I had my son at 53. People constantly mistake me for his grandma.

Having a 2.5-year-old when you're 56, and your husband is 60, means everyone has questions and opinions about your life. I have heard every comment you can think of since I was pregnant: receptionists doing a double take on forms, and a server at a family Christmas dinner complimenting us for spending quality time with our “grandson.” The assumption that we are our son's grandparents happens almost every time we go out.

Sometimes I can keep my cool, but other times it really hurts. We waited so long to have our son — trying to conceive since I was 39 and suffering seven devastating miscarriages — and our child is the miracle we were waiting for over 14 years. Having to share that painful, personal back story with strangers isn't easy, but it often feels necessary.

We conceived through IVF, and I'm convinced nutrition played a strong part in helping me fall pregnant at 53 and in getting through menopause, which started with hot flashes at 55 and was delayed by the IVF hormones.

late motherhood, maternal age, ivf, miscarriage, menopause, nutrition, age 53, age 56, ageism, older parent