""It's that time of year when graduation parties are in full swing, usually celebrating the accomplishments of high school and college students.
But there are also other graduation parties being thrown for tiny little warriors who are just starting on their journey.
That’s because neonatal nurse Melissa Jordan and her colleagues at CaroMont Regional Medical Center in Gastonia, North Carolina, are doing something very special for their smallest patients.
Babies who were born six or more weeks premature are getting their own mini ceremonies for leaving the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Newborn babies are admitted to the NICU when they require intensive medical care, which can happen for a number of reasons, but often because the baby is born premature or ill.
“We make sure these babies are being fed and cared and loved for, and of course that the parents get to bond with them while they’re in the NICU,” Jordan told BuzzFeed Health .
When the babies are finally discharged, Jordan and her staff hold a small graduation ceremony for the baby and their family. CaroMont Health
Jordan was inspired to do this after spending time with a vulnerable baby who was born just at twenty-nine weeks.
“The day he got discharged, we gathered staff and we went in singing and dancing and gave him his cap — and his parents just smiled ear to ear — that’s when we knew it was something we wanted to keep doing for other families,” Jordan said.
Each NICU grad gets sent home with full honors and receives a personalized graduation cap and portrait.
The family goes home with a graduation portrait of their NICU grad to cherish — free of charge.""
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@MrWalkSoftly: aww so precious

@Critter1211: Babies are lil angels, they're my absolute favorite