Baby 'graduates' from NICU in full cap and gown

MOBILE, Ala. (WPVI) -- One tiny graduate in Alabama is celebrating a major milestone -- leaving the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Cullen Potter was just 22 weeks old when he was born.

And after spending 160 days in the NICU at the University of South Alabama Children's and Women's Hospital in Mobile, Alabama, it was time to go home.

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So, the staff at the hospital decided to host a graduation ceremony for him, complete with a tiny cap and gown.

Since Cullen was so small, weighing nearly 6 pounds, his mother, Molli Potter, bought the graduation gear from a nearby Build-A-Bear store, ABC News reports.

"We were (at Build-A-Bear) with our older son and my wife was looking and thought it would fit Cullen," said Cullen's father, Robert Potter. "The hat was actually a little big."

On his big day, staffers donned Cullen with the cap and gown and, a nurse carried him ceremoniously through a hospital hallway as graduation music played in the background.

The sweet moment was shared on Facebook and has since gone viral.

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