Michigan couple gives birth to their extended family's first girl since 1885
Carolyn and Andrew Clark of Michigan have welcomed a baby girl, breaking a 138 year-long streak of only boys being born into their family.
A Michigan couple is seeing pink as they welcomed a baby girl named Audrey in March, ending a 138-year streak of only boys being born into the family.
When Carolyn and Andrew Clark of Caledonia, Michigan, held their "gender reveal" party, they weren’t expecting any big surprises.
Andrew Clark had informed his wife before they married 10 years ago that they would not be having a girl — due to a long line of male-dominated births in his family.
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"I didn't believe him because it's a 50/50 chance of having a boy or a girl," Carolyn Clark, 36, told Fox News Digital.
"So when he told me that, I just thought he was kidding," she added.
Carolyn and Andrew Clark have welcomed a baby girl into their family, ending a 138 year-long streak of only boys being born. (Carolyn Clark)
Carolyn Clark said that the next time she saw her husband's parents, she decided to get to the bottom of the family's abundance of male births.
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"They told me, ‘Oh yeah, this is a real thing," Carolyn Clark said.
"My father-in-law pulled out some family tree to show me."
Audrey Marie Clark was born on March 17 — St. Patrick's Day. (Carolyn Clark)
Carolyn Clark said there was one name on the family tree — the person who was apparently the last girl to be born in the family.
The family member's birth year was 1885.
"I said, ‘This does not seem right. I've never heard of this happening before," Carolyn Clark recalled.
But there was more proof.
"My grandpa was really big into our genealogy," Andrew Clark, 34, told Fox News Digital.
"So, he traced it back and found all the birth certificates and marriage certificates and death certificates."
And when the couple had their son Cameron, 4, it seemed that history was repeating itself, Carolyn Clark said.
"I thought, ‘It must be true. His brothers only have boys as well, so I guess this is actually real.'"
Having all boys isn’t necessarily a point of pride in the Clark family, Andrew Clark said.
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"It was just a crazy fact that kept occurring in our lives," he said.
Cameron Clark, 4, is pictured smiling with a sign announcing his baby sister's then-imminent arrival. (Carolyn Clark)
Still, every time someone in the family was having a baby, there was always a glimmer of hope that the child would be a girl.
"Even when we were biting into the cookie for our gender reveal, we were just expecting it to be blue," Carolyn Clark said.
The Clarks invited their family over to bite into cookies to reveal whether they'd be welcoming a boy or a girl.
Carolyn Clark said she, her husband and their loved ones were in "utter shock" when they learned the streak would be broken (SEE THE VIDEO at the top of this article).
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"My sister-in-law and I were always saying, 'There has to be a girl at some point, whether it's us or maybe our boys will have a daughter at some point.' So when we bit into [the cookie], I looked at her like, ‘Is this pink?’ And she freaked out."
Cameron Clark smiles as he holds his newborn sister, Audrey Marie, earlier this year. (Carolyn Clark)
Carolyn Clark said she wondered if Audrey’s birth might pave the way for future Clark girls.
"We were happy either way," she said.
"We just wanted a healthy baby and it was just the icing on that cake that it was a girl. Andrew’s brother and his wife are wanting more kids," she said — and added that she hoped it "gives my sister-in-law hope that it can be done."
Carolyn Clark said she wonders if her daughter Audrey's birth will lead the way for future Clark girls. (Carolyn Clark)
Before little Audrey was born, the Clarks had suffered a miscarriage, which is why the couple has called their brand-new daughter a "rainbow baby."
A rainbow baby is a baby born after a loss due to miscarriage, infant death, stillbirth or neonatal death, according to the American Pregnancy Association.
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"Rainbow babies are considered ‘miracle’ babies due to the powerful impact they can have on helping parents heal after a loss," the organization wrote on its website.
"We just wanted a healthy baby, and it was the icing on that cake that it was a girl," Carolyn Clark told Fox News Digital about their new baby's birth. (Carolyn Clark)
Carolyn Clark had been scheduled to be induced on March 16, but Audrey had other plans and arrived on the morning of the 17th — St. Patrick’s Day.
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"We just thought that was super special that she is our rainbow baby, and she came on the day of celebrating luck," mom Carolyn Clark said.
"So, she’s kind of our lucky charm."
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