In my never-ending quest to document my little babies, I tortured our newest little boy for a few minutes and put him under some strobe lights. This is something that I never got to do with Lucas but I had always wanted to, so I’m thankful to get my chance with Nathan. Armed with a heat dish that attempted to keep the little guy somewhat comfy, I was only able to shoot for about 5 minutes before he got super fussy. Here’s some snaps of Nathan at 6 days old…that last one is with his mama.

When I found out that Stacy and Jaan were engaged, I was so happy for them both! I worked with Stacy a few years ago and she’s just the coolest. They both came to California from the East Coast and it was fitting that we shot their engagement portraits in a more nature-like setting. They were all up for it! We spent a quick afternoon in the woods and they were great together. They are getting married next year at Rancho Las Lomas…another very cool location for my very cool clients :) Here are a few favs:

With all the baby stuff going on, I still managed to sneak in a few sessions with our very cool clients. Just two days after Nathan was born, I met up with Christina and Danny for their engagement shoot in Newport Beach. Like all the cool people, they were down with my suggestions and we had a lot of fun roaming the streets and sneaking in a few clicks. I can’t wait for their wedding in March at the Turnip Rose-Grand Newport Plaza in Costa Mesa. It should be a fantastic event!

Not really his gift! :) Just having fun with the showcase car at the mall (Fashion Island).

Ok, so I’m not sure if this is still gonna stay Lucas Friday, if we should add something for Nathan or just do a combo. Maybe we can do a Family Friday?!?! :)

What a week! I’m tired and Tey is beyond tired! I totally forgot what it was like to have a newborn around…the feeding every 2 hours, the changing diapers at least ten times a day and just constant attention needed for the little dude. Mix that in with a super excitable 2-year old and it’s a pretty big challenge. We’re pretty much all hands on deck at all times. Also, we are really careful in trying not to alienate Lucas with all the baby hoopla, so I’m trying to spend as much time with him as I can. Then when he wants his mama, we’ll switch kiddies…so far so good. But Lucas has been a great big bro so far…helps with all the diaper changes and gives the sweetest kisses to Nathan’s forehead! I know they’ll have some battles in the future, but, for now, all is well!

An overzealous big brother. No babies were harmed in the following photo!

Nathan at 5 days old. He’s a little more quiet than Lucas but drinks more and thus needs more diaper changes! Here he is smiling, sleeping and with eyes wide open.

December 8, 2007. 9:22 AM. 6 pounds 13 ounces and 18 inches long.

The nurses called him Baby Garcia for about 7 hours. We were caught off guard a bit and did not finalize his name until we met him and asked him if he liked his new name. He gave us the OK. Nathan Miles Garcia is our second baby boy and it was quite the adventure getting this little cutie to come out and play.

Our little boy, Nathan.

It all started an Friday night where we just returned home from dinner with our friends Huey and Mezzi. Lucas was in bed and Tey & I were just relaxing on the couch at around 11pm. Tey mentioned that she’d been having these small “practice” contractions and that they were pretty frequent. I didn’t think too much of them until about 30 mins later, when tey said nonchalantly. “I think were going to the hospital today.” My first reaction was “No Way!” Baby was still 12 days away and I hadn’t even washed his first load of tiny baby clothes!

Well, we arrived at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach at 3:30am, checked in and about 2 hours later, Tey was ready to push! That’s fast compared to the 16 hours it took for Lucas! A few rounds of pushing went by and the nurse had a concerned look on her face. The baby’s heart-rate was spiking downward with each push and it was pretty scary for a while. The nurse did a great job in getting the baby back to normal but with each additional push, the same thing would happen. Not good. So, the doctor came in and with one examination, she said “We need to get to an OR (operating room).” My heart sank.

From then on, it was a complete blur. My mom, who stepped out for only 5 minutes, returned only to find our room empty. We were being rushed to a C-Section operating room and Tey was getting prepped for the surgery. Meanwhile, I was in a daze as I was trying to listen to the nurse give me instructions on how to put a jumpsuit over my clothes so I can go join Tey. I was pretty much ignoring everything the nurse was saying to me. All I could do was look at Tey about 20 feet away from me in the operating table with 7 people standing over her prepping for what they called a “routine” surgery. A pretty haunting sight.

If you know Tey, then you know that she is the trooper of all troopers. She’s gone hiking with me in freezing temperatures in the middle of no where. She’s done so many crazy things that I’ve asked, all without a complaint. She is one tough cookie. Even though I’m sure she felt pretty helpless at this moment, I could see that brave soul in her eyes trying to fight through the whole ordeal. I, on the otherhand, could not watch…I was almost frozen as my eyes were fixed at Tey. Calm, but frozen.

About 5 minutes later, I heard a loud cry. The baby was out and he was brought over to the pediatrician, who was set to give him his initial checkup. He looked great! Watching and listening to a baby screaming his first breathes of air is such a surreal moment. I turned back toward Tey and saw the tears in her eyes flowing down the side of her face as she saw our baby being cared for. I went over and told her that he looked perfect and that the pediatrician gave him a 9 out of 10 rating. I was ecstatic and pretty overwhelmed at that point…I just sat by Tey’s head holding her hand as the doctor’s finished up the operation.

First photo, ever!

Tey was great during the recovery period which eased my nerves a bit. After a few minutes of fighting nausea and the chills, she was doing OK. It ended up that the cord was wrapped aound the baby’s shoulders and that prevented him from descending fast enough. The nurses and doctors at Hoag were so great at answering our concerns and reassuring us that all was well. I’m so thankful for these great people who have the ability to save lives and make families complete.

Thanks for reading The Story of Nathan. So far, the ending of this first chapter is a great one. Now, I’m back at home typing this out, getting some stuff for the baby and Tey, feeding our dog (Koda) and taking a quick shower. In a few minutes, I’m back on the road to see a mom and her baby.

Sleeping Nathan.

Two tired peeps.

Good night, baby. See you soon.