A Hospital’s NICU Unit Hosted A Baby Halloween Costume Contest & It's The Cutest Thing Ever
The fun moment brings a bit of joy to an otherwise high-stress time for parents of premies.
There’s no question that any parent going through their child being in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is one of the biggest and unimaginable stressors, especially right at the beginning of being a parent. One hospital in Illinois is trying to find pockets of joy during the trying time by holding the absolutely cutest Halloween costume contest to ever happen. (Yes, even more than a puppy costume contest.)
In a now-viral Facebook post, Advocate Children's Hospital, which has locations in Oak Lawn and Park Ridge, Illinois, shared photos of each baby or set of twins in the running for the top prize.
“Parents with babies in our neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) across Chicagoland are getting into the Halloween spirit!” the post caption read. “They've dressed our tiniest patients in creative costumes for their first spooky season and now it's time to VOTE for your favorite in our annual Advocate Children's Hospital NICU Halloween Costume Bash!”
The two photos with the most “likes” would get the top prize, though the post noted that the hospital thought every adorable babe was a winner.
The post now has over 1k shares and likes plus over 200 comments.
The pictures on the post display the tiny bundles of joy sleeping, yawning, or just looking adorable in their unique and funny costumes. From superheroes to popular book characters to animals, these premie babies’ parents really went all out for the contest.
Some of the captions even described the children's reasons for being in the NICU along with the meaning behind their costume.
One baby was dressed up like a little boxer by her parents who wanted to show how much of a fighter their little girl is. “Alaysia was born at just 23 weeks old. Since day one, she's been fighting a tough fight in the NICU,” one of the captions read. “It’s fitting that Alaysia’s parents dressed her up as a little boxer/fighter as she truly is ‘Mommy and Daddy’s little fighter’.”
Others were a nod to their heritage like identical twins Keeley and Hannah who wore huge red-colored curly wigs with Irish step dancing shoes. According to the post caption, the girls “can’t wait to grow up and become Irish dancers like their family!”
Another set of twins, Dalen and Trey, dressed up like little scuba divers, even turning their bassinets into an underwater adventure with felt water, algae, and a little stuffed turtle.
After voting closed, Advocate Children's Hospital announced the winners of the contest.
“You voted and now it’s time to announce the winners of Advocate Children’s Hospital’s annual NICU Halloween Costume Contest! The top two participants with the most votes have won prizes,” the hospital announced in a Facebook post.
“In first place, we have identical twins and deep-sea scuba divers Dalen and Trey who are making a splash in the NICU! Our second-place winners are our future Irish dancers, identical twins Keeley and Hannah!”
While the twins took the top two prizes, every single one of these babes and their creative parents are winners — to be able to find joy and humor during such a scary time shows an incredible amount of strength.
