parents.

“The parents of a baby just said, 'Thank you for giving us a normal day where we're happy,'” she recalls.

The parents asked Atkinson to sign their daughter's baby book and even included her in a Halloween family photo.