Volunteers make costumes for babies' first Halloween in neonative intensive care

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WJBK) - Ingrid Peeples knows staying in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit can be challenging for parents, not to mention unplanned and unexpected -- especially when it's spent during those monumental moments like a baby's first Halloween.

"My daughter was here at Royal Oak NICU when she was first born prematurely," Peeples said. "She is 4 and half years now, so it's a near and dear place to my heart.

"I know how excited I am to dress my kids up, I wanted other parents to have opportunity too."

That's why Peeples, along with her friend Sarah Roberts, decided to create a new Beaumont Hospital tradition.

Little Paris Powells is wearing a princess costume and her tiny hand is gripping a miniature wand. It's just one of dozens of costumes they created to lay over the little babies, hoping to bring a little fun to the families during what can be a difficult time.

"I think it is so beautiful," said mom Tiffany Nwabude. "It was so nice for the lady to make these for them. She made it special for them because we wanted her to be a princess so she went back and made this special for her." 

Baby Jensen was born 11 weeks early. His mom was thrilled they will be able to dress him up, this year as a little latte.

"I was so excited because we were hoping he would be home for Halloween," said Kaitlyn Barber. "But since he is not we still get to dress him up." 

Even the nurses loved seeing the babies in different adorable miniature costumes like Mr. Peanut Butter or Jelly. There are also superheroes, a Hershey kiss and even a donut with so much thought and love put into every design.

No treats this year, but plenty of priceless moments.

"My friend and I know, we how hard it is to be in the NICU and bring a little something fun," Peeples said. "Some smiles to parents' faces and to have some sort of memory for the baby, is why we did it."