Tiniest Patients Dress Up for Halloween at Trinity Health Grand Rapids
October 29, 2025
For Immediate Release
Emma Nelson
Emma.Nelson002@trinity-health.org
(616) 260-5101
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (October 29, 2025) – Halloween has once again arrived at Trinity Health Grand Rapids, bringing joy and creativity to the hospital’s tiniest patients and their families. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was filled with festive spirit as babies were dressed in handmade costumes created by the NICU nursing team.
“Having a baby in the NICU is already a challenging experience for families, and spending holidays in the hospital instead of at home adds another emotional layer,” said Kirstie Dixon, clinical services manager, Trinity Health Grand Rapids NICU. “That’s why our team pours their creativity into making perfectly sized, hand-crafted costumes — so even our tiniest patients and their families can share in the joy of Halloween and experience these traditions.”
Though the babies can’t go outside to trick-or-treat, dressing up in costumes allows families to celebrate a childhood milestone. Each costume was handmade with lightweight felt and tailored to accommodate medical devices and incubators, ensuring the babies’ care and monitoring were never disrupted.
“We had fun again this year coming together as nurses to create these personalized costumes that we hope their families will love,” said Michaela Behrens, RN, Trinity Health Grand Rapids NICU. “Halloween is one of our favorite times in the NICU, and we had so much fun capturing these photos of our patients in their first Halloween costumes.”
Families were gifted the costumes and provided with printed photos to commemorate the day. Costumes included the smallest Detroit Lions football player, spaghetti and meatballs, a parrot, twins dressed up as peanut butter and jelly and more.
Trinity Health Grand Rapids NICU is a licensed 15-bed Level III unit that cares for 200 to 300 newborns annually. The team provides specialized care for a wide range of patients — from those who are medically fragile and require intensive support, to full-term babies who need a little extra help before heading home.
To learn more about our NICU services, visit our website.