These NICU Babies Dressed In Adorable Little Halloween Costumes Are The Treat We Need

While trick-or-treating, Haunted Houses, and other spooky activities may look different this Oct. 31 due to the pandemic, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare has delivered a much-needed treat by dressing up babies in the NICU in cute Halloween costumes. Sure, they're not going to be trick-or-treating this year, but they sure are keeping the spirit alive by simply being adorable.

Staff at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, the only neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, and high-risk labor and delivery unit in Florida’s Big Bend region, recently decided to have some Halloween fun with the babies and parents. Particularly as COVID-19 has made parents of vulnerable newborns more anxious than ever.

"Having a baby in the NICU can be very stressful for new moms and families, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic," a spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare tells Romper. But not only are they interested in keeping babies healthy, they are also working "to make the environment as comfortable as possible for our babies and families."

With that in mind, the staff dressed the babies in adorable little Halloween costumes including a strawberry, a pea in a pod, popcorn, Thing One and Thing Two from Dr. Seuss' Cat In The Hat, and a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs to name a few.

Earlier this week, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare shared the photo shoot on Facebook, where they've received thousands of likes. "Our NICU babies are so cute, it’s spooky!" the medical center captioned the photos. "Halloween in the NICU is one of our favorite traditions, and this year is no exception! Thank you to our incredible NICU team for making such an uncertain time so special for these little ones’ families."

The night staff at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare put together the incredibly creative costumes and clearly went above and beyond with their inventive ideas. Like this little one dressed as delicious spaghetti and meatballs.

Or how about a NICU baby dressed up as popcorn?

While real peanuts would be a problem in a children's hospital, this little peanut is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Food-themed costumes were definitely the most popular, and there was even a nod to millennial culture with this baby dressed as an avocado.

Naturally these little babies all dressed up for Halloween have utterly charmed the internet. "These babies are beautiful all dressed up for Halloween. Thank you for doing this for the families!" one person commented on Facebook, while another gave a shout-out to the staff who went above and beyond. "Precious babies, precious costumes and precious staff! This is where miracles happen every day!" they wrote.

Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare tells Romper that the costumes are as much for the parents as they are for the babies: "Bringing the Halloween fun to these little ones and their parents is just one of the many ways our team works to normalize the NICU environment and keep families’ spirits high."