Last-ditch works for new mum at 47 | Parenting

Jamie Brown | 22nd December 2008

Fiona and Paul Lister with baby Izaak, whose birth came as a near miracle to the proud parents.

IT TOOK 11 years, but finally Fiona and Paul Lister have a baby of their own.

Izaak James Lister arrived on December 15, making Fiona, 47, one of the oldest first-time mums in the area.

After trying and failing to fall pregnant naturally for years since the age of 35, she turned to IVF.

Fiona and her husband went through all the standard tests to determine where the trouble was with their fertility.

“The doctors couldn't find anything wrong, and we were told there was a non-specific fertility problem,” she said.

After many failed attempts, Fiona had given up on ever having children.

“We were told that we would have to get a donor egg,” she said.

Fiona entertained the idea for a short time, but Paul wasn't keen.

“You can get a donor egg, but we really wanted our own baby, not someone else's,” he said.

With just two more vitrified embryos on ice five years after her previous attempt, it was now or never.

“They had collected the eggs when I was 41, and after being frozen for five years Sydney IVF gave us four options - have them implanted, donate them to someone else, throw them away, or donate them to stem cell research,” Fiona said. “We thought we might as well use them, even though we had a one-in-1000 chance or less of being successful.”

But it seems miracles happen.

After watching her baby boy grow each time she had a scan, she became more and more excited. As a nurse, Fiona was aware of all the things that could go wrong, such as miscarriage, and her 51 per cent chance of having a child with Down syndrome.

She was so worried she hadn't opened the things she bought for the baby.

But against all odds, Fiona had a smooth pregnancy and birth, and had her cesarean in the very operating theatre she works in.

Her midwifery work prepared Fiona well for caring for baby Izaak.

“It's just like caring for another baby, but I'm still shocked I don't have to give it back, because this time it's mine,” she said, smiling.

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