On March 17, many Dartmouth students will be recovering from the stress of completing their final papers and exams - but for two students at the College, a different type of stress and adventure will have just begun.
Sara Largay '00 is due to be in labor at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center on March 17, giving birth to the baby with father Adam Clayton '00 at her side.
"Ten days from now - oh my God," Largay said as she sat with Clayton at the Courtyard Cafe yesterday, explaining the couple is both excited and nervous about bringing a human being in the world. From fear to excitement
Largay found out last summer, about seven weeks into her pregnancy, that she was going to have a baby.
The couple had been dating for a year when Largay became pregnant, but they did not plan the pregnancy.
Largay said she could not let herself believe that the second pink line on her pregnancy test had appeared, and she next tried to convince herself that blood tests can be wrong. But as she came to grips with her pregnancy, she decided she wanted to keep the child - and now both are "thrilled" to be having a St. Patrick's Day baby, she said.
"I considered my options, and [keeping the child] was the only choice I felt comfortable with. I was prepared to do it by myself - he didn't want me to do it by myself," Largay said, smiling at Clayton.
Largay said she did not feel that she could give the baby up for adoption, and she could not justify having an abortion when so many people in the world want to adopt children. But those reasons for keeping the child were really "just rationalizations for something I knew in my gut," she said.
Clayton said, "I think we were both in shock at the time, but I said I'd support her no matter what she did."
The couple was "scared to death" at first about the possibilities of birth defects, negative effects of any alcohol that Largay had consumed before she knew she was pregnant and other problems that could occur during or after the pregnancy.
But after almost nine months of preparation, the couple is, "extremely happy and anxious,"- more scared about being good parents than anything else, Clayton said. A team effort
Clayton and Largay have approached their new parenting roles with mutual responsibility. The two live together in Norwich, Vt., and have just finished decorating the nursery in their home this past weekend.
Clayton changed his D-Plan so that he will take classes over the Summer rather than during the Spring term. Largay took this term off and will also be off in the Spring. She spent last year away from the College on medical leave, before she became pregnant, and she plans on graduating with the Class of 2001.
Clayton said he will work near Hanover next year until Largay graduates. If it is impossible for Clayton to find a job in the area, Largay would consider transferring to stay with him - "but finishing college is not a question," she said. "It's a definite."
The couple has spent much of this term preparing to become parents. Clayton said his professors this term have been very supportive, granting him extensions on schoolwork so that he has had time to drive Largay to medical appointments, attend classes on child-rearing with her, read books on babies and make other preparations for raising a child.
He said Education Professor Randy Testa, his instructor in Education 34, Children's Literature, gave him the book "Goodnight Moon" as a gift for the baby. Clayton said he took Testa's course "for obvious reasons."
While Largay and Clayton said they have received mixed responses from members of the administration, they said students have been "incredibly supportive" of them. They also said Assistant Deans of the College Lisa Thum and Sylvia Langford were helpful.
Sigma Nu and Tabard fraternities, of which Clayton and Largay are respective members, threw a baby shower for the couple during Winter Carnival, and students created an "emotional support network" for the couple, Largay said.
"All the girls are like, 'ooh - I get to go baby shopping,'" Clayton said, laughing.
Largay said she was taken aback when an employee at Dick's House seemed to assume she was going to have an abortion - but by that time her decision was made to have the child.
In an interview with The Dartmouth in January, Janice Sundnas, director of Women's Health Resources at Dick's House, said an average of 25 undergraduate students come to Dicks' House each year for unintended pregnancies, but only twice in the past six years has she seen a student keep her baby.
Largay said the pregnancy has not been a very difficult one medically, and she has been surprised at how accepting most students have been.
She said she notices a lot of "double-takes" - but sometimes for the wrong reasons. Clayton described reactions to Largay when students have seen her play pong: "Usually they look at the water [first], and then they're like, 'Oh, okay'" when they notice that Largay is pregnant.
Clayton, a computer science major, and Largay, an English major and Education minor, plan on getting married after they graduate from the College.
Until then, they'll be raising Catherine Elizabeth Clayton or Adam Walker Clayton - depending on the baby's sex - together as a team.
