The NICU is often a stressful place for many parents. So, to bring some cheer and make Halloween a more enjoyable time, hospitals across the country are dressing up NICU babies in colorful and fun Halloween costumes.

NICU babies dress up for Halloween

At Henry Ford Hospital, nurses dressed NICU babies as characters from classic children's books, including "Corduroy," "Horton Hears a Who," "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," and many more. According to the nurses, the annual Halloween photoshoot in the NICU is a special treat for families whose babies cannot be home for Halloween.

These classic children's book characters have been brought to life - Corduroy, Madeline, Horton, the very hungry caterpillar and more - leaping right off the pages and into our hearts. 🧡🌛🧡 pic.twitter.com/qd66PWGel3

— Henry Ford Health (@HenryFordHealth) October 25, 2022

Advocate Aurora Health Children's Hospital has continued its own tradition with its annual NICU Halloween Costume Bash. Parents dressed up their babies in costumes of their choosing and submitted photos for the contest.

Some costumes include a mandrake, ketchup and mustard bottles, deep sea divers, and much more.

Our tiniest patients got all dressed up for our annual NICU Halloween Costume Contest! Vote now for your favorites: https://t.co/vUEeSv9sZJ pic.twitter.com/C49EYblRJm

— Advocate Children's Hospital (@AdvocateKids) October 19, 2022

Norton Women's and Children's Hospital also showed off some "boo-tiful" NICU babies.

Aren’t these babies boo-tiful?! 👻

The Halloween fun has begun in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital. Happy Halloween from the NICU babies! pic.twitter.com/Cpyw3E0Wl3

— Norton Healthcare (@Norton_Health) October 27, 2022

Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, which contains the only NICU and high-risk labor delivery unit in the region, celebrated Halloween with its own dressed-up NICU babies. "Thank you to our NICU care team who works hard to make every day – including holidays – special for our NICU families," the hospital wrote on Facebook.

Halloween in the NICU is one of our favorite traditions, and this year is no exception!

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bay-bee! 🥊 pic.twitter.com/r19RBegkaH

— Tallahassee Memorial (@TMHFORLIFE) October 27, 2022

Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital had its own Halloween showcase as well, with NICU babies dressed up as chicken nuggets, mermaids, wizards, and much more by nurses and volunteers.

"It's an exciting time for moms and we also have a great volunteer service that has provided costumes and our dressing up their babies for their first trick or treating and Halloween," said Janessa Alonso, the hospital's director of nursing. "It's really boosting morale and helping them find some normalcy in the [NICU] setting."

Halloween has never been more adorable! It was a treat to visit the NICU at @JDCHospital to see all these babies dressed up for Halloween. The story on @nbc6 this afternoon at 5:30pm! pic.twitter.com/SBzTcDHWkJ

— Amanda Plasencia (@AmandaNBC6) October 26, 2022

Sanquaneice Henderson-Pinkney, whose daughter Ashlyn is currently in the NICU, said she was thrilled to be able to participate in Halloween even while in the hospital.

"This is my first daughter and I love anything festive, so I was super excited knowing that I would deliver her prior to Halloween," Henderson-Pinkney said. "I went out and purchased her a costume and cute shirt for the day of, however, she is in the NICU. I thought all was lost and then when I was visiting my baby this morning they came and said, hey would it be okay if we dressed her in a Halloween costume? And I was like, absolutely, I love it."

"This has been a really traumatic experience because it was so unexpected and so I feel like today has been the little bit of joy that I've been looking for. And so I just feel so encouraged today," she added. (FOX 2 Detroit, 10/26; Stone, Motherly, 10/24; Killelea, WGN9, 10/19; Plasencia, NBC 6, 10/26; Bradley/Hamad, WCTV, 10/27)