Tufts Medical Center NICU Babies Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

Newborns at Tufts Medical Center celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in style on Friday, donning miniature Irish caps and a cute shamrock.

The medical center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) team provided eight babies and their families with the opportunity to celebrate the holidays and create memories of St. Paddy’s. The newborns ranged in age from 3 months to just 1 week old. The toddlers come from all over eastern Massachusetts, including Centerville, Holbrook, Bridgewater, Gloucester and North Easton.

A spokesperson for Tufts said babies, along with family members and caregivers, were urged to “go green” and wear the traditional St. Paddy’s Day color – which is also the color of NICU awareness. Families enjoyed footprint keepsakes, special photos, homemade onesies created by NICU nurse Marissa Richards and gift bags for older siblings.

“Celebrating NICU milestones helps normalize the hospital environment, allowing for moments of joy, bonding and connection for all. It was important to us that families be part of the St. Patrick’s Day celebration as well as the green color of NICU awareness so that everyone feels welcome and included,” said Richards and Danielle Mollung, Child Life Specialist at Tufts NICU, in a joint statement.

The resources were donated by the NICU Parent Support Group Project Sweet Peas. According to its website, Project Sweet Peas is a national nonprofit organization made up of volunteers who “from personal experience have become passionate about providing support to the families of premature or sick infants and those affected by pregnancy and loss of a child”.

See photos of the babies, whom Tufts has dubbed “lucky little pixies”:

Zicardi Garcia

Born on 09/03/23

Northeast

Skylar Higuera

Born on 02/02/23

Holbrook

The Maddox and Grayson Hoyo twins

Born on 05/03/23

Bridgewater

Max Happy

Born on 12/16/22

Downtown

The triplets Grace, Chuckie and Iris O’Neil

Born on 01/12/23

Gloucester