Moona Flinders, 44, works as a teacher and lives in Arundel, West Sussex, with her husband Mark, 39, and children Kai, 25, and Storm, four months. She tells us she gave birth to her second child 25 years after the birth of her first, after spending nearly 45,000 euros on artificial insemination.
I was a quiet, studious teenager with good grades, and no one expected me to get pregnant at 18. I only had one boyfriend and was on the pill. So when I found out I was pregnant, I was very scared. But I was sure that I wanted to keep the child.
David and I moved in together and got engaged on my 21st birthday, but eventually decided we would be better off as friends and co-parents. I put Kai in kindergarten while I studied media studies. Kai and I loved going to parks and swimming. Even when all my friends were out, I was happy to read stories to Kai before bed.
I wasn't interested in finding love, but in May 2011, I met Mark at a pub. He won me over when he offered Kai, who was 14 at the time, tickets to the go-kart track where Mark worked. We started dating and quickly fell in love. Mark wanted children, and I couldn't wait to be a mom again. When we got married in April 2013, I stopped using birth control.
Over the next few years, we let nature take its course, but every time my period came, my heart sank. We had tests done, but no problems were found. For four years, we endured heartbreak. I managed to get pregnant three times with IVF, but each time the pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Kai was by my side during this difficult time.
In the summer of 2021, Mark and I decided to undergo IVF again. At that point, we had already spent almost 45,000 euros, but we didn't want to give up. "When I got pregnant at age 43, I didn't dare get my hopes up until we heard a heartbeat during an ultrasound visit to the doctor. At first, I was afraid to tell anyone, but finally I decided to trust fate.
My now grown son Kai was very happy when I broke the news to him! Mark and I arranged a maternity photo shoot and a baby shower, where I had to laugh because my friend's husband mistook Kai for my husband!
The night before Kai's birthday, I went into labor. I had to have a c-section, but everything went well. Storm was born 25 years after Kai was born. I called Kai on FaceTime while he was at a party to tell him the news. He was so stunned he couldn't believe it, and then he congratulated me.
He was the first to visit us at the hospital the next day. And now that Storm has met her big brother, she beams every time she sees him. He lives just 10 minutes from Mark's and my house and always helps with bath time. I'm so glad they made contact despite the age difference.
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