Tyler and Sarah Hargis recently spent a few extra days at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour.

On Dec. 30, Tyler was admitted into the hospital after having asthma-related issues.

“I have real bad asthma, and the weather was just tearing me up, and I had a chest cold,” the 19-year-old said.

While he and his wife were sitting in his room on the third floor, Sarah, also 19, began having contractions, so she was taken up to the fifth floor.

At 7:35 a.m. Sunday, Elijah Michael Hargis was born, weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measuring 20½ inches long. He was the first baby born at Schneck in 2017.

Tyler made sure he was there to witness the birth of his first child.

“When he was born, I was standing there with my own (hospital) bracelet, and I had an IV in my arm,” he said. “He was born up here, and a couple hours later, I was going downstairs to get discharged. I definitely didn’t expect to come home with a baby.”

As the couple planned to return to their home a couple of blocks from the hospital Wednesday, they were happy to report everyone was happy and healthy.

“He’s adorable,” Tyler said of Elijah.

“He’s perfect,” Sarah added.

Sarah said when she found out she was pregnant, she and Tyler wanted to know the gender of their first child.

“I found out as soon as I could,” she said. “My husband wanted a girl, but I didn’t have a preference.”

At the time, she had never thought about having a New Year’s baby. He was expected to arrive around Jan. 9, but Sarah was induced on New Year’s Eve.

Read the full story in Saturday’s Tribune and online at tribtown.com.