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These newborn babies dressed as pickles are a really big dill

These adorable babies were all dressed up to promote a popular food festival.
/ Source: TODAY

There's a festival for pretty much every type of food these days but one city's pickle festival has become so popular that people who can't even eat pickles (or talk or crawl) are getting in on the action this year.

For the first time, a hospital in Pittsburgh got in on the fun of promoting its annual Picklesburgh festival by dressing up some sweet little baby gherkins.

On Monday, staff at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital outfitted four newborn babies in adorable green pickle suits that a hospital nurse knitted especially for the event. The babies wore fitted green blankets, complete with bumps (just like you'd find on a real pickle) and green caps.

Each baby was also given a T-shirt that read, "Special Dill-evry."

Since a lot of the babies were crying pretty loudly during their sweet and sour debut, we're not sure if they were actually enjoying their cute costumes as much as the hundreds of people who have since commented on the hospital's Facebook pictures. Maybe they just couldn't wait to try some pickles!

During the hospital's first pickle-baby unveiling announcement, a city spokesman described the Picklesburgh festival as "built for every pregnant woman's craving" and predicted that the babies may just be future mayors of Picklesburgh.

Picklesburgh has been held for four years and it's grown so popular that organizers had to double the physical space reserved for the festival's many vendors, demonstrations and more for 2019. The festival starts Friday, July 26 and runs through Sunday.

After the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, which hosts the Picklesburgh event, shared the hospital's sweet pic on Instagram, commenters were quick to send lots of love to the petite pickles.

One new mom was so into the idea she lamented that she wasn't able to better time her due date to coincide with the event.

UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital is known for its festive nursery events. Last year, the hospital staff held an ugly Christmas sweater party for newborns.

"We have patients hoping they deliver during one of our nursery photo shoots!" hospital spokeswoman Amy Charley told TODAY by email.

She went on to say that the parents also really enjoyed the event. "The families were thrilled and got a real kick out of seeing their new bundle of joy dressed as cute pickles," Charley said. "One mother is a huge pickle fan and had a pickle bouquet at her baby sprinkle instead of flowers."

The hospital hopes to continue the tradition, but they're not sure what form it will take next year.

Pittsburgh has a long history with pickles and pickled goods. The Kraft Heinz Company was founded in the city in the late 1800s and still has one of its headquarters in the city.

Picklesburgh
Renee Rosensteel / Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership

Picklesburgh attendees can obviously expect to be treated to a lot of pickled foods, music and great drinks, but one of the biggest events each year is the pickle juice-drinking contest in which contestants must chug 32 ounces of pickle juice at breakneck speeds.

Perhaps when the newborns get a little older, they'll check out the festival's Lil Gherkins Activity Area for kids, complete with face-painting, pickled crafts and more.

This isn't the first time folks have been getting creative with babies and food.

One couple who met at Qdoba turned their newborn into a baby burrito for a photo shoot, while another mom snapped pics of her baby next to pizza slices based on his age in months.

Here's hoping the parents of the newborn pickles will truly relish these sweet early days.