My sweet Mason. My sweet, squishy, stubborn Mason. That's right, I said my Mason! No, Mason isn't my squishy baby. He is, however, my squishy nephew. (Note the excessive use of the word squishy... Mason is very squishy).
Mason’s birth story is one that I’m bumping ahead in the queue because it’s one I’m so excited to tell. It’s a story that I’m going to tell much more personally and honestly than any other birth story. It’s a story that’s so important and close to my heart, and such a huge and special part of my relationship with my older sister. Mason is my sister, Meghan’s, fifth (and last) baby.
When my sister called me crying last winter, I had a pretty good feeling why. “I’m pregnant!” she sobbed. I remember pacing excitedly around my living room and trying not to let my smile leak into my voice. I was bouncing my 5 month old stage 5 clinger on my hip, and 2000 miles away, she was probably doing the same with her equally clingy 1.5 year old. We were together in that we were completely touched out and a little overwhelmed with motherhood as it was, whether or not we wanted to admit it. And here, another baby!
So why was I smiling?
My sister is an amazing mother. The birth of her first daughter was the first labor I ever attended. I was a few weeks away from my 12th birthday, and my sister had just turned 16. We were still babies ourselves. It was through that pregnancy and the first few years of Abigail’s life that my sister and I first started building our now incredibly close I’d-do-anything-for-you bond. Motherhood is, in a sense, our thing. Of course I knew my sister could handle a fifth baby. And I knew that this baby was going to be a blessing.
Mason proved himself to be a blessing long before he was born. It was through this pregnancy that my sister learned of some health issues that could have been missed had she not been under maternity care. To us, this was the only sign we needed that Mason was meant to be an instrumental part of the family.
In that initial phone call, I promised my sister I would be there for this birth. I was determined to photograph her last pregnancy, labor, birth, Mason meeting his siblings—all of it. By some stroke of luck, I was able to schedule my trip for the weeks spanning her due date and document his birth.
You see that adorable preteen? That's our Abigail, my sister's oldest daughter! Can you believe I attended her birth?
One might think that, this being my sister's fifth delivery, Mason's labor was a quick one. But no, not quite! My sister was scheduled to be induced a few days before her due date because she had been measuring several weeks ahead her entire pregnancy. Meghan tried everything in the book to get the induction started at home. This being her fifth induction, she really wanted to experience the rush of going into full blown labor on her own. Mason, however, was not on board. He wasn't even really on board with the induction. Things went along very slowly...
Around 3 PM, Meghan's two youngest babies came to visit. By this point, she was starting to hit a wall. I stood by while Josh comforted her. I didn't catch what he was saying, but their body language was amazing. It was a perfect picture of support and love.
"What's wrong?" I asked her. "Are you in pain or are you feeling discouraged?" She laughed through her tears: "Yes."
Around dinnertime, things finally started picking up.
The second shift change of her labor approached, which was a pretty difficult goodbye. We knew that Mason would come soon, but there was no telling how soon. So although she offered to stay, Meghan said an emotional goodbye to her favorite nurse.
After a few trial pushes, Meghan moved positions to help Mason move down into position. It was almost time! While we waited out those last few minutes before delivery, we made guesses on how big he would be.
As you can see in the note, we made baby Mason's weight guesses at 7:52 PM. I closed my computer and walked over to Meghan to ask how she was doing. "Um..." she said as her doctor was walking in the room to check on her, "I'm ready. He's coming."
At 8:02 PM, after just a few short minutes of pushing, Mason Wyatt was welcomed earthside. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 1 oz!
Sweet Mase, you are one loved little dude. I'm so grateful that I got to be a part of this birth experience, and I can't wait to get back to Tulsa and squeeze those perfect cheeks on a regular basis!
With Love,
Aunt Memily