This Grandpa Spends His Days Hugging Babies in the ICU and It’s as Heart-Melting as It Sounds

photo: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Facebook page

Grandads are pretty much made for cuddles and spoiling kids, and one amazing grandpa is putting those skills to good use by giving hundreds of babies some needed TLC.

David Deutchman is an 82-year-old grandpa and retiree who spends his free time cuddling babies in the ICU of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospital. Deutchman has volunteered twice a week for the last 12 years. According to a Facebook post recently shared by the hospital, Deutchman spends every Tuesday in the PICU holding babies and every Thursday in the NICU.

The photo shared shows Deutchman holding baby Logan, who was born a premie at 25 weeks. With a big sister at home, Logan’s mom had no choice but to leave him each night to care for her daughter. She rushed back to the hospital one morning, as she did every day of the six plus weeks of his hospital stay and found her baby happily in the arms of Deutchman, who she learned was known as the “ICU Grandpa.”

It’s not just the babies who Deutchman comforts, but the parents too. As he explained to People, “I talk with mothers and sometimes I hold their hand, because holding a mom’s hand is just as important as holding a baby. There’s a lot of stress for these parents. Having somebody tell them they can go get breakfast and assure them I’ll be there with their baby, it means something to them. It’s important.” Having support like Deutchman’s can give parents some much-needed piece of mind during an extremely challenging time.

What special ways do your parents connect with your kids? Tell us in the comments below.