Tiny NICU Halloween Costumes Spark Big Joy for Preemies, Parents and Their Hospital Care Team
How one dedicated nurse turned tiny stuffed-animal outfits into a heartwarming Halloween tradition
Key Takeaways
- A nurse manager realized Build-A-Bear clothes fit NICU preemies perfectly.
- Tiny Halloween costumes help exhausted parents celebrate their baby’s first holiday.
- Volunteers now stitch custom outfits for micro-preemies who need smaller sizes.
After seeing how much a tiny costume could brighten a NICU family’s day, one nurse manager started an annual Halloween tradition that gives preemies, their parents and loved ones cherished memories during a stressful time. Here, she shares her story with Woman’s World.
“Adorable!” Christa Black gushed as the Build-A-Bear seamstress handed her daughter the bear they’d designed together using Aubrey’s 8th birthday gift card. They named the bear Sparkles and had its birth certificate printed out. Then the duo looked around the store to pick out more outfits.
“You know what?” Christa said, holding up a tiny nurse uniform for the stuffed bear. “These would actually be the perfect size for the babies in the NICU next Halloween!”
Christa works as the nurse manager of the Neonatal ICU at Cincinnati’s Good Samaritan Hospital. The 60-bed unit is always busy and filled with exhausted parents sitting vigil at their preemie’s bedside.
A Build-A-Bear trip sparks a big idea
Christa and her staff do their best to make the unit feel less clinical and more homelike. Volunteer baby cuddlers help out, and on holidays, the Parents’ Lounge is full of snacks so parents can take a break and meet other parents who share the same prayers and worries.
In October of 2018, Christa decided to do more for Halloween. “Let’s have a costume party,” she told her staff, and she used grant money to purchase several dozen Build-A-Bear costumes online for the babies.
Turning the NICU into a Halloween wonderland
A week before Halloween, Christa sent out an email: We’re having a Halloween party! We have lots of tiny costumes to pick from here at the nurses’ station!
The parents loved the idea and had a wonderful time picking out costumes. On Halloween morning, unit volunteers arrived early to help with decorations and assist moms and dads in transforming their little ones into soldiers, police officers, cowgirls and princesses. One set of twins—boy and girl—sported a basketball uniform and cheerleader outfit. Their dad showed up also wearing a basketball uniform, and their mom dressed up as a referee.
“Thank you for helping us celebrate our baby’s first Halloween,” one mom told Christa.
Others shared that they had other children at home trick-or-treating with grandparents or neighbors, and being at the party helped them feel less left out.
It wasn’t just the parents whose spirits were lifted. The party gave the staff a chance to relate to the families and care for them in a new way by spending time together without needing to focus on medical issues or protocols.
A tradition that keeps on giving
“Be sure to keep the costumes as keepsakes of your baby’s first Halloween,” Christa urged all the parents at the party’s end. The following October, she bought even more adorable costumes from Build-A-Bear.
These days, some unit volunteers take the time to stitch colorful outfits for the micro-preemies who are too small even for a Build-A-Bear costume.
This year’s party looks to be their biggest yet. “A family’s time in the NICU can get very stressful and overwhelming,” says Christa. “Anything we can do to make things easier and more joyful is a gift to both our parents and our staff.”
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