Couple Aged 50 And 60 Spend £25,000 To Have Their Baby Together To Give Hope To People Who Thought Their Chance At Parenthood Was Over
Sharon Kollmar, 50, admitted people “couldn’t understand” why she wanted to have a baby at the age of 50 with her 60-year-old Fɪᴀɴᴄᴇ́, Gus, who is already a granddad-of-three.who is already a dad to his 39-year-old daughter and ɢʀᴀɴᴅFᴀᴛʜᴇʀ to her three children, welcomed their new addition on September 28, 2021.
A mum who has ɢɪᴠᴇɴ ʙɪʀᴛʜ at 50-years-old admitted people thought she was “ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ” for spending £25,000 to have a baby with her 60-year-old Fɪᴀɴᴄᴇ́.
Sharon Kollmar, from Long Island, New York, claims she was desperate to extend her family and have a baby with her fiance, Gus, 60, who is already a granddad. Sharon, 50, already has an 11-year-old son, Aiden, from a previous relationship, but always wanted more kids.
After almost a decade of being single, she had started to look into sᴘᴇʀᴍ ᴅᴏɴᴏʀs. But while explaining her quest to lifelong friend and now Fɪᴀɴᴄᴇ́, Gus, he suggested that the pair should strike up a relationship and try for a baby together.
They ended up having to spend £25,000 ($34,000 USD) on an ᴇɢɢ ᴅᴏɴᴏʀ ᴀɴᴅ IVF – they welcomed their daughter, Bayleigh Emerson, in September 2021.
Sharon said: “I so ᴅᴇsᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴇʟʏ wanted more kids. People thought I was ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ for wanting to start all over again. I’d been to see fertility doctors who were dismissive because of my age and told me that although I still had ᴇɢɢs, the chances of me falling pregnant were slim. I was also still single. I was talking to my male friend about everything and out of the blue he said ‘what about me?’ I’d never even thought about it before but it seemed like a great idea. He had always been in my and my son’s life.
“So we started dating, and because I was around 46 and he was 56, we started trying to ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴠᴇ sᴛʀᴀɪɢʜᴛ away. We were trying for two years and hadn’t fallen pregnant, so we looked into ᴅᴏɴᴏʀ ᴇᴍʙʀʏᴏs but the ᴄᴜᴛ ᴏFF age was 45. So we turned to donor ᴇɢɢs and found someone who matched my colourings and had fresh ᴇɢɢs, rather than Fʀᴏᴢᴇɴ. The process cost us $34,000 and I went through ʀɪɢᴏʀᴏᴜs ᴘʜʏsɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛᴇsᴛɪɴɢ and preparation.”
In January 2021, when Sharon was 49, she underwent the embryo transfer which was successful on the first attempt. When she finally received the doctor’s call confirming she was pregnant, she says it was the moment she had been waiting for for over a decade.
Sharon addedL:”But I love being pregnant. People couldn’t understand why we would want another baby at the age of 50 and 60. My friends’ kids were graduating college and getting married. Some of my friends were even grandparents. Gus is even a ɢʀᴀɴᴅFᴀᴛʜᴇʀ and his daughter is 39. His grandkids are 10, 12 and 15. So people had a hard time getting their head around it, but it meant the world to us.”
Sharon gave birth via C-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ as there was ᴍᴇᴄᴏɴɪᴜᴍ ɪɴ ʜᴇʀ Fʟᴜɪᴅs, she was born at a healthy 7lbs 130z.
She said: “I think people thought I would regret it, but I would not change it for the world. When we brought her home and I placed her in my son’s arms, his eyes Fɪʟʟᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛᴇᴀʀs and he told her that he had been waiting for her his entire life. It was so special.”
Sharon and Gus still have four Fʀᴏᴢᴇɴ ᴇᴍʙʀʏᴏs and love the idea of having another baby together.
Sharon added: “I want to give hope to people who thought their chance at parenthood was over. You need to have faith and live your own life, and not what your family and friends expect you to do. I always knew that I was going to have more children, even though I wasn’t sure how but I just knew that somehow it would all piece together and it has. I couldn’t be happier.”