The Harness Family: Ethan Samuel Harness

It has been a very busy few weeks for us. We have been in the hospital twice and had two showers. Ethan decided to make an early appearance! He arrived 3 1/2 weeks early! Our due date was November 16, and he arrived October 22.

Two weeks before Ethan arrived, we spent Friday night in the hospital because Mommy's blood pressure was elevated and Ethan's heart rate dropped a couple of times while being monitored. An ultrasound revealed that my amniotic fluid level was low, so we stayed the night and received IV fluids. Everything checked out fine, and we got to go home Saturday night.

The only bad thing about staying the night in the hospital was that our first shower was scheduled for that Saturday afternoon! Thankfully, we were able to have it Sunday afternoon! Here are a few pictures from the event.

The cute cupcake cake

Snacks

Gifts!!!

Can't believe how swollen I was!

Playing games

Pop-A-Tot! The neatest thing ever! Perfect for grilling with the neighbors!

Gifts from Aunt Jamie

Gifts from Nana

Gifts from Aunt Abby

Ethan Samuel Harness arrived on October 22, 2010 at 2:52pm. He weighed 5lbs 8ozs and was 17 inches long. Mommy started having contractions the night before that were about 20 minutes apart. We went to bed that night not knowing what the next day would hold. Mommy woke up having contractions about every 6-8 minutes. We called the doctor and went to the hospital around 7:45am. I was dilated to 4cm when we arrived, and labor progressed quickly. The epidural was wonderful! I even said, "That's it?" when they told me we had a perfect little boy. I couldn't have asked for a better labor experience!

I got another wonderful surprise on Saturday. My mom flew in to meet her first grandchild! She got to stay until Tuesday morning and hold and love on him lots. I was so thankful she got to be here for such a special time! Here are the first pictures of our little man!