Couple goes to hospital in Halloween costumes before giving birth to daughter (Exclusive)

• On October 31, 2023, a pregnant Laura Ortiz dressed up as Thor when it was time to go to the hospital to meet her daughter. — and she made her husband get dressed too
• On the eve of the October holidays this year, she shared the frame on TikTok, where it quickly went viral
• Ortiz, who had complications during her pregnancy, tells PEOPLE she’s “always loved Halloween” and that deciding to dress up was also a way to reduce stress

Last Halloweenthe couple celebrated by heading to the hospital — in suits — to welcome their first child. This year, footage from a happy moment went viral.

Laura Ortiz, a 27-year-old artist and stay-at-home mom, recalled the couple’s happy Halloween memories in a video she posted on TikTok Sunday, October 27. On the video – which has more than 3.3. million views — she and husband Reid Halvorson, 26, wear suits from Torus films where Ortiz portrayed “Lazy Thor” and her husband rocked a look from the 2022 film Thor: Love and Thunder.

In addition to the grand entrance at Skyridge Medical Center in Colorado, the clip shows them handing out candy to hospital staff and turning Ortiz’s room into a party spot. The footage then cuts to a photo of Ortiz sans costume in her hospital gown, followed by cute shots of the couple with their newborn daughter, Emilia.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Ortiz says she had a number of complications before giving birth, including gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. Because of this, doctors recommended that she plan to induce labor.

“I went to the calendar and saw that we could participate on Halloween,” Ortiz recalls. “And I’ve always loved Halloween. This is one of my favorite holidays. I kind of thought, “Well, maybe I’ll convince my husband to dress up with me and be Thor from different movies.” »

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Besides showing off her holiday spirit, Ortiz says the costumes were a way to calm her nerves.

“I didn’t want our baby to be anxious and worried,” she says.

To show their gratitude to the hospital staff who worked that night, Ortiz and her husband even gave out candy, lip balm, lotions, and food and drinks.

Fortunately, their efforts to make the experience as stress-free as possible really paid off.

“We went to the hospital in high spirits,” Ortiz recalls. “At that point, my nerves were more about ‘Put on your suit’ than about the birth.”

She adds: “It was one of the funnest days of my life.”

Sure enough, when it came time to get down to business, Ortiz slipped out of her suit and into a hospital gown — and despite her fears, she gave birth to daughter Emilia on November 1, 2023, in about eight minutes.

A little while later, the new mom says she posted footage of the couple in suits on her TikTok, but it didn’t make much of an impression at the time.

However, when a new group of nurses arrived and told them they were “famous”, she initially thought maybe they had suddenly gone viral. “I thought it was because of the Thor thing,” she says, but instead the nurses told her, “You’re known (as) the first mom to push a baby out in eight minutes.” »

Now, a year later, Ortiz says she never thought their story would have such an impact, but it was nice to touch so many “people’s hearts.”

The mom says she’s “got a lot of comments” from people who were nervous before giving birth, telling her things like, “You don’t know how much I needed this.” “I was so worried and now I feel a little better.” ”

“I’m happy that I can help some people,” she adds.

As for what they’re getting together this year, the focus is now on Emilia’s upcoming birthday this weekend. The theme is inspired The princess brideand to answer the question on everyone’s mind, yes, Ortiz replies, “We’ll all dress up.”