Precious! NICU babies dress up for Halloween with handmade costumes

ROCKFORD, Ill. (CBS 58) -- Thanks to one incredible nurse, the littlest patients at Mercyhealth's Javon Bea Hospital--Riverside in Rockford, Illinois, are not missing out on their first Halloween experience.

According to a news release, JoAnn Gorsline, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse at Mercyhealth, handmade more than 52 costumes to ensure babies who stay in the NICU in the month of October, to have a Halloween costume. 

PHOTO GALLERY


 All costumes are unique and handmade by JoAnn. New costumes this year include Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Babybel cheese, a cheeseburger and French fries.

“Parents always comment about how they love having the costumes. It makes the stay easier, it makes having a baby in the NICU seem more normal, not so (much like being in a) hospital and out of the ordinary … just some normalcy in the middle of a very trying time in their lives,” said JoAnn.

Absolutely adorable!

Mercyhealth is designated by the state of Illinois as a Level III Regional Perinatal Center, the news release says. As the Northwest Illinois Level III Perinatal Center, Mercyhealth is the referral center for the 11-county northern Illinois region, including Rockford and the surrounding area. Mercyhealth also provides services to three southern Wisconsin counties.

Share this article: