Should I do photographs with my NICU baby or medically fragile child?

This incredibly sweet baby, above, had just gotten out of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), and needed a feeding tube.  He had struggled with different complications from birth.  His mama wondered if we should wait to do photos until after he had outgrown the tube.

I said, and I say to other moms who are wondering: Don't worry at all about the feeding tube or oxygen on my behalf.  These things are part of who your baby is right now, and what they need. And it's likely part of who you are right now too.  It's a visual representation of your advocacy.  You being happy to capture these early moments in your baby's life, regardless of their needs, is a beautiful thing.  That's powerful mothering right there. 

Below is a sweet mama and her baby who was on oxygen.  I love these photographs because they're not about looking like anyone else.  The photographs are just a reflection of this mom and her baby in that moment in time.  A true reflection of their deep love.

The baby below is Sully.  He was born about 7 weeks before his due date, and spent months in the NICU with an extremely rare condition - Vein of Galen Malformation.  Too much blood was being pumped to his brain, making it hard for blood to flow to other areas of his body effectively and putting great strain on his heart.
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After Sully's second stroke, his parents learned that his prognosis was different than they expected and hoped.  "This isn't just about quality of life, it is also about quantity of life - we are not really sure how long we're going to have with him."  That's what Sully's mom told me when she got in touch.  She wanted to do photographs with Sully because they were uncertain about his future.

This has to be one of my favorite sessions I've ever done.  Nothing says mad love like a mama who has seen her brand new baby through months of challenges, scares, sadnesses, successes, and changes, and has stood, unwavering, by his side.  This is deep attachment.  This is deep love.  

It was incredibly powerful for me to get to photograph these two together.  The mama was just so deeply present.  So in the moment with her sweet boy.  And I got to show that mama what her love looks like for her sweet Sully.  He passed away about a year after we captured these photographs.