Woman Welcomes Baby at Home. 8 Hours Later, She Coaches Her Sister Through Birth — In the Same Tub (Exclusive)

The sisters tell PEOPLE the special moment has cemented their incredible bond

• McKayla and Adrianna Kennard are sisters who have grown up together and shared many special memories

• The sisters now have another special memory, having welcomed babies just hours apart in McKayla's home

• The sisters tell PEOPLE what it was like welcoming their little ones, with big sister coaching little sister through her first birth

For two sisters who grew up very close, it was exciting to find out they'd be welcoming babies around the same time.

McKayla Kennard, 24, says that she and younger sister Adrianna Kennard, 21, even found out they were pregnant on the same day in October.

"We've always been super, super close. We still say that this has made us even closer because we've been together every day," she tells PEOPLE.

"I took a digital pregnancy test the day after my sister's 21st birthday. The day before, Adrianna wasn't feeling well, so she didn't drink or anything. That morning, she was like, 'Well, I'll just take a test just for fun because I haven't been feeling good,' and she called me crying because it was positive."

Adrianna tells PEOPLE that while her baby news came as a surprise, she quickly found herself happy for what was ahead.

"It was crazy. I found out the day after my 21st birthday. I was nervous, but I was excited to have cousins so close."

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Related: Best Friends Since 5th Grade Give Birth on the Same Day: 'Our Girls Will Share the Same Relationship'

At first, the younger sister went back and forth about whether she wanted a home birth or a hospital birth. She had decided on a hospital birth and up until that day, believed that was her birth plan.

McKayla enjoyed a successful, planned home birth early on Tuesday, June 18. A midwife herself, she knew she wanted to replicate the experience of her second birth after doing one home birth and one hospital birth with her previous children.

"It was all planned on my end," she says. "I was actually in labor for about a month. I started having contractions at 35 weeks. I was having consistent contractions every night, to the point where I thought I was in labor every night."

McKayla woke up at 4:05 a.m. and discovered her water broke.

"I started having pretty intense contractions right off the beginning, so I told my fiancé to fill the pool. I've found that after my water breaks, my labors tend to be really fast. I was having intense contractions and I was in and out of the pool once it was full. Then, at about 5:10 a.m., I started pushing. It was pretty straight to the point."

McKayla and fiancé Mark welcomed son Kash Shane Mason at 5:16 a.m., with her sister watching via FaceTime. About 45 minutes later, Adrianna was on her way to the hospital. Fate had other plans, however.

"I went to the hospital that morning. They had told me that I was 4 cm dilated and I could wait there in labor for two hours or I could go home and labor and come back," she says. "I started having contractions three minutes apart as soon as I got back in my car."

Adrianna and her boyfriend were discussing what to do when he noted how comfortable and at ease McKayla appeared after giving birth just hours before.

"We were on our way to go and let our dogs out. We were talking about how I just watched my sister give birth on FaceTime, and it looked so easy. She pushed three times and the baby was out," Adrianna says.

"So he's like, 'Well your sister just had a baby and she's hanging out at home, comfortable in her own home.' So we let out our dogs and then we went straight to my sister's house."

"We were actually doing squats joking about going into labor together the night before," McKayla says with a laugh. "Obviously, we weren't expecting that to put us into labor or anything, but we were just on FaceTime doing squats together."

The couple got to McKayla's house around 10:00 a.m. At that point, McKayla was ready for her sister.

"I didn't have a midwife at my birth, but I did have my mentor midwife schedule to come right after to clean everything up," McKayla explains. "She came and drained my pool and took the liner out. So when my sister called me to come and said she wanted me to fill the pool, all I had to do was put a new liner in and start filling it."

McKayla, hours postpartum, poured herself into the moment. For her, there were no second thoughts.

"I felt really, really good postpartum. Giving birth naturally, we healed really fast, so I felt really good immediately and was able to do all that for her. My mom was there to hold the baby for me," she says.

Once Adrianna arrived, she was "pacing back and forth" as she worked through "really bad contractions."

After just over two hours, they got ready to welcome Adrianna's baby. Her daughter, Rylan Alaina Kaltwasser, was born at 1:15 p.m., almost exactly 8 hours after her cousin.

"It was the most painful thing I've ever done. But I definitely don't regret having a home birth," Adrianna says.

After all was said and done, the two moms "laid on the couch for a little bit with the babies," as their mom tended to them. They spent the day and night snuggling and celebrating the new arrivals.

"My sister spent the night that first night because this is her first baby, and she was nervous. So she stayed with me and we slept in my bed. We've had several sleepovers since then. It's been really nice to do all the babies' doctor appointments together," says McKayla.

"We've done pretty much everything together afterward, which has made it really easy. It's nice for both of us to have someone to compare things to, see how our babies are doing and watching them develop together."

After sharing their story online, news of the back to back home births went viral, a surprise to both moms.

"When I first posted the announcement of the babies being born together, everybody was saying it was newsworthy, but I didn't really think much of it," McKayla says.

"It's really cool seeing the positive comments, and it makes me really happy seeing a positive light shed on home birth, because usually, you just see the negatives."

The two are looking forward to tons of special moments together as their little ones grow.

"Seeing them grow up together and hit their mielstones together will be amazing. They're going to be best friends," Adrianna says.

McKayla also hopes it will open people up to the possibilities in home birth.

"If home birth is something that anybody's interested in, they should do research and look into it more and find somebody that aligns with their wants and needs. We're made to give birth."

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