‘Instant family’: Couple welcomes son, daughter within days and in different states

TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - A family in Tennessee doubled in just a few days as the new parents welcomed a baby boy and girl born days apart in different states.

WBRC reports Meredith and Clay McCord are crediting their strong faith and a friend for their recent double blessing.

“We are the definition of an instant family,” said Meredith McCord. “Doubled up in three days.”

But the couple said making their family a group of four took a lot of patience, heartbreak and faith.

“We started trying to begin our family about four and a half years ago. We had three miscarriages,” Meredith McCord said.

“And through every miscarriage, we asked ‘Why us? We’re going to be great parents. We’re going to do everything right. Why us? Why is this happening? Why does this keep happening?’” Clay McCord said.

The couple said after the miscarriages, they looked into in-vitro fertilization, and after two rounds of IVF and another miscarriage, the McCords then looked into surrogacy.

“It takes some time to wrap your head around it,” Meredith McCord said. “You know, a woman doing this for you. Once we thought about it, we realized that’s what we should do.”

So, Meredith McCord reached out to a friend from college, Thomas Morse. His wife had been a surrogate for two families already, and it is something she said God placed in her heart to do.

“I feel like this was one of those little nudges from God telling me that this was how he wanted me to serve,” Katie Morse said.

Meredith McCord eventually asked if Katie Morse would consider being their surrogate, and she said yes.

“A week or two later, we found out we were pregnant!” Clay McCord said.

Suddenly, the couple said Meredith McCord and Katie Morse were both pregnant at the same time. Meredith McCord was having a girl, and Katie Morse was carrying a boy.

On Mother’s Day, Katie Morse gave birth to James McCord in Alabama, and three days later, Meredith McCord gave birth to Mary Clark in Tennessee.

“The timing could not have been more perfect. It was just another testament to how God works,” Katie Morse said. “I’ve always said he’s never promised me this journey would be easy, but he’s always promised that he would be there through it all.”

And Meredith McCord shared some advice for those families facing the same struggles.

“I think there’s hope, and it’s OK to try unconventional, nontraditional ways to start a family. It may even lead to another blessing too. You just never know what that path is going to look like. You just have to be willing to give it a try,” Meredith McCord said.

Katie Morse said if you’re considering surrogacy or becoming a surrogate, conduct research by looking at agencies across the country and learning about the process.

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