Babypalooza Magazine Spring 2019

Sullivan’s
Legacy
BY KIM HILDENBRAND
PHOTOS BY CATHERINETAYLOR
Sullivan
October 16, 2016, should have
been the best day of Mark and
Laura McCarty’s lives.
After a typical pregnancy, they welcomed their muchawaited
baby girl Sullivan. However, Sullivan was born
ill, and the couple only had a short time with her before
they had to say goodbye. “It was the most beautiful
and most horrible day of our lives,” Laura says. But as
you’ll soon understand, Sullivan’s legacy lives on in
so many ways.
FIRST COMES LOVE
Laura and Mark met when she was a freshman at
Auburn and he was a senior in high school. Though
they were just acquaintances, six years later they
reconnected at a friend’s wedding and fell in love.
“It was on just our third date when we knew we were
going to get married,” Laura recalls. “In fact, we began
dating, got engaged and were married all within a year’s
time!”
The couple, who live in Vestavia, had been married
almost three years when they began trying to conceive.
Almost immediately, in February 2016, they had a
positive pregnancy test. “I couldn’t believe that we had
gotten pregnant so quickly,” Laura says. “I have a lot
of friends who have struggled to get pregnant for many
months—years, in fact. It seemed surreal that it
happened so fast. What an incredible blessing that
I don’t take lightly.”
Laura’s pregnancy was easy and uneventful. The
first few months, she encountered some nausea. But
soon it subsided, she got her energy back, and she felt
“amazing.” The couple couldn’t wait to meet baby
Sullivan—whom they called Sulley for short.
A HELLO … AND A GOODBYE
Two weeks before the due date, Laura went into labor
in the middle of the night. “I wasn’t sure at first if it was
real labor,” Laura remembers. “For hours, I thought it
was just gas pain!”
The couple headed to the hospital and learned that
the labor was, in fact, real. Laura had been terrified of
labor but, she says, “Labor wasn’t nearly as scary as I
thought it would be.” She recalls being “overwhelmed
with incredible peace” as she prepared to give birth.
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