Ohio NICU Nurses Leave Swiftie Mom Speechless After Creating Tiny Eras Tour Costume for Premature Daughter (Exclusive) (2024)

Emily VandeRydt's daughter Willa may only be 2 months old, but she's already becoming a Swiftie.

Willa was born 10 weeks early on Sept. 7 due to VandeRydt's preeclampsia diagnosis — a potentially serious condition that can occur during pregnancy or after childbirth. As a result, the newborn was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit at Ohio State's Nationwide Children's Hospital, where she stayed for six weeks. During that time, VandeRydt met a nurse named Nickie, who became Willa's primary nurse.

The first time they met, Nickie noticed the new mom wearing a Fearless Little Words project bracelet and asked if she was a Swiftie, to which VandeRydt immediately replied, "Yes!"

"I ended up bringing her some Little Words Project bracelets the next day for her to wear," VandeRydt, 31, tells PEOPLE, adding how "Fearless" become her mantra throughout Willa's NICU journey.

"After that, it seemed like almost every other nurse I encountered was also a Swiftie. One even made Willa a little name sign for her room that looked like a friendship bracelet to hang on the wall, which was super cute. Nickie also surprised us with the Taylor Swift Little Golden book, which we read to Willa while we were in the NICU."

As Halloween approached, Nickie mentioned to another nurse, Sam, that Willa was going to be a future Swiftie. That's when Sam got the idea to create a Swift-inspired costume for Willa out of felt, which VandeRydt learned NICU nurses often do for babies around this time of year.

When VandeRydt entered her daughter's NICU room on Oct. 12 and saw the costume Sam had made, she was blown away.

"It was the most intricate felt costume I've ever seen! She used felt pipe cleaners and bedazzled everything," VandeRydt says. "Honestly, it really looked like the Lover bodysuit. I was shocked by how closely it resembled the photo. The little silver boots were so cute, too! It was such a fun moment to put that on her."

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

While she wouldn't necessarily call her husband Grant a Swiftie, he thought it was the "most adorable thing ever," VandeRydt shares. "He sent it to all of my family right away, and they thought it was adorable too."

VandeRydt filmed the outfit and posted it on TikTok, where it has since gone viral with more than 400,000 views. She describes it as "heartwarming" to see all the positive reactions from Swifties, along with comments from other NICU nurses and families.

"I love creating and sharing content," VandeRydt says. "Starting the NICU journey without many friends or family members who have gone through having a premature baby made me seek out community. I wanted to share a bright spot during our NICU stay. I've been watching a lot of NICU mom videos, so I thought this would be a fun moment to share, not only with friends and family but also for other NICU mamas who are Swifties."

VandeRydt emphasizes the impact of the NICU community: "I try to respond to every single comment, especially from NICU nurses. I truly believe NICU nurses are angels for what they do, taking care of the tiniest babies with so much strength and compassion."

On Oct. 19, VandeRydt and Grant finally brought Willa home, along with the Eras Tour-inspired costume. While the new mom has already started a memory box for Willa's NICU items, she wants to find a more creative way to display the costume. One idea she has it making a shadow box.

Now that she's home, VandeRydt is also continuing to expose Willa to Swift; she constantly has her songs playing. In her nursery, she also hung an A through Z print she found on Etsy, featuring different Taylor Swift song names or lyrics for each letter.

"I listen to her music all the time and am a huge fan," VandeRydt says. "Music is very therapeutic for me. The albums I listened to most during my pregnancy were definitely Midnights and Speak Now (Taylor's Version) once it came out — it was on repeat!"

"When I needed to feel my emotions, especially during tougher times, I turned to Folklore, particularly once August hit," she continues. "It helped me process my feelings and allowed me to get those emotions out. Anytime I was feeling down after Willa was born, I would play those songs to help me cope. But of course, I also love the upbeat songs from Midnights!"