Having a baby on Christmas Day is pretty special, but to do it on a day that is also your birthday, is memorable indeed.
That’s exactly what happened when Village of Clyde resident Deleen Sawchyn gave birth to her first baby on her 27th birthday, Dec. 25.
The eight-pound, four-ounce healthy baby girl named Brixley Marie Lee Hoogewoonink, was born after a four-hour labour at 4:12 a.m. on Christmas Day, at the Sturgeon Hospital in St. Albert. It is believed to be the first Christmas baby born this year at the hospital.
“My due date was actually Dec. 16, so it was a little bit of a surprise,” said Sawchyn. “A funny thing too, is my mom was also due with me Dec. 16 and she had me Christmas Day too.”
While Brixley may have been a surprise delivery for her mother, several of Sawchyn’s family members were betting on another Christmas baby this year.
“My mom, she called it the whole time I was pregnant,” she said with a laugh. “She was like, she’s coming Christmas Day and this is how it’s going to be. Even my dad too (said) she’s going to be a Christmas baby, so they all kind of expected it.”
Sawchyn herself was born in the evening on Christmas Day 1996 at 9:15 p.m. and was close in weight to her newborn daughter, at seven pounds and seven ounces. Both Sawchyn and her healthy baby girl were discharged the next morning on Boxing Day, Dec. 26.
“The nurses at the hospital said she is so strong and she is. She’s a super strong little baby,” said Sawchyn, noting she and her common-law husband Michiel, were so excited over the Christmas Day birth of their daughter.
Although she and Brixley are the only Christmas babies in the family, Sawchyn’s brother, Tanner was born on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, she noted.
Having a baby on her birthday was the best gift Christmas gift.
“It’s amazing,” said Sawchyn. “She’s so happy. She a perfect little baby.”
