Animals and Babies...

There's a show biz saying that you should never work with animals or babies. Boy, oh boy, did we find out why! While it was not as serious as a Hollywood production, our first attempt at a photo shoot with Ethan was met with only mild success. He was not a big fan of the strobes and was cranky almost the entire time. We did manage to get a few good images, and will make a second attempt tomorrow. Hopefully we'll have a happier baby then! It was our fault, not his... we started a bit later than we anticipated, and Ethan was super sleepy. Bad move, Mommy and Daddy. Here's what we have so far, and we'll post the others as soon as we are able to successfully capture them!


The experience must have worn him out, because he slept for EIGHT STRAIGHT HOURS after the shoot! Perhaps we'll make that part of his bedroom routine every night...

Almost a Month Old!

Wow - it's hard to believe that it's been almost a month since Ethan was born! He's changing so much each day, and has grown a LOT. Weighing in at 8 lbs. 13 oz. at birth, he lost weight in the hospital and got down to 8 lbs. 1 oz. At his last weigh in, he was closing in on 11 lbs. - that's almost a three pound weight gain! Needless to say, nursing is going well and our hungry little boy is a good eater!

He's made progress in other areas of development, too. In addition to the new facial expressions we've been seeing, Ethan has started to track movement. His big, bright eyes followed as Daddy walked around the bouncy chair the other day, which was a first! He's discovered and delights in mirrors, and loves to stare at himself during diaper changes. Thanks to our recent introduction of tummy time, Ethan's neck muscles are getting stronger and he'll sometimes support his own head for short lengths of time. We've seen some hints of a smile out of him, and can't wait until he starts laughing. He's an amazing little guy, and shows us something new each and every day!

Our big photo shoot will happen in the next few days, to commemorate Ethan turning one month old. Be on the lookout for those pictures, and enjoy these in the meantime!

He likes tummy time, but often falls asleep on the job. Lazy baby.


Is he throwing a massive fit, or just rocking out? You decide.

Growing By Leaps and Bounds...

We knew that babies grew fast, but this fast? Ethan already seems so much bigger than he was when he was born, and has definitely developed in personality since then. He spends a lot more time with his eyes wide open, looking around and taking in the world around him. He has a ton of new facial expressions, and a cute new belly button now that his cord has fallen off. Daddy has been waiting for this to happen before setting up Ethan's first photo shoot, so be on the lookout for some great new pictures soon! Here's a little something to tide you over until then:


Ethan went on his first field trip last week, visiting Muir Woods to see the Redwoods with Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma & Grandpa Emerson. Grandpa had a great time carrying Ethan through the park in the baby sling and, judging by his snoozing, Ethan was quite fond of the experience, too!

We've never seen Grandpa quite so happy as when he was with Ethan!

Remember the Gloworm dolls? We think he's the spittin' image...

We're having so much fun watching Ethan develop into a little person, and can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

A Week Full of Firsts!

Okay, so technically EVERYTHING Ethan does for the next few weeks will be firsts, but they're still exciting to note! Since bringing him home from the hospital, he's taken his first car ride, had his first sponge bath, gone for his first stroller outing, and "eaten" at his first restaurant. He's also met a lot of family and friends for the first time. Believe it or not, we haven't documented every single experience (shocking, we know), but did manage to catch a few on film. Here are some of our favorites!

Coming home from the hospital - what a big day for all of us!

Ethan pretty much slept through the entire meal... thank goodness!

Mommy, Grandpa E., Great Aunt Laura, Grandma E., and Aunt Mary!

Aunt Mary was always eager for cuddle time with her new nephew!

So far, Ethan has been a really good baby! He sleeps well, eats well, and is a happy, happy boy. We are having such a fantastic time with him and have learned a lot about love - just gazing at him makes our hearts melt! Thanks to everyone who has sent kind words of congratulations, and a special thanks to all of our visitors (especially those bearing food... yum, yum!) for making Ethan's first few days so special!

Ethan Makes a Grand Entrance!

As promised, here are the details of our wild ride of a birth experience:

Sarah went into labor at around 9:30pm on Thursday night. Wanting to make as much progress as possible before heading to the hospital, she labored at home until about 3:30am. When we finally went in we were a bit disappointed to find that Sarah was only 1cm dilated. The contractions progressively became stronger and more frequent, but after a few hours there was still not much progress. The doctor decided to put Sarah on Pitocin, which encourages the contractions to increase significantly in intensity, frequency, and duration. Her water broke on its own shortly after that, and we thought we were on our way to a speedy delivery. Ryan was particularly excited since he chose the 25th as his guess for the baby's birth date!

As we all know know, a speedy delivery was not in the cards. Sarah lasted for about 24 hours before opting for an epidural for pain relief. She was much, much, much happier once the medicine kicked in, but had only dilated to 3cm. Still, she was able to get a bit of much needed rest. She slept comfortably until the epidural stopped working. The anesthesiologist came in to check things out, and determined that Sarah would need a second epidural administered. As with the first, the second lasted for a short while, and then began to wear off.

Shortly after the second epidural stopped working, the baby's heart rate crashed. Buzzers started sounding in the room, and about eight people rushed in and started working on stabilizing the baby. At the same time, Sarah's temperature shot up to almost 103 degrees, so more people came in to work on her. It was very difficult for Ryan to watch, unable to jump in and help. Thankfully, after what seemed like forever, the baby's heart rate returned to a more normal rhythm. The doctor checked Sarah's progress, and somberly announced that she was only 5cm dilated.

It was at this point that an emergency C-section was decided upon. Sarah's fever could have been an indication of an infection that would be very risky for the baby, and with his unstable heart rate there was really no other option. Sarah was rushed to the operating room and Ryan prepped to join her.

The last hurdle to jump was the anesthesia for the surgery. As indicated by the failed epidurals, it was impossible for the doctors to get Sarah totally numb without being completely put under. Disappointed not only with the fact that she would not witness the baby's birth, Sarah thought that Ryan would not be allowed into the operating room.

It wasn't until she came to after the surgery that Sarah discovered that she was wrong - not only did Ryan get to be present in the delivery room, he also was able to participate in a lot of important "firsts" with the baby! He was able to cut the cord, put on Ethan's first diaper, and was there for the weighing and measurements in the operating room. Ryan rolled the baby's crib down to the nursery where he saw the sponge bath, helped with the footprints, and combed Ethan's hair. After the baby's first pediatrician exam, Ryan put on Ethan's first shirt - and quite skillfully, according to the nurses! Finally, after all of that was finished, Ryan and Ethan went to the recovery room where Sarah had been since the surgery. It was good timing, as she had recently woken up from the anesthesia and was very ready to see her boys!







Even with all of the pain, fear, and curveballs, our experience was an absolutely incredible one. While we have the option of a natural delivery with the next baby, for safety's sake we'll probably opt for a repeat cesarean. When we were faced with the placenta previa, we were a bit bummed about missing out on the total pregnancy experience. Though we ended up with a C-section, we still experienced Sarah going into labor, having her water break, contractions, and the waiting game. Most importantly, our beautiful baby boy is completely healthy and an absolute joy.

He's Here!!!

After about 36 hours of labor and an emergency C-section, we are overjoyed to announce the arrival of Ethan James Notch! He was born July 26th at 8:05 am, weighing in at 8 lbs. 13 oz. and measuring 21.5 inches long. More details of his birth are to come soon, but for now we thought we'd post some pictures and a video of the newest member of our family!






Ethan James Notch just minutes after his birth!

Less Than a Week Left!

My goodness, our due date is only a few days away! We had a BBQ party today with some friends to celebrate Ryan's incredibly successful graduate thesis review. It's hard to believe that it was probably our last get together as a family of two... we'll have a tiny party crasher from here on out! It was a fantastic day with good eats and great friends.

MacKay, Allison, Ingrid, Jim, and Ryan enjoying the yummy food!

Hmm... do you wonder how Sarah got her "Kool-Aid Man" nickname?

Baby Joey was a big hit, and he had a great time playing with Nelson!

We're so glad that Laurie & Joey were here! Matt - you were missed!

We also have a bonus picture for your viewing pleasure, taken at Ryan's birthday celebration at Rogue two weeks ago. Thanks to everyone who was able to make it out to celebrate - it was a fantastic night!


We're in full on waiting mode in the Notch household, looking forward to the big day! Sarah is having lots of contractions, some that are pretty intense and close together, but they don't last long enough to make any difference. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and will hopefully be told that we've made at least a little bit of progress since last week. If the baby doesn't arrive in the next few days, we'll go to Skipolini's with our friends Matt and Laurie for their famous Preggo Pizza that's guaranteed to bring on labor. We're not sure that this will work for us, since Sarah won't actually be eating the pizza... it's loaded with TONS of meat. Do you think that one of Skipolini's veggie pizzas will have the same effect?

Mommy Update:
- Has her fingers crossed that the baby has dropped since last week, and would be delighted if she's a bit dilated already.
- Is looking on the bright side if the baby arrives late... her family will be in town soon and may catch the birth!
- Has cleaned just about every surface in the house, and is running out of nesting activities to keep her occupied.
- Sends her love and thanks to everyone who keeps checking in and sending good luck wishes her way!