A 50-year-old woman became a first-time mom — and her 61-year-old husband a full-time dad — after she gave birth to a baby girl via C-section earlier this fall.

Susie and Tony Troxler of High Point, North Carolina had been trying to conceive since getting married 13 years ago, but had no luck for over a decade — but after turning to egg donation and IVF, Susie delivered Lily Antonia Troxler on September 29. 

In a Cone Health release Susie said, “It was so surreal.” It was a moment that had been waiting for. It’s hard to wrap our heads around — we’re no longer just husband and wife, we’re “mommy” and “daddy.”‘

Susie, 50, and Tony Troxler, 61, of High Point, North Carolina welcomed Lily Antonia Troxler via a scheduled C-section on September 29

Susie, 50, and Tony Troxler, 61, of High Point, North Carolina welcomed Lily Antonia Troxler via a scheduled C-section on September 29

They had been trying to conceive since getting married 13 years ago. They tried naturally because 'when we grew up, nobody even talked about or discussed IVF'

They had been trying to conceive since getting married 13 years ago. Because they were raised in a family that didn’t talk about IVF, it was natural for them to try.

Susie was in her 30s, Tony in his 40s, when they married. They quickly attempted to have children, believing it would not be a problem.

She said that she assumed they would have a child when we married. However, it did not happen. Good Morning America interviewed her. 

But we both are very old-school. When we grew up nobody talked or even discussed IVF. [in-vitro fertilization]. This was not even possible.

She never even discussed it with a doctor until three years ago, when she went to a new OBGYN for a checkup — and was asked a question she’d neve been asked before.

Dr. Harraway Smith asked her, “Is it anything else?” “Is there anything else?” she asked. ‘If she hadn’t asked that question, then this baby probably wouldn’t be here.’ 

At a checkup with a new OBGYN three years ago, she was asked if she had any other questions and brought up her desire to conceive

Three years ago she went to see a new OBGYN for a checkup. She was asked questions about her health and she mentioned that she wanted to have children.

She and Tony started IVF and then turned to egg donation when they had no viable embryos

Tony and she started IVF, and they then switched to egg donation after the embryos were dead.

‘I was disappointed to hear her say that no one had ever queried them or given them their options for fertility,’ Dr. Carolyn Harraway-Smith said.

Dr. Harraway-Smith knew that because of Susie’s age, they had a ‘short window’ to make a pregnancy happen, so she sent her to an reproductive endocrinologist.

That doctor diagnosed with fibroids, muscular tumors on the wall of her uterus that are usually benign. Susie was able to have them removed by surgery. But she was told that natural conception would not be possible.

They tried IVF but failed.The embryos were viable. Next, they turned to egg donation, with the first embryo transfer in late 2019 — but unfortunately, it did not take.

The pandemic put their plans on hold, but in February of this year, they transferred their last viable embryo — and it worked. 

They describe being new parents as 'surreal' and insist: 'We knew no matter how it was going to happen, that it was going to happen'

The new parent experience is described by them as “surreal” and they insist, “We knew that no matter how it turned out, it was going be a great one.”

'Kids come when they're supposed to come, regardless of the age of the parents. We look at it as this is exactly how it was meant to be. She's our miracle baby,' Susie said

“Kids arrive when they are supposed to, no matter how old their parents are. It is just how it was supposed to be. She’s our miracle baby,’ Susie said

Susie had a ‘pretty uneventful’ pregnancy, ending in a scheduled C-section on September 29, during which she hummed a gospel song.

Tony stated in a press release that he knew one day he would have children. ‘We wouldn’t give up. That faith was ours. She was our dream. It would happen no matter what.

GMA was told by he that he still stares at her. “She had me wrapped around her pinky fingers before she was born.”

Lily, who they refer to as their “little warrior princess”, is smiling already. 

Susie said, “It’s really really, really, truly surreal.” “I had been single, and I was a wife, but the thought of becoming a mother hasn’t hit me yet,’ Susie said. 

“I am a firm believer that children will come when they should, regardless of their parent’s age. This is how we see it. “She’s our miracle child,” she said.

Can it be too late for a fetus to have a baby? What happens to fertility and pregnancy as we age 

The number of eggs that a woman is born with will be fixed. As she ages, the egg count may increase.

According to American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOOG), women can become fertile between their teens and late 20s. One in four chances of becoming pregnant in a single period are for healthy women in their 20s or 30s.

After age 30, fertility begins to decrease in women, and it becomes faster for those between 30 and 35. According to medical standards, women over 35 are considered to be advanced maternal age. They also have a higher chance of miscarriage or stillbirth.

Only one in ten women can get pregnant after 40. Getting pregnant naturally from age 45 onward is unlikely for most women.

Many factors can affect fertility, including age. In addition to having fewer eggs, women are also at increased risk for issues like uterine fibroids and endometriosis as they get older.

Both mother and baby are at greater risk as we age.

There is an increased risk for preeclampsia and other pregnancy-related complications in women. Due to extra, missing or damaged chromosomes, there is an increase in the risk of birth defect.

The risk of having a Down-syndromic baby is only 1 in 1,480 for 20 years and 1 to 940 for 30. However, it rises to 1 in 85 and 1 per 35 for 45 year old women.