A New York man is melting the hearts of people on the internet after proposing to his girlfriend in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where the couple's baby girl has been staying for almost a year.

Teon Kennedy popped the question to his girlfriend Martine Drouillard at New York-Presbyterian Alexandra Cohen Hospital for Women and Newborns NICU, with their 10-month-old daughter by his side, according to People.

"Forever just started. We have a beautiful baby," Drouillard said in a statement. "We were always going to plan a future and a family for us, but now it's official."

The 31-year-old man, who first planned to propose at the baby shower last spring, had to delay his plans because of several challenges. First, the couple had to cancel the special occasion due to the coronavirus pandemic. Adding to the challenge, Drouillard was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia, which meant that baby Morgan would have to be born as an extremely preterm infant.

The little girl was 1.27 pounds when she was born on April 12, arriving 25 weeks early.

"She was really, really small," Kennedy told Good Morning America. "She was roughly the [size of the] palm of my hand."

Morgan became known as "Queen of the NICU," at the hospital. 

"She's come so far," Drouillard said. "Morgan is so loved here. All the love that I'm getting here is a result of her. She's made us stronger together and as individuals."

Having grown closer to the hospital staff over several months, Kennedy gladly made sure that the employees were involved in his proposal.

"It's something that had been on my mind for so long," he said in a statement. "I just never had the right moment to make it happen, but our daughter has made tremendous progress at New York-Presbyterian. And the team here, they treat us like family, so this was the best place to make this happen."

As it turned out, social media users had to reach for the tissues after seeing the family's heartwarming moment.

The proposal happened two days before Valentine's Day. Drouillard, who was at the hospital for her daily visit on that day, dressed up because the hospital staff told her they would have a meeting about Morgan's case.

When she walked into the NICU, she saw a red carpet, which is normally used to celebrate babies being discharged from the unit.

In this case, however, the carpet was placed for Kennedy, who got down on one knee to pop the question.

"Mommy, will you marry daddy?" he said. 

The baby opened her eyes at that moment.

"When Teon said, ‘Morgan has something to ask you,’ she was asleep until he said that," Drouillard said. "And then she opened her eyes, like, ‘This is my moment.'"

The couple plans to set a wedding date after their baby is released from the hospital.

"I just tell her, 'Remember who you are. You’re here for a reason,'" Drouillard said. "'Mommy is proud of you. Daddy is proud of you. You’re my big girl. You’re my strong girl. It doesn’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish. You’re just having a rough start. You’re going to finish strong.' And I tell her that every single day.”

marriage proposalMartine DrouillardNewYork-Presbyterian Alexandra Cohen HospitalTeon Kennedy