Yesterday, the Fourth of July marked Independence Day in America, and celebrations were held nationwide.
It’s a customary tradition for Americans to don their national colours of red, white and blue - and even the tiniest of patriots were getting in the festive mood.
These adorable premature babies at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre got to join in the fun when a 'red, white and blue baby celebration' was organised by non-profit organisation, March of The Dimes.
The special celebration was organised to give families of premature tots “a sense of normalcy” and a chance to celebrate the holiday like everyone else.
To mark the occasion, the preemies were dressed up in red, white and blue costumes, including sparkly tutus and bowties which were specially made to fit their tiny frames. The result is probably one of the cutest things we’ve ever seen!
March of Dimes President, Stacey Stewart, told ABC News why they wanted to help these families enjoy the national holiday.
“Each year, hundreds of thousands of babies struggle to survive in newborn intensive care units (NICUs) across the country. Those babies and their parents will spend months — and holidays — away from home and without any sense of normalcy,” she explained.
“The March of Dimes offers education and creative programmes like the red, white and blue baby celebration at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre, to help NICU parents cope with the daily stress of a sick baby in the hospital.”
Each star-spangled baby was also treated to a photo shoot which was shot by photographer Amy Mueller. Amy decided to get involved because she had a premature baby herself eight years ago.
Parents of the tiny tots were delighted to celebrate the big day with their babies. “It means so much to us. It's a great feeling!” parents Kenneth and Ashley Hamner, parents of young Kameron Ryan Hamner, said.
“It’s our son's first photo shoot, and we are very proud parents. We love the fact that March of Dimes thought about our children enough to do a photo shoot for them.”
The March of Dimes are known for their wonderful gestures towards premature babies and their families.
Earlier this year they hosted a special Valentine’s celebration for babies in NICU, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas.
Each baby in the unit received a beautiful gift of a hand-knitted hat with hearts on it. Their parents also received special Valentine's cards with their baby's footprints on them, along with professional photos taken by volunteers.
We are amazed by their wonderful work - long may it continue.
