NICU 'elves' spread holiday cheer at Florida hospital

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Staff at a Florida hospital caring for the facility’s tiniest patients worked to spread some holiday cheer by dressing babies up in felt elf costumes. The Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) said it was one way to help keep families' spirits high amid a particularly tough holiday season.

"Having a baby in the NICU can be very stressful for families, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, making the holidays feel a little less merry," the team said. "Bringing the festive fun to these little 'elves' and their parents is just one of the many ways our team works to normalize the NICU environment and keep families’ spirits high."

The costumes helped bring cheer to families during a particularly stressful holiday season.
(Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare)

According to a statement, the night team crafted the costumes, and the day team helped to get them onto the babies. The team shared the photos to Facebook with a reminder that babies should be placed on their backs to sleep, with nothing else in the crib.

The night team crafted the costumes
(Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare)

"These NICU babies have special circumstances and are monitored 24/7 by our skilled nursing team," the hospital said.

The day team helped get the costumes onto the babies.
(Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare)

The team celebrated Halloween this year in a similar fashion, making special costumes for the NICU babies and had crafted holiday outfits for their patients the year prior.

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