No parent wants to watch their child fight for their life in the hospital, and especially not during the holidays – but for the country’s tiniest patients and their families, that’s reality. So NICU staff tries to bring some joy to the situation, helping preemies celebrate however they can. For Christmas, that means a lot of adorable outfits and holiday cheer.
At Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, each tiny baby got an ugly Christmas sweater — designed by their proud parents. From tinsel and gingerbread to peppermints and snowmen, there was no skimping on cuteness here! One even made a NICU joke, with “don’t be tachy” written on it. “Baby Helena’s sweater features a little heart pun,” the hospital wrote on social media. “’I was trying to think of a sweater that Helena’s medical staff would also enjoy with a funny medical reference,’ said Helena’s mom.”
Babies at Norton Children’s in Louisville, Kentucky, got a special Christmas surprise when Santa and Mrs. Claus stopped by for a visit.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without presents — so Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare in Florida made sure that the babies in the NICU and their mommies got gift bags to celebrate!
Santa also stopped by St. Luke’s in Kansas City, where each baby was dressed up like a tiny present. “I think it’s very special for our families,” Rachel Wehmeier, a NICU nurse, told KSHB. “There’s a lot of not-normal things in the NICU, and so that provides some normalcy in this season of giving and cheer. Babies are a huge gift to our families, and to us as workers here, so I think it provides much-needed smiles to some of our families’ faces.”
Summerville Medical Center in South Carolina celebrates Christmas with a magical theme each year; this year, it was “Elf on the Shelf!” The hospital wrote on Facebook, “This morning we discovered 10 adorable elves on the shelf in our Level II Special Care Nursery! These little elves are spreading mischief and magic across the hospital and we hope that they get to go back to the North Pole soon with their families.”
Another stop for Santa took place at Bryan Health in Lincoln, Nebraska, which the hospital said brought “joy and hope to our smallest gifts and their families.”
The Sweetest Place on Earth got a little bit sweeter with a visit from Santa to Penn State Health Children’s Hospital in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Starting with an arrival in the bucket of a fire truck, Santa then made his way inside with presents for the hospital’s tiniest gifts.
Christmas babies got to come aboard the Magee Express for an annual holiday tradition at UPMC-Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. In addition to adorable onesies, each baby got a festive hat hand-knitted by nurse Caitlin Pechin. “Every new child, every baby, is a gift that we have the opportunity to celebrate,” Heather Ambrose, the director of nursing, said in a video shared on Facebook.
Christmas in a hospital is never ideal, but thanks to the hard work of these caring staffers, the holiday is a little more joyous and bright.
