Pittsburgh NICU nurse creates handmade Halloween costumes for babies
By Kelly Sasso
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PITTSBURGH (WTAE) — Families at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit are celebrating Halloween with handmade costumes for their babies, thanks to the efforts of NICU nurse Riley Smolksy.
Baby Ezra, born Monday at just 33 weeks, wore his first Halloween costume inspired by his big sister.
“Ezra’s older sister is obsessed with Elmo, and she got to meet him yesterday, and she kept saying, ‘Baby Elmo, baby Elmo,’ so we’re really excited for him to be dressed up as Elmo for Halloween here,” said Ezra’s parents, David and Megan Schmiech.
Elmo was one of around 80 costumes Smolksy created with help from her mother, friends and the Duquesne women’s club soccer team.
“This is the first time we have an individual costume for every single baby, so we’re going to go around and give some out and hang out with families and parents and get to give them a little bit of normalcy around the holiday while they’re spending time in the NICU,” Smolksy said.
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The costumes included creative options like candy bars and ketchup and mustard for twins, catering to babies of all sizes.
Owen, born 11 weeks early, celebrated his first Halloween dressed as a hot dog.
“The fact that the team was able to do that here is really heartwarming. It makes us feel like they’re a part of our family, which is really nice,” said Owen’s mothers, Sarah and Zoe Kreinberg.
For Smolksy, the effort was about brightening the families’ days.
“I think doing stuff like this maybe makes their dark days a little bit brighter,” she said.
Smolksy, who has been a nurse for six years, also creates keepsakes to mark the babies’ milestones, giving families something to take home from their time in the NICU.
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