Costumes help spread Halloween joy at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island's NICU
MINEOLA, N.Y. - It was a sweet treat Tuesday for the smallest Halloween revelers.
Tiny babies were dressed up in the NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island.
The annual tradition helps parents lighten up a sometimes frightful journey.
Nursery music mixed with hospital monitors are sounds that bring worry and stress for parents inside the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU.
But Tuesday, the Halloween spirit lifted the spirits of parents whose preemies can spend months waiting to go home.
Thiago Guevera entered this world at just two and a half pounds. He was sporting a ninja turtle costume Tuesday, for good reason.
"He is, like, continuing fighting with the world, day by day. He's a fighter, a warrior right now," his mother Gisela Guevara said.
It was a costume party of sorts, organized by the nurses at NYU Langone-Long Island to enable parents to make some beautiful memories.
"To have memories, a special day with the baby. The first Halloween," Guevara said.
"The NICU is known as a scary place, and we want to make at least this scary day a lot more fun," NICU nurse manager Lashon Pitter said. "My goal is to bring happiness to a stress-filled, anxiety-filled, fear-filled place."
"It makes a better experience, when you're already struggling with little one who can't come home with you," Queens Village mother Jasmine Dar said.
"It's the cutest. He looks so cute. Especially - I'm from Queens. He's my little Spider-Man. So it's perfect," father Farhan Dar said.
Doctors also dressed to delight the tiniest patients. Costumes are brought in by families and staff. Some are donated. Others were hand-made to fit pint-sized little ones who can weigh in at one pound.
"We love to celebrate every occasion in our life, even in stressful situations. We like to lighten it up by caring [for[ them with our heart and giving them joy," Dr. Renu Aggarwal said.
"It's very happy for me with the costume, my little baby, my first baby. I feel very happy right now," Guevara said.
Halloween won't be the last holiday some of those babies spend there. Some will return Christmastime with grateful parents to show these caring nurses how big and healthy they become.
Babies can spend up to four months in the NICU.