Before welcoming a baby girl in 2016 at the age of 51, Susan Rufrano-Waitzman had previously never felt it was the right time to have a child.
She hadn't been in the right relationships and she had a busy life as a singer and dancer performing on cruise ships.
But everything changed when she met Josh Waitzman when she was 44.
The pair fell in love and went on to get married and both knew they wanted to have children together.
After a year of dating the couple, from Florida, began planning their wedding and trying for a baby and at age 46 Susan defied medical odds to become pregnant naturally in 2012.
"I couldn’t believe it when I saw the two solid lines," Susan told Kidspot.com.au.
However, in a cruel twist of fate, Susan suffered a "devastating" miscarriage at nine weeks.
The heartbreak made them even more determined to have a baby and a few months later they began IVF treatment and decided to freeze some of their embryos.
The first two rounds of IVF sadly failed and a fertility specialist asked the couple if they wanted to consider the option of using a donor egg or sperm to better their chances, but they weren't ready to give up on having a child of their own.
"We are both optimistic people and I’ve always been stubborn, telling myself, ‘I can do this’,” Susan told the publication.
"I knew in my heart and soul it was meant to be but I just didn’t know when. I was more determined than ever."
And she was right, three years later, at the age of 50, Susan fell pregnant during her third IVF cycle.
She welcomed their baby girl, Morgan, in 2016 but the delivery was incredibly traumatic.
"I was in labour and the baby was losing oxygen and its heart rate was dropping every time I had a contraction, so I had to have an emergency caesarean," she explained.
"I remember not being able to breathe properly and having an anxiety attack and crying."
Morgan is now a happy and healthy four-year-old and a "blessing" to her parents - but they're not quite done on the baby front just yet.
The couple is once again trying to have a baby, with one of their frozen embryos and this time Susan is hoping for twins.
"I always wanted twins, so if I had them in our next round I would be satisfied - but I would like Morgan to have a sibling either way,” the 56-year-old said.
The mum admits that while there are those who have criticised her and Josh for having children at their age, she's adamant their daughter and any future kids are lucky to have them as parents.
This is because she thinks her age allows her more "knowledge, wisdom and maturity" to provide her daughter with.
She adds: "If I let negative thoughts creep in, I would never get anything done. I try to put the whole age and number thing out of my sight.
"I want to be a champion for all the women out there who are trying to have a baby in their 40s and 50s and say, ‘Don’t give up!’"
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