In neonatal intensive care units (NICU) across the Midwest, Halloween arrived not as a disruption to care, but as a gentle celebration of how far the smallest patients had come.
Advocate Health children's hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin held their annual NICU Halloween Costume Contest, dressing their patients in costumes that ranged from a football to a cuddly lion. Care teams and parents worked together closely to safely dress the babies, turning a holiday that might otherwise have passed quietly on the ward into a shared family memory.
For Gabriela Soto, a NICU mother who recently brought her baby home, that memory was the point. Ms. Soto told PEOPLE that, after debating multiple costumes, from a race car to a ¡Mucha Lucha! costume, she landed on a cuddly lion for her son Emiliano because his nursery is all about animals. The hospital described the lion as honoring his “pride” of caregivers helping him grow stronger every day. She wanted to create something her family “will forever remember.”
A Week of Joy
“Celebrating the resilience of our NICU patients and their families is the most important part of this annual event, as they truly are superheroes every day,” said Dr. Frank Belmonte, senior vice president of children’s and women’s health at Advocate Health, in a press release obtained by The Bright Story. “Helping our tiniest patients participate in their first Halloween is one small way we can bring smiles and joy to families in the NICU who so deserve it.”
Alli Lukens, a NICU RN at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Illinois, spoke for the care team. “The annual NICU Halloween costume contest is the most anticipated event in the NICU each year for the care team,” Ms. Lukens said. “So many of our NICU teammates have seen these babies through difficult, challenging days during their stay, and it’s such a joy to see them dressed up in their first Halloween costumes knowing how much they’ve overcome.”
Finding Home Here
Ms. Soto spoke of that shift in plain terms. “You’re already worried, and you’re trying to be there for your kid,” she said. “So, when you have a contest with him, it makes you forget that you’re in the NICU.”
“The whole activities and the crafts and all that made me feel more like I was at home, as funny as it sounds, because it wasn’t a day that there wasn’t an activity or we couldn’t do,” Ms. Soto said. “You can see that it’s not just about their health.”
“It was awesome,” she added.
Little Fighters Celebrated
The contest kicked off on Oct. 19, with voting open to the public through Oct. 26. Advocate Children’s Hospital invited the public to take part in its annual NICU Halloween Costume Bash, with babies in neonatal intensive care units across Illinois dressed by parents and NICU teammates in the cleverest costumes for their first spooky season.
People were invited to vote for a favorite costume by reacting on Facebook, and the photos with the most reactions by noon CT on Monday, Oct. 26 were to win a special prize from the hospital. Voters could support more than one photo, simply by liking a favorite. The hospital added a note of care alongside the celebration: the images were artistic and did not reflect American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Safe Sleep recommendations, and families were urged to follow all safe sleep recommendations with their babies at home.
“Wishing the best of luck to all our sweet babies. To us they are ALL winners!” the hospital said on social media.
On Oct. 26, Advocate announced Gabriel, Elliott and Fernanda among the winners.
Gabriel waddled his way to victory in his “Silly Goose on the Loose” costume, with a special hand-stitched goose hat lovingly created by his NICU nurse. Readers left 1.1K likes on Gabriel’s goose photo and shared it 10 times.
Elliott’s bright and colorful hungry caterpillar costume celebrated the resilience and growth he shows with every milestone he reaches. His caterpillar photo gathered 1.2K likes alongside 4 shares.
Fernanda, in her tiny pumpkin costume, proved that the strongest fighters often come in the smallest packages. At 2K likes and 10 shares, Fernanda’s pumpkin photo had the highest like count of the three.
“A giant round of applause for our grand prize winners and every one of our amazing participants - you're all stars in our Halloween lineup! Wishing everyone a spooktacular and safe Halloween!” the hospital said on social media.
For Ms. Lukens, that celebration was not incidental to care, but part of how families were supported through a stay. “It’s also a great way for us to help give families a sense of normalcy and a fun holiday memory. Having a baby in the NICU is stressful for any family, whether it’s for 20 days or 200 days,” she added. “This costume contest allows them to take a break from all the medical tubes, wires and difficult days they’ve overcome and provides them with the opportunity to celebrate their little fighters in a fun and festive way.”
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