Father’s Day, photo by Harold Davis. For Father’s Day I got to kangaroo hold Katie Rose, the best gift of all.

Katie and Her Grandpa, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger. Katie’s grandparents are back from travels in Poland and Russia, and we were able to bring them to visit Katie Rose for the first time. The logistics of visiting in the NICU are a bit complicated because only two adult visitors are allowed [...]

Katie’s Hand, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger. Katie’s hands are tiny, mobile, expressive, and elegant. Each hand is a perfectly formed minature. Katie Rose gesticulates with her hands. She spreads them out in front of her in a classic preemie gesture when the stimulus is too much, balls them up, and them [...]

Katie Froggie, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger. Katie Rose continues to do well. She is our literal miracle. Knock on wood. Katie likes to sleep on her tummy. When we visited Katie today, she looked like a little human frog to us. I got to kangaroo Katie again today. While she was snoozing on [...]

Katie Does Brunch, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger. This photo shows Katie Rose being fed by her nurse. Katie gets all her food from milk that Phyllis pumps. Katie’s brunch milk is shown in the little beaker in the nurse’s hand in this photo. You can see the tube, sometimes called a [...]

Daddy’s Very Little Girl, photo by Phyllis Davis. View this photo larger. When we visited Katie Rose in the NICU today, I got to hold her for the first time. First she explored the new environment, meaning mostly my chest hairs. Then she settled down for a nice snooze, as did I. There’s nothing like [...]

Tiny, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger. This is another photo of Katie Rose in kangaroo care on Phyllis yesterday. Seeing Phyllis hold Katie brought home to me just how very tiny she is. When I said this to the NICU nurse, the nurse said, “She’s tiny, but she doesn’t know she’s tiny, [...]

Katie Kangaroo, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger. Phyllis got to hold Katie Rose today in the NICU. This is called kangaroo care, because the preemie is nestled warmly, skin-to-skin, sort of like a kangaroo mom and baby. Phyllis, of course, loved holding Katie. But it is a bit scary holding a human [...]

Katie is Strong, photo by Harold Davis. When we visited Katie Rose at the NICU today she was snoozing comfortably on her tummy under a small diaper that served as a blanket. She opened her eyes a couple of times when she heard our voices, then went back to sleep. Katie’s isolette was covered so it [...]

Katie under Billy Lights, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger. Katie is under “Billy” lights. Like most preemies, she has a high level of bilirubin in her blood, which can lead to problems such as jaundice. These phototherapy lights break down the bilirubin. Her eyes are protected from the lights by a mask. I [...]

Katie’s Left Foot, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger. This is a photo of Katie’s left foot. She’s lying on her back, and you can see her other leg out-of-focus in the background. Her left foot was the only limb I could see that wasn’t connected to an IV line or pinned up [...]

Scale, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger. When we visited Katie Rose in the NICU the other day, the nurse let Phyllis put her hand in the isolette near Katie’s head to help give my photo a sense of scale. [Nikon D300, 18-200mm VR zoom lens at 120mm (180mm in 35mm terms), 1/8 of [...]

Portrait of Mathew, photo by Harold Davis. View this image larger. This is a portrait of Mathew taken recently at pickup time in his pre-school yard. I’m struck by how much more like a little boy Mathew looks with a haircut (compare the hirsute Mathew). It seems to me that Mathew’s personality comes through this photo. [...]