Michigan parents Carolyn and Andrew Clark were thrilled when their second child, a baby girl named Audrey, arrived in March, breaking a streak of all boys born in a family that lasted 138 years.
Carolyn told Good Morning America she was stunned when she first heard that no girls had been born on her husband’s side since 1885.
“What do you mean?'” she recalls asking Andrew after they began dating more than a decade ago, pointing out that “it’s a 50-50 chance” with each baby born. “He goes, ‘No, legitimately, we have not had a girl in our direct line in over 100 years.”
Andrew’s parents confirmed the surprising statistic for Carolyn, she told GMA. “They’re like, ‘Oh yeah, no, we haven’t had a girl in our direct line.’ He’s had uncles and cousins that have had girls but in his lineage, there has not been a girl.”
The couple already had a son, 4-year-old Cameron, when they began trying for another child — and hoping for a girl, Carolyn told WZZM 13 during an interview.
After two miscarriages, the couple learned that Carolyn was pregnant again. “We honestly didn’t care if we were having a boy or girl at that point,” she told GMA. “We just were thankful to be pregnant and just praying for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.”
At a party in September, the Clarks and their family and friends found out together that a girl was on the way when everyone was served special cookies that had been baked with either pink or blue frosting.
“We kept it a secret to ourselves as well,” Andrew told GMA. “So I just assumed it was going to be blue in the center of the cookies.”
After a countdown, Andrew, Carolyn and their guests took a bite at the same time and saw pink inside the cookies. “Everyone was just screaming and jumping in in disbelief,” Carolyn told WZZM 13.
Andrew told the outlet it was “really hard to come up with a name” because “we’ve never thought of girl name before.”
Their daughter Audrey was born March 17 — St. Patrick’s Day — bringing the family “just joy,” Carolyn said, adding that the arrival was “even more special” because their daughter was “worth the wait and all the struggles.”
As for breaking the 138-year streak of boys in the Clark family, Carolyn told GMA the turn of events was “icing on the cake.”
“We’re so happy that she’s finally here and once again,” Carolyn added, “that she’s healthy and that everything went well with the delivery.”