Two Newborns. Same Parents. Born Three Days Apart – Find Out How!
May 31, 2022
James Wakefield McCord – born 5/8/22
After three natural miscarriages and two rounds of In vitro fertilization (IVF) with four embryos being transferred, Clay and Meredith “Bo” McCord didn’t give up their dream of one day becoming parents.
And, after a four year long emotional journey, their dream finally came true!
The couple welcomed James Wakefield McCord on Mother’s Day (May 8th) by Katie Morse, their surrogate, at Brookwood Women’s Center, and Bo delivered their little girl Mary Clark McCord on May 11th at a hospital in Tennessee.
The McCords of Tennessee are friends of Thomas and Katie Morse, who live in Birmingham.
“My wife knew Thomas Morse, Katie's husband from her college days at Samford. That led us to Katie who we knew had been a surrogate before,” Clay said.
Katie had been a surrogate two times before being asked by the McCords. She shared it all started with God asking her to serve Him by helping others become parents.
“This wasn’t even an idea I could take credit for. It was all Him. God blessed my husband and me immensely when we had our children, and I couldn’t say no to women who wanted to be mothers as badly as I did,” she said. “And through every surrogate journey, God has shown me time and again how He is in control, He has a plan, and He is with me. He never promises it’ll be easy, but it’s always worth it, and my faith has grown as I’ve learned to trust in Him wholly.”
She went on to share that Bo connected with her during her second surrogacy. She said she knew she wanted to do it one more time when Bo asked because they had already built a bond and that made it an easy decision.
With this surrogacy as with my second, the mom got pregnant too! Something about the stress being lifted, I guess,” she said.
Bo was due two weeks after Katie, but they found out the doctors would do a C-section at 37 weeks for Bo, and Katie felt she would deliver early since she always had. So, the question then became who would deliver first? Since the McCords lived in Tennessee, it was important to everyone to make sure Clay and Bo would be there for the birth of their first child.
On Saturday, May 7th, Katie was really excited that her contractions started and she knew it was time to let the McCords know it was time for them to travel to Birmingham!
“I prayed for her little boy to be here for Mother’s Day. When I got to the hospital my water still hadn’t broken, but I was at 5 cm, so they admitted me. Dr. Wendy Gregory and my nurse Ashley Dorr were my heroes that night, because they kept telling me I could do something I had never intended on doing (little James started crowning before she received the epidural, so she delivered naturally)” she said. “I gave it all I had and two pushes later, James was here and everyone in the room was crying. My favorite part of delivery is always watching the parents’ reaction to seeing their child for the first time but this time I kind of missed that while I was in my own little world. But, everyone told me they were crying and in shock!”
Thomas shared he was so excited for his friends to see their first child and he has been honored to support his wife in her ministry of helping parents in this way.
Left – Clay and “Bo” McCord with Katie and James Wakefield McCord (in hospital bed) and Katie’s husband Thomas is at right.
“When she shared with me that she felt this was something God placed on her heart to do, there was no chance I was going to stand in her way,” he smiled and said. “While each experience is special, this one was close to home for me since “Bo” and I were old college friends.”
Clay and Bo shared they were so excited to receive their double blessing given the loss they had experienced.
“We couldn’t be happier. I must admit seeing my child for the first time was such an emotional experience and to do it all again just three days later and welcome our little girl, I just can’t describe the joy,” Clay said.
From left is Thomas Morse, his son, his wife Katie, their daughter, “Bo” and her husband Clay with their newborn James Wakefield McCord.
Bo was also very excited about the experience and shared they were so blessed throughout the whole journey.
“We were all crying in the delivery room because it was such a special moment and then I later delivered our little girl,” Bo said. “Thinking about our journey, we just want to share encouragement to other couples who need a reminder to continue to trust God and put all your faith in Him. We are living proof of His goodness!”
Both families shared they had a great experience at Brookwood with Dr. Wendy Gregory, OBGYN affiliated with Brookwood Baptist.
“Kim and Jerrika were our nurses and they were absolutely wonderful,” Clay said. “We couldn’t have had a better experience at Brookwood and are so thankful for Dr. Gregory and Dr. Gonzalez (maternal