Joelle really hoped her baby wouldn’t come on Christmas day.

She was due January 3, and so she didn’t try to do anything to make the baby come early.

On Christmas Eve, Joelle woke up, and something felt different. She didn’t have contractions but just a lot of pressure.

Just before the Christmas Eve service that night, Joelle started to feel something like period cramps. Though this was her second baby, she had never actually experienced natural contractions before (she had been induced with her first child). She wasn’t sure that she was actually in labor, but she decided to wear an adult diaper just in case it was and her water broke. She said that though the custodians were great, she didn’t want to make them clean up her amniotic fluid.

During the service, contractions were getting more and more painful, and by the end, she knew she was in labor. She talked to people but informed no one what was going on. She told her husband that they had to go, and they headed to his parents’ house where they were going to have supper. Joelle remembers that as they walked into his parents’ home, she knew that she was fully in labor.

She started to time her contractions then called the maternity ward. She told them the times and asked what they would recommend she do. They suggested she take some extra strength acetaminophen and try to sleep.

Joelle and her husband left their daughter with his parents and went home. She took some medication and went to sleep. Though perhaps a little restless, she was able to sleep through contractions until about 3:30 AM when she awoke because of a contraction. She timed the next one. It was every five minutes for one minute long.

Joelle called the maternity ward again, but there was no answer. She called again at 4 AM just as her water broke.

She woke her husband and got him to talk on the phone as another contraction washed over her. The maternity nurses said to come, and Joelle and her husband arrived around 5 AM. Like her last pregnancy, she was GB positive, so they hooked her up for her first round of antibiotics.

The doctor came when Joelle was about 6 or 7 cm dilated. The doctor said she’d come back at 9.

She’s not going to make it back in time, Joelle’s husband thought.

Joelle and her husband were left alone, and they were still able to talk between contractions. No interventions were needed.

Just before 7 AM, Joelle felt the need to push. Her husband encouraged her to wait until the next contraction just to make sure it was time. The next contraction wasn’t as strong, but on the third one, Joelle couldn’t help but push.

The nurse came and tried to delay things, but there was no stopping it now.

Joelle pushed, and very soon, their second baby girl was born into the world!

Joelle and her husband were thrilled.

From the time they had called the maternity ward to when their daughter was born was a total of 24 minutes!

Because Joelle had just had one round of antibiotics, they wanted to watch the baby for a bit.

However, being Christmas Day, Joelle and her husband were eager to get home. They ate some Christmas dinner and got their discharge papers. After picking up their older daughter, they headed home and were back by 4 PM, just 12 hours since Joelle’s water broke.

Family functions were canceled, and Joelle went back to the hospital the next day for a test and to check on how nursing was going.

When asked what her advice would be for an expecting Mom, Joelle said to trust your body and its cues. God designed our bodies so incredibly! She also suggested that if you are in early labor to drop the kids off, take some extra strength medication and sleep.

Joelle had a very positive birth experience and felt like she could trust the hospital staff to guide her. She didn’t come in with baggage surrounding hospitals and medicine, and she feels like that really helped.

Joelle, her husband, and daughter are over the moon about this addition to their family.

FAQ With Joelle

1. How did you prepare your daughter to be a big sister?

It was hard to prepare her because she was so young. The girls are 16.5 months apart, so we just talked a lot about baby. The most she understood was that baby was under mommy’s shirt.

2. What did you learn in your first birth that you were able to implement in your second birth? How was it different?

In my first birth, I learned the intricacies of a woman’s body and the ability to give birth, so I just really leaned into that. Trusting my body and not stressing much. That’s my plan for my third. Don’t stress about it. Baby will come and if your gut is telling you something is off, trust it and get checked out. The nurses are more than willing to help an expecting mother.