Halloween in the NICU

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Transplant, Trauma, Surgical.

Hey all

I was just curious to see what other NICUs do for Halloween. Do babies get dressed up in costumes, parents bring them in?

This year we have themed our unit The Zoo. Our main unit is decorated like a jungle/zoo and our stepdown unit is decorated like an aquarium. Some of our more crafty nurses have made costumes for the (stable) babes and staff are dressing up as zoo-keepers (khakis and polos).

:monkeydance:

Last year we did Grease and the boys wore "leather jackets" and the girls had "poodle skirts" and we decorated the cribs/isolettes as cars.

Is our unit just Halloween obsessed or do other units do similar things?

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That is great!!! I wish we did that!

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Specializes in NICU.

For all the holidays (halloween, christmas, thanksgiving, valentines day, 4th july...) we dress the babies up in costumes and take pictures and post the pictures on cute backgrounds and put them up at the babies bedsides. It's always a ton of fun! We have holiday specific themed fleece hats, costumes, props... On my unit we have a scrapbooking committee that takes charge of making sure that each baby gets their picture taken. We always get the parent's permission for each of the holidays before taking/posting the pictures. I'm always surprised when there's a family or two who are against halloween. I know it's a religious thing for some - but still.

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Specializes in NICU, Telephone Triage.

Sounds like a lot of fun. The units I've worked in do much of anything....today they wanted me to work, but I'd rather be home with my kids

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Specializes in NICU.

All the babies got little Halloween outfits (just a simple little shirt) and a hat, very cute! Parents could bring in costumes too. We had one mom bring in the cutest little cheerleader outfit that she bought from Build-A-Bear ..... too cute! :D

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Specializes in NICU.

We had some babies that wore costumes their parents provided and some staff dressed up, but nothing for the whole unit. I think it's a great idea. Makes me want to set something up for next year. I bet a could find a school or church group that would be willing to sponsor it. Hmmm. . . .

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Specializes in NICU.
All the babies got little Halloween outfits (just a simple little shirt) and a hat, very cute! Parents could bring in costumes too. We had one mom bring in the cutest little cheerleader outfit that she bought from Build-A-Bear ..... too cute! :D

Build-A-Bear outfits are definately the best fitting outfits for premies there are! This past spring we had a Dad who was the biggest Cubs fan, so he brought in a Cubs outfit from Build-a-Bear for his daughter to wear for a few pictures. When he and the mom were putting the outfit on their daughter - the Mom got all confused as to why there were slits cut into the top of the hat! You should have seen Mom's face when the Dad told her that he got the outfit at build-a-bear! Once she got over the initial shock, she was all excited and thought it was the cutest thing ever! (and yes - the Cubs outfit fit her perfectly!)

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Build-A-Bear outfits are definately the best fitting outfits for premies there are! This past spring we had a Dad who was the biggest Cubs fan, so he brought in a Cubs outfit from Build-a-Bear for his daughter to wear for a few pictures. When he and the mom were putting the outfit on their daughter - the Mom got all confused as to why there were slits cut into the top of the hat! You should have seen Mom's face when the Dad told her that he got the outfit at build-a-bear! Once she got over the initial shock, she was all excited and thought it was the cutest thing ever! (and yes - the Cubs outfit fit her perfectly!)

The Build-a-Bear outfits are perfect for those 3-5 pounders! Last year one of the babies' parents bought a Superman outfit, complete with built-in muscles, it was adorable. Another baby got all dressed up as a Patriot's cheerleader for one of the games. It was adorable!

Recently one of the baby's grandmothers found a stash of perfectly fitting DOLL clothes at a dollar store- she ended up using some of them for patterns to make even cuter outfits out of less scratchy fabrics.

We didn't do much for Halloween on our unit, today. One of our big chronics got dressed up and a few had hats and such, but that was about it. i wished I had made some things to bring in :(

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

I'd suggest that the parents be asked if they want to participate, and either bring in a costume, or if the unit has some, they should pick.

It's important to remember the babies are not "dolls" to dress up; that's why it should be optional. We used to do this until one parent pointed out that fact. Some families have strong anti-Halloween feelings, believing it to be anti-Christian.

Staff used to dress up, too; I never did; I figured just my luck to have a sick kid that day, and here I am looking like an idiot. And if there is a sick kid on the unit, it can be seen to be unsensitive.

All I'm saying is to be a little careful--this is ok for the feeder growers, not so much for the sicker tykes.

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Specializes in NICU.

Yeah we obviously get permission from the parents and ask if they want to participate in it. Then if they desire, we give their baby the outfit and hat. And we tell them they can bring in something for their baby too if they want.

And that goes with ANY holiday, we obviously get permission from parents, not just Halloween.

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Specializes in NICU.
Yeah we obviously get permission from the parents and ask if they want to participate in it. Then if they desire, we give their baby the outfit and hat. And we tell them they can bring in something for their baby too if they want.

And that goes with ANY holiday, we obviously get permission from parents, not just Halloween.

Same here...

for all pictures that we take of the babies, not just for holidays

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Transplant, Trauma, Surgical.
Yeah we obviously get permission from the parents and ask if they want to participate in it. Then if they desire, we give their baby the outfit and hat. And we tell them they can bring in something for their baby too if they want.

And that goes with ANY holiday, we obviously get permission from parents, not just Halloween.

Ditto

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