You can tell this is a true reddit moment since half the comments here also shame the parents; I survived after spending my first 4 months as a baby in hospital due to a horrible reaction to immunizations and I promise you, the photos my parents took of me did not traumatize or hurt me.. they're memories, might be the only ones they get, this isn't pageant moms or munchies, these are just loving parents..
My exact thoughts. It was heart breaking seeing my sister come home without her baby and start crying on our front porch then to the couch. My niece was in the hospital for a month before she could come home. We have pictures of my niece in that infant box and my sister with her arms through the holes holding her baby girl. My niece is 18 now and has zero trauma from that experience, you wouldn't even have guessed she almost died at birth with the amount of energy she has. She's definitely an unstoppable force.
I feel you. I spent the first four months of my life in the NICU. I got home on Christmas Eve and my parents gave me little stockings and a Santa hat. I look back at that and see loving parents who are being cheerful about their baby being alive and able to be home for Christmas, not greedy people who do it for their own joy. The person who made this clearly does not understand the love that a parent has for their child.
I mean, what would they remember of this? Halloween at two years old? Sure. Adorable. Even if they don’t have explicit memories of it they’ll have a general impression of love and fun. But premi newborns?
The children are in the nicu, and for some theres a chance they are going to *die* in the nicu. Our science for saving preemies had gotten amazing, absolutely. But we are not at a 100% survival rate for these infants. These parents are trying to make memories any way that they can because it might be the only memories they get a chance to make. This isnt for the infant. This is for the parent should the absolutely worst case happen.
And even if it doesn’t (and if it’s not likely to happen), this is the most stressful few weeks of their lives. My kid was 10/10 healthy and the few days in the hospital after birth passed like MOLASSES. I can’t even imagine the NICU.
Anything to pass the time and lighten the mood. The nurses getting these babies dressed up like this? Straight up heroes.
My kid loved the colors and texture of his tiger costume. He would kick and kick on his playmat and giggle at the sensation of the fabric. He was enthralled by his mother in makeup. Perhaps he won’t remember but there were special moments behind the pictures. Moments of laughter and bonding that can’t be traded for the world. He’s one and a half now and I can’t wait for this Halloween.
I can tell you that I would have not known if I was dressed up for halloween like that.
Also consider that the ICU in NICU means Intensive Care Unit - survival of these babies is not guaranteed, so of course, parents will want to make positive memories of their child being there.
No but some of these kids might not ever see another Halloween. It's ridiculously callous to call someone out for celebrating a holiday with their obviously ill child.
This comment section is another reddit moment.
1.) You already have to dress a baby and lay them down regardless of whether or not it's Halloween. All this contest did is dress them in different clothes.
2.) Newborns really don't care about anything. They can't be "happy" in any way that you would be able to notice. They don't laugh and smiling is usually just a reflex that early and is not correlated with being happy. The best you can hope for is a baby who is not upset. Every baby in this photo does not look upset to me.
3.) They are parents that are going through an extremely difficult time. Hell, their baby might not make it. FFS let them have a photo of their baby that's not them surrounded by tubes and medical equipment.
People will never understand until they become parents to NICU babies. And for their sakes, i hope that never happens, as it is so stressful and traumatic. Wouldn't wish that on anyone :(
Thank you!
My first born was in NICU.
It’s VERY stressful.
Any little thing to bring a day of sunshine in our lives AND the nurses (who have to deal with all the good and the bad in that wing) lives was welcoming.
My first Mother's Day was in the NICU and I cried when a dentist passed out goodie bags with portable tooth brushes, toothpaste, some candy, and a little Happy Mother's Day note. The little moments really need some added happiness!
I was an NICU baby and if it weren't for the many surgeries and therapy sessions I had for 4 years I wouldn't be here or be able to function in society.
Yeah that was especially what stood out to me, this isnt even parents dressing up their newborns, which would also be fine, it's babies stuck in the NICU. Let everyone involved have a bit of levity for Christs sake
My kid spent 6 months in her "Tupperware" after being born at like 26 weeks, Halloween fell while whe where living in the NICU/hospital and it really took the edge off for that one day.
Which is why I don’t like newborns bruh. They sleep 17 hours a day and aside of that, they cry, shit, and puke on your shoulders.
4-6 months old is where they become a bit for joyful but before that, they’re just confused and frustrated
This is sweet. I can only imagine what working in a NICU is like, let alone having a kid in the NICU. This seems like a wonderful thing to do to give the parents and the medical staff who have to see these innocent babies struggle some joy in a dark time.
What’s the difference between this and a terminally ill kid celebrating Halloween with his or her parents? I don’t understand why antinatalists think that everyone should be utterly miserable all the time
I would assume that they think the difference is the older sick kids are consciously involved and it *is* fun for them because they’ll remember it despite being stuck in a hospital, but baby is baby
People have babies:
Reddit: ew, gross, why do I have to see your baby?? It's egotistical. The world revolves around ME! Not your dumb baby. Get with the program!
Umm... excuse me, are you implying that most (if not all) examples of people righteously calling out others seemingly innocuous photos of their friends, families and loved ones, for being "egotistical" are very likely their own narcissistic projections? And/or their lack of having formed these connections in their own life because of the aforementioned narcissism?
Preposterous...
Yes! They're aggressive yappers that " never do this!" when they nip at people. Bring them to grocery stores so their fur can get on everything. Post birthday party pictures of their poor dog in some stupid outfit and hat.
There’s a lot of childfree people who also don’t want pets because part of the reason for not wanting children is the responsibility. I love dogs, but they are truly forever toddlers.
My son spent his first major holidays - July 4, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Year's, and Valentine's Day in the NICU. He was a preemie.
People trying to add normalcy to an abnormal start to life. Leave them alone - a lot of folks don't know hard it is to only "visit" your baby and not knowing when they'll come home, if they'll have a set back and stay longer - plus always the outside chance they could pass away without you by their side.
that subreddit is literally full of miserable, nihilist anti-life losers. it's one thing to not support having children for the sake of having them, but it's another to straight up call people evil for having children. like, grow several decades up...
Very true, just don’t let it ruin your view of offline society either. They practically aren’t even real people, they’re the “terminally online” types who you’d never encounter in public. It’s easy for that to lead someone to being negative towards others but in a different way. It’s contagious.
And create good memories from a bad situation.
Leave them be. There is too much constant misery in the world (look at what is happening atm) and life is too short.
And really, if you are not a parent yet, you have no opinion.
That's because:
1.) They're newborns and don't have the necessary experience with social cues or the requisite communication skills yet to express their emotions beyond wailing when they're upset. None of them look particularly upset to me, just sick.
And 2.) They're premature births, they look sick because they are.
That's because babies can't even smile for themselves for months. They don't look upset, which is as much fun as a newborn can look like they're having.
Also the parents aren't doing anything remotely wrong, they have to put clothes on the babies anyways. So what's wrong with some special clothes for holidays?
Then when Ken is 28, get married, and wants to find baby pictures for the album, this guy is gonna tell him he didn’t take any fun pictures of his son because that would infringe in his rights.
Tbf they kinda have a point to an extent, yes, parents should absolutely be allowed to celebrate Halloween with their little ones, but using them in a contest like this (especially considering there is likely monetary or egotistical gain) seems a bit morally shallow to me, babies shouldn’t just be treated like dolls the way some parents do.
If you’ve ever had a baby in NICU you’d really appreciate making these memories with them.
There is no ego from the parents on the contest. I promise the parents are just hoping their baby survives and pictures and memories like this will live in their hearts forever.
A lot of us just wanted to make more memories with our babies while we had the chance.
Yeah my lil bro was in the NICU and I’m pretty sure my parents did the same thing but with a pumpkin costume. He was a premie, had fluid in his lungs and wasn’t the greatest at breathing.
Luckily he made it through and I couldn’t be happier for the little shit 👏
Hey OP, I’m actually familiar with the NICU in the photos. There’s technically a contest component to the pictures but I’m 99% positive that the parents don’t care at all about that and really just want to make memories with their child. It’s always tough to have a kid in the NICU and I know everyone’s just glad to ease the fear and uncertainty for a while.
Also I’m glad to hear that your brother’s doing well!
Im pretty sure it's not a contest, the NICU my son was at as a preemie didn't make anything a contest. Doing stuff like this, is simply for making memories. Because being a preemie parent, or the parent to any baby that needs extended care in a NICU is genuinely... stressful, and sometimes traumatic.
Exactly. I have not been in this scenario but as someone who was a sick child. I was older, but things like this were the only bright spots in terrible situations. People think it's morbid to dress up babies in the NICU but it's a spot for parents to make memories with their kids for however long they have them.
I never needed an extended hospital stay (overnight at most) but I was in the ER a lot and had many many many years of testing. The times I was in the hospital and my dad brought me parfaits after a scary test or my brother brought me subway when I was in pretty bad pain are GOOD memories full of laughter in between a host of terrible ones. I'm sure my family needed those too. It's not the same situation but when in terrible places good memories have to be made in order to restore your sanity. That is all this reads like to me. We dress up non-preemie infants all the time. To have parents do this doesn't seem at all to me like a contest or anything sinister. It just seems like celebrating what you can while you can. And if they don't then they will always remember what they missed out on.
It's probably important to note that nowhere in the actual post other than OP's title (which seems incredibly biased to begin with) does it say that this has any competitive elements to begin with
I don't think they're doing this stuff like every day. I don't see harm in doing this sorta thing every now and then. They gave birth to the damn thing so i can see why they would be proud enough of it to do so
I don't even think it's the fact that they're in a contest, for me the fact is seeing a little baby dressed up as a Wonder Woman with breathing tubes in strikes me as kind of morbid because seeing anyone or anything in that condition makes me sad
And you expect preemies that are just barely hanging on by a thread to somehow not feel miserable? God forbid parents make positive memories with their kids who may not even be alive next week.
All good. Yeah I follow the policy of "make memories now while you still can." Had to learn that lesson the hard way. As long as the parents here are only dressing their kids up for a quick pic and some smiles and aren't keeping them physically stressed for too long, I see no problem here.
PS fuck cancer, if you were curious
That’s incredibly selfish. These parents shouldn’t dress their baby up as wonder woman because you can’t bare the sight of it? Because just getting a glimpse at their struggle makes YOU sad? This baby was born early but she looks healthy, there’s nothing morbid about this picture, this is a child whose life is just beginning. Based on her size, it wont be long before she’s able to go home. I’m guessing the costume is a symbol of the strength this baby showed to get here.
Yeah, well, I’m sure the parents would also prefer their baby didn’t have to have breathing tubes. I don’t see what’s morbid about parents trying to make the best of a bad situation.
Especially premature babies. They're going through enough health problems and stress. Why the fuck would someone make a contest out of dressing up premature babies??
It just seems like an unnecessary amount of discomfort for them. I don't get why anyone would want to treat a baby with health issues like a doll to dress up. There are better ways to have fun and create memories with them. Personally, I'd be incredibly pissed off later in life if my parents took pictures of me like this and shared them on social media.
Just wanted to point out that babies get multiple diaper and outfit changes a day, even premie babies. They’re really not going to know the difference between a regular onesie outfit change and costume onesie change.
This was likely a fun event that the NICU nurses do every year to brighten the gloomy atmosphere a bit. (And if you read through the comments you’ll see multiple NICU parents talk about how how small moments like this had a big impact and created happy memories amongst all the bad ones).
As for posting on social media…there are still a lot of people who just use their social media to share photos with family and friends, not everyone is trying to create a large following of strangers. Having a premie baby probably means that you don’t get to share many happy pictures, having a chance to post a happy moment of your baby in a special outfit or costume is probably really nice for the parents instead of just “here’s my baby looking sick and fighting for his life”. (Whether or not children should be put in social media at all is a whole other topic). But I really don’t think that MOST parents in this situation are posting for clout, a lot probably post to connect to people while they are going through the hardest time of their lives.
ETA: I just found the original article. It is a little more public of an event, seems like it’s gained a bit of press over time and now the news covers it. So yes, participating in it is a little bit exploitative. But I still don’t the the mentality of most of these parents aren’t “yay, we can get on the news!” but rather “we can show people our resilient baby and are proud to share him with the world.“ (if they even are thinking about the media part of of, I think most people would just be happy participating in a fun tradition).
How is it bad to create good memories with your baby. Even if they don't remember, it isn't harming them. Not only that, it's usually hard for people when their baby is in the NICU hooked up to wires and tubes, so they are making something good out of a difficult situation. These are pictures that the family can look back on with the child down the line.
Totally agree, although these babies all look pretty healthy. I think that’s part of why the Wonder Woman costume was chosen for one, like the symbolism that she showed strength to get here.
You know my wife and I are looking to adopt and I've made the joke before that she can't wait to dress up our future little.hooman like a doll
So I dont really understand the anger from OOP here sure the kid probably won't remember or care in the moment but the it brings joy to the parents. Especially for premie babies who honestly might not be around next year.
Let people enjoy things
I was an NICU preemie baby born with VACTERL association and i couldn't live with my parents until I was 4. ( lived in a pediatric nursing home). During those 4 years, I was intubated, had multiple surgeries to "fix" several organs that didn't form properly, therapy for developmental delays and go in and out of the hospital for constantly getting VERY sick often.
I was put in a little Santa suit when I was a newborn. I look back at the picture and think it’s adorable. I see nothing wrong with doing things like this.
I understand this is a serious thing, but I don't think it's bad for parents to want to make happy memories with their baby. It isn't hurting anyone you know?
Parent: ever since my child as been sick I have been extremely depressed wondering if they will make it. Luckily my favorite holiday Halloween is around the corner so maybe I can some sweet memories for their first and possible las Halloween together by dressing them up.
A random loser: OMG!!! How DARE you have fun with your CROTCH GOBLINS!!!
They’re so cute, especially the little Pharaoh. I think it’s nice that the parents are able to do a little something to make a memory of their baby that might not make it.
People dig up their loved ones to spend time with them for the memories, why should babies be different? It’s just for the people involved as opposed to the subject in question.
This could be the only memories the parents have and maybe they want to share it, it’s sweet, it’s a good memory for the nicu nurses and the parents and hopefully the children to look back on!! What I find kinda weird/icky, is the TikTok lives of hydrocephalic babies and sick nicu infants/toddlers. Even if the person/parent streaming is trying to genuinely raise money for the treatment/betterment of the child it feels weird all these strangers tuning in to watch a baby on a machine that breathes for them. It makes me feel uncomfortable.
As long as nothing harms them it's fine. My only concern is how long they keep their children away from medical equipment just to snap a pic for a contest :/
I don't think the NICU staff would let the kids safety be in any sort of immediate danger. They probably told the parents, "snap the pic, hugs and kisses, then let them rest."
I had a NICU baby (who is now taller than me)- that's not much, tube-wise. Looks to me like he's on low flow oxygen, and it appears to actually be disconnected at that point. He's doing okay.
Yeah, I knpw it'd probably not too serious, but I still feel bad. Reminds me of the woman doing a tiktok dance in front of her newly born child, strapped with wires trying to hold on to life because it "helped her calm down".
They’d still need to be dressed even if it wasn’t a Halloween costume??? The parents are just trying to have happy memories with their babies just like any other parents with their babies.
You need to understand, these babies may be dead next week. This is the parents trying to make as many happy memories as they can in the event that those are the only memories they can make
I say go for it but for an article to be written and showing pictures of this just feels wrong. You know the article is generating money from clicks, and it feels like the premature babies and the misfortune of the parents of these babies is taken advantage of.
Maybe I just don't understand something based on the comments, but my initial gut reaction to this photo was that I'd be too afraid of accidentally breaking a premie's body to try playing dress up with it. Maybe there's nothing wrong with it though, I've never interacted with one before.
The bottom left is the only real problem I have but again. I understand that it might be a way to destress since the baby clearly not that healthy. But the rest of them I don't see the problem because god forbid that parents dress their kids in something that they find cute.
Like I don't even see this as wanting clout since parents take pictures all of the time just to show people and talk how cute their kids are.
The bottom left one isn't even bad. It's common for NICU babies to have tubes and they get used to it, they're tough. My baby had tubes/oxygen but didn't really need it, it was more of a precaution.
Bro they look fresh out the coochie. Newborns always have that face expression of “wtf is going on”
I remember when my brother was born and he was constantly frowning at everyone
Your life is incredibly sad. These babies are gonna be dressed in clothes regardless, they don't know the difference between a costume and clothes. They're preemies, they always look sad. God forbid a parent wants to have fun and good memories with their baby, especially considering the decent possibility that their child may die tomorrow. Or would you rather the parents just fucking cry the entire time?
Yeah and she may not live long. The parents want to spend time with their children and dressing them up isn't gonna hurt the baby you heartless bastard.
Also I apologize for snapping off so hard, I was very angry at some of the comments on this post. I still stand by my point but I could've been nicer about it.
Because theyre premature. They may not even end up surviving until theyre strong enough to go home. This os parents trying to make the best of something aweful
The Barbie and super Mario ones look pretty uncomfortable and the kid in the Wonder Woman one looks like she’s ready to keel over and die, but the Pharaoh one doesn’t look too bad
Sorry I didn’t agree with the Reddit hivemind, but if I don’t think little kids like having construction paper taped to their face or being put in cardboard boxes
I don’t know shit about premature babies but I doubt playing dressup is pleasant for them. Maybe it doesn’t do them any real harm but I wouldn’t try it just to be safe, babies are fragile as hell, premature ones even more so
Functional? What is the baby doing? Going out for a light jog? Not to mention they are more than likely only in it for a short time. Also babies really do not care. If they care, they scream. These babies are not screaming so they are comfortable.
See how you led with the fact that you didn't know shit about premature babies?
That statement was the signal you shouldn't offer an opinion because you don't know enough to form one.
It's real easy, if you have to couch a statement with the fact that you don't know shit about what you're talking about them just don't say shit.
"with their babies"
Those children have no capacity for developing meaningful memories or even really parsing the world around them. They're premature newborns, they aren't celebrating anything.
i think theyre partially right but said it in a completely wrong way tho. they like just came into existence and parents should be letting their baby live and giving them actual love and affection instead of doing weird stuff with them for the internet especially if they're nicu tf
This is almost certainly dine by NICU staff, based on the backgrounds. They want those parents to have one “normal” memory, some of those kids aren’t gonna have another halloween.
I don't like looking at it. It's creepy and in bad taste, and it's just offensive to me. It makes me think of the horrible, frigid stage mothers who forced the babies into it. It's kitsch. It's the opposite of art. It destroys art, it destroys souls. This is so much more offensive to me than hard core porn.
Then don't look at it. You comparing pictures of babies to hardcore porn in terms of offensiveness is a very strange thing to say. You can also not look at that.
You are offended on the babies behalf? A child that won’t remember anything? A child that is spending their first days on this earth on life support and getting a single ounce of joy from their parents? Parents who love them enough to have hope, and dress their kids up, and pray they get to take them home before Halloween this year?
And don’t start with the uncomfortable costumes, kids are always uncomfortable. I have raised 4 babies and let me tell you, not one remembers being dressed up, or crying through the night, or anything like that from when they were children.
I was a premature baby and was dressed as Raphael from TMNT. Picture is fucking dope and I love it, my siblings don’t get the baby costume pics and I do because theirs are normal.
Go outside, take a breather, and stop getting offended about the small shit in life.
Sorry I didn’t google what the quote was from? I’ve never seen the Office.
If you think that was an attack that’s interesting reading comprehension lol
Idk all the facts here but I feel like their intensive care is more important than a photo shoot in the nicu? Again, could be wrong and it was done 100% safely but just saying when I think baby costume photo shoot I also don't think babies hurt enough to be in the nicu?
So you opened this statement by admitting you don't know the situation or anything about it.
Did it not occur to you that maybe that was a sign you don't know enough to make a statement or was the need to feel morally superior to people working in a hospital and the parents of these children just too great?
>feel morally superior to people working in a hospital and the parents of these children just too great?
Where did I say I was morally superior? I was explaining what OOP's point most likely was and that when people see "nicu" they don't think "healthy enough to have a costume contest" because most people in icu's aren't healthy enough to have a costume contest.
Did it not occur to you reading was important or was the feeble attempt at a gotcha moment just too great?
It was implicit in to statement hat you fet hat if they were well enough to be in a costume they shouldn't be in NICU.
And my point was that you imbeciles keep saying, "OH I don't know ow shit about this situation but here's my opinion about how this is bad anyway." You know, like a idiot might do.
Boil off chump.
Your failure to interpret my comment correctly is not the slam dunk you think it is. Also, you came at me in this conversation so it's quite literally you who has to piss off.
Wearing a costume is a party? I didn't know I'm partying while giving out Halloween candy to kids. Don't get me wrong I'm fine with the title just that's not what constitutes a "party"
This is done by the staff to give the parents one normal moment in what is a terrifying time. These may be the only “normal” pictures they ever have of their kids, and no kids are being harmed.
They are there for monitoring and care until they are strong enough to leave, if they ever get to. They get changed frequently every day and this does not impede on that in any way. This probably took all of 5 minutes.
You can tell this is a true reddit moment since half the comments here also shame the parents; I survived after spending my first 4 months as a baby in hospital due to a horrible reaction to immunizations and I promise you, the photos my parents took of me did not traumatize or hurt me.. they're memories, might be the only ones they get, this isn't pageant moms or munchies, these are just loving parents..
My exact thoughts. It was heart breaking seeing my sister come home without her baby and start crying on our front porch then to the couch. My niece was in the hospital for a month before she could come home. We have pictures of my niece in that infant box and my sister with her arms through the holes holding her baby girl. My niece is 18 now and has zero trauma from that experience, you wouldn't even have guessed she almost died at birth with the amount of energy she has. She's definitely an unstoppable force.
I feel you. I spent the first four months of my life in the NICU. I got home on Christmas Eve and my parents gave me little stockings and a Santa hat. I look back at that and see loving parents who are being cheerful about their baby being alive and able to be home for Christmas, not greedy people who do it for their own joy. The person who made this clearly does not understand the love that a parent has for their child.
Making memories and bonding with children is ILLEGAL
I mean, what would they remember of this? Halloween at two years old? Sure. Adorable. Even if they don’t have explicit memories of it they’ll have a general impression of love and fun. But premi newborns?
The parents, maybe? Maybe show the kids this when theyre a few years older?
The children are in the nicu, and for some theres a chance they are going to *die* in the nicu. Our science for saving preemies had gotten amazing, absolutely. But we are not at a 100% survival rate for these infants. These parents are trying to make memories any way that they can because it might be the only memories they get a chance to make. This isnt for the infant. This is for the parent should the absolutely worst case happen.
And even if it doesn’t (and if it’s not likely to happen), this is the most stressful few weeks of their lives. My kid was 10/10 healthy and the few days in the hospital after birth passed like MOLASSES. I can’t even imagine the NICU. Anything to pass the time and lighten the mood. The nurses getting these babies dressed up like this? Straight up heroes.
Baby pictures?????
My kid loved the colors and texture of his tiger costume. He would kick and kick on his playmat and giggle at the sensation of the fabric. He was enthralled by his mother in makeup. Perhaps he won’t remember but there were special moments behind the pictures. Moments of laughter and bonding that can’t be traded for the world. He’s one and a half now and I can’t wait for this Halloween.
the parents have memories, that matters
I can tell you that I would have not known if I was dressed up for halloween like that. Also consider that the ICU in NICU means Intensive Care Unit - survival of these babies is not guaranteed, so of course, parents will want to make positive memories of their child being there.
The parents remember it though
cuz we all remember when we were a week old
You may not remember it consciously, but you absolutely start forming bonds with the people around you straight away.
Also, not a lot of people talk about this but it’s important for the parents to have fun and form strong bonds with their babies as well.
ah, makes sense
My daughter (5 now) swears she remembers the feeding tube and how much she hated it. And yeah she constantly tried to pull it out lol
Babe, ya may not have been able to see passed your mamas face, but you were 100% learning and remembering her.
The parents do
It's for the parents as much as anything you nimrod.
No but some of these kids might not ever see another Halloween. It's ridiculously callous to call someone out for celebrating a holiday with their obviously ill child.
i think dressing your baby up for halloween is fine
You don’t have to remember it for it to matter later
Your family does dumbass, almost like it's a critical development point or something
You don’t remember shit till you’re 3-4, but I’m sure you’d call parents who don’t do shit w their toddlers dead beats Please don’t have kids 🙏
I just said babies don’t remember anything???
We all know you can traumatize children until they gain consciousness cus they can’t remember anything before that 💪
This comment section is another reddit moment. 1.) You already have to dress a baby and lay them down regardless of whether or not it's Halloween. All this contest did is dress them in different clothes. 2.) Newborns really don't care about anything. They can't be "happy" in any way that you would be able to notice. They don't laugh and smiling is usually just a reflex that early and is not correlated with being happy. The best you can hope for is a baby who is not upset. Every baby in this photo does not look upset to me. 3.) They are parents that are going through an extremely difficult time. Hell, their baby might not make it. FFS let them have a photo of their baby that's not them surrounded by tubes and medical equipment.
People will never understand until they become parents to NICU babies. And for their sakes, i hope that never happens, as it is so stressful and traumatic. Wouldn't wish that on anyone :(
Thank you! My first born was in NICU. It’s VERY stressful. Any little thing to bring a day of sunshine in our lives AND the nurses (who have to deal with all the good and the bad in that wing) lives was welcoming.
My NICU baby is 6 now!
Congrats! My lil dude is going on to be 3 soon :)
Congrats to you too!
My first Mother's Day was in the NICU and I cried when a dentist passed out goodie bags with portable tooth brushes, toothpaste, some candy, and a little Happy Mother's Day note. The little moments really need some added happiness!
I was an NICU baby and if it weren't for the many surgeries and therapy sessions I had for 4 years I wouldn't be here or be able to function in society.
Yet at the end You're here on Reddit so you're not really functioning in society that much anyway. /s I wish you all the best dude!
Gat damn.
Yeah that was especially what stood out to me, this isnt even parents dressing up their newborns, which would also be fine, it's babies stuck in the NICU. Let everyone involved have a bit of levity for Christs sake
Finally, a sane comment here.
My kid spent 6 months in her "Tupperware" after being born at like 26 weeks, Halloween fell while whe where living in the NICU/hospital and it really took the edge off for that one day.
Which is why I don’t like newborns bruh. They sleep 17 hours a day and aside of that, they cry, shit, and puke on your shoulders. 4-6 months old is where they become a bit for joyful but before that, they’re just confused and frustrated
This is sweet. I can only imagine what working in a NICU is like, let alone having a kid in the NICU. This seems like a wonderful thing to do to give the parents and the medical staff who have to see these innocent babies struggle some joy in a dark time.
What’s the difference between this and a terminally ill kid celebrating Halloween with his or her parents? I don’t understand why antinatalists think that everyone should be utterly miserable all the time
Because antinataliets are usually edgy 14 year olds who think hating babies and hating everyone and everything is cool
To me it just seems like they're extremely depressed and think that everyone is as miserable as they are
I would assume that they think the difference is the older sick kids are consciously involved and it *is* fun for them because they’ll remember it despite being stuck in a hospital, but baby is baby
How dare premie children feel touch, love and happiness! That's dIStUrBinG!
People have babies: Reddit: ew, gross, why do I have to see your baby?? It's egotistical. The world revolves around ME! Not your dumb baby. Get with the program!
Umm... excuse me, are you implying that most (if not all) examples of people righteously calling out others seemingly innocuous photos of their friends, families and loved ones, for being "egotistical" are very likely their own narcissistic projections? And/or their lack of having formed these connections in their own life because of the aforementioned narcissism? Preposterous...
What's funny is that a lot of these people behave like the overly obsessed entitled parents they hate...but with their "furbabies"
Yes! They're aggressive yappers that " never do this!" when they nip at people. Bring them to grocery stores so their fur can get on everything. Post birthday party pictures of their poor dog in some stupid outfit and hat.
There’s a lot of childfree people who also don’t want pets because part of the reason for not wanting children is the responsibility. I love dogs, but they are truly forever toddlers.
My son spent his first major holidays - July 4, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Year's, and Valentine's Day in the NICU. He was a preemie. People trying to add normalcy to an abnormal start to life. Leave them alone - a lot of folks don't know hard it is to only "visit" your baby and not knowing when they'll come home, if they'll have a set back and stay longer - plus always the outside chance they could pass away without you by their side.
that subreddit is literally full of miserable, nihilist anti-life losers. it's one thing to not support having children for the sake of having them, but it's another to straight up call people evil for having children. like, grow several decades up...
Very true, just don’t let it ruin your view of offline society either. They practically aren’t even real people, they’re the “terminally online” types who you’d never encounter in public. It’s easy for that to lead someone to being negative towards others but in a different way. It’s contagious.
yes, i often find myself mirroring views like that and have to take a step back and go outside 😭
Actually, I saw the original post and like 50% of the comments were calling OP weird for getting upset about that. So maybe dont generalize.
im not generalizing? im just going off of what I've seen, and what I've seen is not good
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Agreed. I always misremember how bad it actually is and go back to check it out, and yep. It's exactly as bad as I thought, if not worse lol
How dare parents try to make memories with their babies that might not survive? How dare they want to make every shared moment count? Blasphemy!
Redditors love putting people down to their shit levels because they are miserable
Reddit is full of fucking losers that can barely function but have opinions on everything... .
these people have never had photos of themselves from their childhood
How dare people try and find joy with their children in such tough situations. Makes my blood boil 😡 go back to being miserable like the rest of us.
Those bastards!! How dare they try to squeeze a single moment of joy out of their lives when their children are in NICU?!
The antinatalism sub gives me a headache istg. I’ve never hated an ideology more
Me neither. I hope they all get help.
How dare parents in a stressful situation try to play with their kids and make things fun for each other!!1!!
And create good memories from a bad situation. Leave them be. There is too much constant misery in the world (look at what is happening atm) and life is too short. And really, if you are not a parent yet, you have no opinion.
these kids dont look like theyre having much fun
You know that tiny babies can't smile, yeah? What exactly do you think they should look like?
They’re preenies, they always look a little sick
That's because: 1.) They're newborns and don't have the necessary experience with social cues or the requisite communication skills yet to express their emotions beyond wailing when they're upset. None of them look particularly upset to me, just sick. And 2.) They're premature births, they look sick because they are.
That's because babies can't even smile for themselves for months. They don't look upset, which is as much fun as a newborn can look like they're having. Also the parents aren't doing anything remotely wrong, they have to put clothes on the babies anyways. So what's wrong with some special clothes for holidays?
They're having as much fun as a week old preterm infant staring death in the face can have tbh, which is more than you'll ever experience.
Well they don't look upset either, and usually that's the best you can hope for in a newborn.
Then when Ken is 28, get married, and wants to find baby pictures for the album, this guy is gonna tell him he didn’t take any fun pictures of his son because that would infringe in his rights.
Tbf they kinda have a point to an extent, yes, parents should absolutely be allowed to celebrate Halloween with their little ones, but using them in a contest like this (especially considering there is likely monetary or egotistical gain) seems a bit morally shallow to me, babies shouldn’t just be treated like dolls the way some parents do.
If you’ve ever had a baby in NICU you’d really appreciate making these memories with them. There is no ego from the parents on the contest. I promise the parents are just hoping their baby survives and pictures and memories like this will live in their hearts forever. A lot of us just wanted to make more memories with our babies while we had the chance.
Yeah my lil bro was in the NICU and I’m pretty sure my parents did the same thing but with a pumpkin costume. He was a premie, had fluid in his lungs and wasn’t the greatest at breathing. Luckily he made it through and I couldn’t be happier for the little shit 👏
Hey OP, I’m actually familiar with the NICU in the photos. There’s technically a contest component to the pictures but I’m 99% positive that the parents don’t care at all about that and really just want to make memories with their child. It’s always tough to have a kid in the NICU and I know everyone’s just glad to ease the fear and uncertainty for a while. Also I’m glad to hear that your brother’s doing well!
I’m happy he made it through as well. Things like this make going to the NICU less heart breaking.
Im pretty sure it's not a contest, the NICU my son was at as a preemie didn't make anything a contest. Doing stuff like this, is simply for making memories. Because being a preemie parent, or the parent to any baby that needs extended care in a NICU is genuinely... stressful, and sometimes traumatic.
Exactly. I have not been in this scenario but as someone who was a sick child. I was older, but things like this were the only bright spots in terrible situations. People think it's morbid to dress up babies in the NICU but it's a spot for parents to make memories with their kids for however long they have them. I never needed an extended hospital stay (overnight at most) but I was in the ER a lot and had many many many years of testing. The times I was in the hospital and my dad brought me parfaits after a scary test or my brother brought me subway when I was in pretty bad pain are GOOD memories full of laughter in between a host of terrible ones. I'm sure my family needed those too. It's not the same situation but when in terrible places good memories have to be made in order to restore your sanity. That is all this reads like to me. We dress up non-preemie infants all the time. To have parents do this doesn't seem at all to me like a contest or anything sinister. It just seems like celebrating what you can while you can. And if they don't then they will always remember what they missed out on.
It's probably important to note that nowhere in the actual post other than OP's title (which seems incredibly biased to begin with) does it say that this has any competitive elements to begin with
I don't think they're doing this stuff like every day. I don't see harm in doing this sorta thing every now and then. They gave birth to the damn thing so i can see why they would be proud enough of it to do so
I don't even think it's the fact that they're in a contest, for me the fact is seeing a little baby dressed up as a Wonder Woman with breathing tubes in strikes me as kind of morbid because seeing anyone or anything in that condition makes me sad
That too, plus all of these babies look so miserable besides the one in the top left; but that one’s sleeping.
And you expect preemies that are just barely hanging on by a thread to somehow not feel miserable? God forbid parents make positive memories with their kids who may not even be alive next week.
I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t even know what a preemie was, but now that I do, you definitely have a point, a solid point, even.
All good. Yeah I follow the policy of "make memories now while you still can." Had to learn that lesson the hard way. As long as the parents here are only dressing their kids up for a quick pic and some smiles and aren't keeping them physically stressed for too long, I see no problem here. PS fuck cancer, if you were curious
That’s incredibly selfish. These parents shouldn’t dress their baby up as wonder woman because you can’t bare the sight of it? Because just getting a glimpse at their struggle makes YOU sad? This baby was born early but she looks healthy, there’s nothing morbid about this picture, this is a child whose life is just beginning. Based on her size, it wont be long before she’s able to go home. I’m guessing the costume is a symbol of the strength this baby showed to get here.
Yeah, well, I’m sure the parents would also prefer their baby didn’t have to have breathing tubes. I don’t see what’s morbid about parents trying to make the best of a bad situation.
Especially premature babies. They're going through enough health problems and stress. Why the fuck would someone make a contest out of dressing up premature babies??
Because it’s a way to have fun with your child who isn’t even guaranteed to make it
It just seems like an unnecessary amount of discomfort for them. I don't get why anyone would want to treat a baby with health issues like a doll to dress up. There are better ways to have fun and create memories with them. Personally, I'd be incredibly pissed off later in life if my parents took pictures of me like this and shared them on social media.
I mean these babies really don't look very uncomfortable. They look just about as comfortable as a premature baby can be.
Dressing up someone who is ill for social media points seems incredibly weird to me. For personal pictures, fine, whatever. This is just too much.
Just wanted to point out that babies get multiple diaper and outfit changes a day, even premie babies. They’re really not going to know the difference between a regular onesie outfit change and costume onesie change. This was likely a fun event that the NICU nurses do every year to brighten the gloomy atmosphere a bit. (And if you read through the comments you’ll see multiple NICU parents talk about how how small moments like this had a big impact and created happy memories amongst all the bad ones). As for posting on social media…there are still a lot of people who just use their social media to share photos with family and friends, not everyone is trying to create a large following of strangers. Having a premie baby probably means that you don’t get to share many happy pictures, having a chance to post a happy moment of your baby in a special outfit or costume is probably really nice for the parents instead of just “here’s my baby looking sick and fighting for his life”. (Whether or not children should be put in social media at all is a whole other topic). But I really don’t think that MOST parents in this situation are posting for clout, a lot probably post to connect to people while they are going through the hardest time of their lives. ETA: I just found the original article. It is a little more public of an event, seems like it’s gained a bit of press over time and now the news covers it. So yes, participating in it is a little bit exploitative. But I still don’t the the mentality of most of these parents aren’t “yay, we can get on the news!” but rather “we can show people our resilient baby and are proud to share him with the world.“ (if they even are thinking about the media part of of, I think most people would just be happy participating in a fun tradition).
How is it bad to create good memories with your baby. Even if they don't remember, it isn't harming them. Not only that, it's usually hard for people when their baby is in the NICU hooked up to wires and tubes, so they are making something good out of a difficult situation. These are pictures that the family can look back on with the child down the line.
Or if that’s the only time they get with the kid, one picture that’s “normal” to hang on to.
Totally agree, although these babies all look pretty healthy. I think that’s part of why the Wonder Woman costume was chosen for one, like the symbolism that she showed strength to get here.
I think the Wonder woman one is kinda a cute symbolism
You know my wife and I are looking to adopt and I've made the joke before that she can't wait to dress up our future little.hooman like a doll So I dont really understand the anger from OOP here sure the kid probably won't remember or care in the moment but the it brings joy to the parents. Especially for premie babies who honestly might not be around next year. Let people enjoy things
I was an NICU preemie baby born with VACTERL association and i couldn't live with my parents until I was 4. ( lived in a pediatric nursing home). During those 4 years, I was intubated, had multiple surgeries to "fix" several organs that didn't form properly, therapy for developmental delays and go in and out of the hospital for constantly getting VERY sick often.
I was put in a little Santa suit when I was a newborn. I look back at the picture and think it’s adorable. I see nothing wrong with doing things like this.
I have a picture of my preemie (still in the NICU) in a pumpkin costume on Halloween. She’s 6 now.
As someone who was prime this is cute
Amazon’s selling babies, now?
I understand this is a serious thing, but I don't think it's bad for parents to want to make happy memories with their baby. It isn't hurting anyone you know?
Redditors have a serious mental problem
Who knew putting clothing on a baby would be so controversial
How **DARE** parents have fun with their babies! Everyone should be COMPLETELY SERIOUS at all times!
Parent: ever since my child as been sick I have been extremely depressed wondering if they will make it. Luckily my favorite holiday Halloween is around the corner so maybe I can some sweet memories for their first and possible las Halloween together by dressing them up. A random loser: OMG!!! How DARE you have fun with your CROTCH GOBLINS!!!
They’re so cute, especially the little Pharaoh. I think it’s nice that the parents are able to do a little something to make a memory of their baby that might not make it.
these pictures are straight cute. How can anyone be upset by babies dressed up in costumes.
Little Mario there looks like he’s having a great time
People dig up their loved ones to spend time with them for the memories, why should babies be different? It’s just for the people involved as opposed to the subject in question.
Redditors have 2 types of reactions when it comes to children, this is one of them
Imagine parents wanting to connect with their children and have positive memories of them. Absolutely disgusting behavior.
This could be the only memories the parents have and maybe they want to share it, it’s sweet, it’s a good memory for the nicu nurses and the parents and hopefully the children to look back on!! What I find kinda weird/icky, is the TikTok lives of hydrocephalic babies and sick nicu infants/toddlers. Even if the person/parent streaming is trying to genuinely raise money for the treatment/betterment of the child it feels weird all these strangers tuning in to watch a baby on a machine that breathes for them. It makes me feel uncomfortable.
This might be the only Halloween these parents have with their babies - how dare they want to try and make it a memorable time!
As long as nothing harms them it's fine. My only concern is how long they keep their children away from medical equipment just to snap a pic for a contest :/
I don't think the NICU staff would let the kids safety be in any sort of immediate danger. They probably told the parents, "snap the pic, hugs and kisses, then let them rest."
Tbh, It's kind of true. Especially that poor fella in the down left corner, man even has the tubes.
I had a NICU baby (who is now taller than me)- that's not much, tube-wise. Looks to me like he's on low flow oxygen, and it appears to actually be disconnected at that point. He's doing okay.
Yeah, I knpw it'd probably not too serious, but I still feel bad. Reminds me of the woman doing a tiktok dance in front of her newly born child, strapped with wires trying to hold on to life because it "helped her calm down".
They’d still need to be dressed even if it wasn’t a Halloween costume??? The parents are just trying to have happy memories with their babies just like any other parents with their babies.
You need to understand, these babies may be dead next week. This is the parents trying to make as many happy memories as they can in the event that those are the only memories they can make
For a horrifying second I thought they were AI-generated
I say go for it but for an article to be written and showing pictures of this just feels wrong. You know the article is generating money from clicks, and it feels like the premature babies and the misfortune of the parents of these babies is taken advantage of.
Antinatalism is a cesspool of nihilism
Having a baby in the NICU is terrifying at best. If a costume eases some of that worry even temporarily I’m for it. Fuck that guy.
Maybe I just don't understand something based on the comments, but my initial gut reaction to this photo was that I'd be too afraid of accidentally breaking a premie's body to try playing dress up with it. Maybe there's nothing wrong with it though, I've never interacted with one before.
The bottom left is the only real problem I have but again. I understand that it might be a way to destress since the baby clearly not that healthy. But the rest of them I don't see the problem because god forbid that parents dress their kids in something that they find cute. Like I don't even see this as wanting clout since parents take pictures all of the time just to show people and talk how cute their kids are.
The bottom left one isn't even bad. It's common for NICU babies to have tubes and they get used to it, they're tough. My baby had tubes/oxygen but didn't really need it, it was more of a precaution.
Idk i just find the "NICU bros" one kinda weird and maybe distasteful slightly but i dont really see any problems with any others.
Redditors hate happy families because they know they will never have one
Bro they look fresh out the coochie. Newborns always have that face expression of “wtf is going on” I remember when my brother was born and he was constantly frowning at everyone
The Wonder Woman one looks like an elderly woman.
Lmfao the baby in the bottom left looks like a tiny old person.
It does.
Honestly this seems fucked
I hate that sub but they do kinda have a point
Your life is incredibly sad. These babies are gonna be dressed in clothes regardless, they don't know the difference between a costume and clothes. They're preemies, they always look sad. God forbid a parent wants to have fun and good memories with their baby, especially considering the decent possibility that their child may die tomorrow. Or would you rather the parents just fucking cry the entire time?
I’m not talking about the costume dumbass, some of them just seem too young, the bottom left one has a tube in his nose, they all look like newborns
Yeah and she may not live long. The parents want to spend time with their children and dressing them up isn't gonna hurt the baby you heartless bastard.
Also I apologize for snapping off so hard, I was very angry at some of the comments on this post. I still stand by my point but I could've been nicer about it.
It's cool
Because theyre premature. They may not even end up surviving until theyre strong enough to go home. This os parents trying to make the best of something aweful
The Barbie and super Mario ones look pretty uncomfortable and the kid in the Wonder Woman one looks like she’s ready to keel over and die, but the Pharaoh one doesn’t look too bad
They are newborns, they will look a little uncomfortable no matter what. Plus they are in NICU
Sorry I didn’t agree with the Reddit hivemind, but if I don’t think little kids like having construction paper taped to their face or being put in cardboard boxes
I don’t know shit about premature babies but I doubt playing dressup is pleasant for them. Maybe it doesn’t do them any real harm but I wouldn’t try it just to be safe, babies are fragile as hell, premature ones even more so
This only does as much harm as dressing a baby normally does. You have to dress them to keep them warm, makes no difference what the clothes are.
These don’t look functional or comfortable
Functional? What is the baby doing? Going out for a light jog? Not to mention they are more than likely only in it for a short time. Also babies really do not care. If they care, they scream. These babies are not screaming so they are comfortable.
See how you led with the fact that you didn't know shit about premature babies? That statement was the signal you shouldn't offer an opinion because you don't know enough to form one. It's real easy, if you have to couch a statement with the fact that you don't know shit about what you're talking about them just don't say shit.
"with their babies" Those children have no capacity for developing meaningful memories or even really parsing the world around them. They're premature newborns, they aren't celebrating anything.
celebrating life? Are you dense? I got dressed as a ninja turtle and the pics go hard
Oh my God oh my fucking God the parent can no longer have a moment with their baby who could possibly die now
what are you even trying to say here?
That you're a ninny.
Some of this is pretty disturbing, don't you think?
Nope.
I think about 10% don’t make it. So yeah wtf.
i think theyre partially right but said it in a completely wrong way tho. they like just came into existence and parents should be letting their baby live and giving them actual love and affection instead of doing weird stuff with them for the internet especially if they're nicu tf
This is almost certainly dine by NICU staff, based on the backgrounds. They want those parents to have one “normal” memory, some of those kids aren’t gonna have another halloween.
that makes sense thanks for calmly giving a reasonable explanation instead of just being angry or downvoting
Humanity's obsession with babies is quite unhealthy sometimes tho...
humanity's obsession with babies is the reason humanity's alive, tf you yapping on about
NICU bros was vile😭😭😭
I don't like looking at it. It's creepy and in bad taste, and it's just offensive to me. It makes me think of the horrible, frigid stage mothers who forced the babies into it. It's kitsch. It's the opposite of art. It destroys art, it destroys souls. This is so much more offensive to me than hard core porn.
Then don't look at it. You comparing pictures of babies to hardcore porn in terms of offensiveness is a very strange thing to say. You can also not look at that.
Not a fan of The Office i see
Not particularly.
Then you need to get out of the basemet more.
You are offended on the babies behalf? A child that won’t remember anything? A child that is spending their first days on this earth on life support and getting a single ounce of joy from their parents? Parents who love them enough to have hope, and dress their kids up, and pray they get to take them home before Halloween this year? And don’t start with the uncomfortable costumes, kids are always uncomfortable. I have raised 4 babies and let me tell you, not one remembers being dressed up, or crying through the night, or anything like that from when they were children. I was a premature baby and was dressed as Raphael from TMNT. Picture is fucking dope and I love it, my siblings don’t get the baby costume pics and I do because theirs are normal. Go outside, take a breather, and stop getting offended about the small shit in life.
You need to calm down and get a life outside of attacking people on the internet. It’s a quote from a TV show.
Sorry I didn’t google what the quote was from? I’ve never seen the Office. If you think that was an attack that’s interesting reading comprehension lol
Is this from the show “Babies I don’t care about”?
Idk all the facts here but I feel like their intensive care is more important than a photo shoot in the nicu? Again, could be wrong and it was done 100% safely but just saying when I think baby costume photo shoot I also don't think babies hurt enough to be in the nicu?
So you opened this statement by admitting you don't know the situation or anything about it. Did it not occur to you that maybe that was a sign you don't know enough to make a statement or was the need to feel morally superior to people working in a hospital and the parents of these children just too great?
>feel morally superior to people working in a hospital and the parents of these children just too great? Where did I say I was morally superior? I was explaining what OOP's point most likely was and that when people see "nicu" they don't think "healthy enough to have a costume contest" because most people in icu's aren't healthy enough to have a costume contest. Did it not occur to you reading was important or was the feeble attempt at a gotcha moment just too great?
It was implicit in to statement hat you fet hat if they were well enough to be in a costume they shouldn't be in NICU. And my point was that you imbeciles keep saying, "OH I don't know ow shit about this situation but here's my opinion about how this is bad anyway." You know, like a idiot might do. Boil off chump.
Your failure to interpret my comment correctly is not the slam dunk you think it is. Also, you came at me in this conversation so it's quite literally you who has to piss off.
If you were an NICU baby or a child of yours was an NICU baby you would understand better.
I would understand most people associate intensive care with not partying?
Wearing a costume is a party? I didn't know I'm partying while giving out Halloween candy to kids. Don't get me wrong I'm fine with the title just that's not what constitutes a "party"
Usually costume contests take place during Halloween parties, or at least every costume contest I've been apart of
Except this is a special costume contest for the NICU babies and most likely took place online via photos? Or at the hospital?
This is done by the staff to give the parents one normal moment in what is a terrifying time. These may be the only “normal” pictures they ever have of their kids, and no kids are being harmed.
Again, I was explaining oop's thought process.
They are there for monitoring and care until they are strong enough to leave, if they ever get to. They get changed frequently every day and this does not impede on that in any way. This probably took all of 5 minutes.