I got pregnant when I was 53, and my husband was 57. People assume we are our son's grandparents.

• After suffering seven miscarriages, Monica Kranner finally fell pregnant at the age of 53.
• Monica and her husband, Peter, are often mistaken for their son’s grandparents.
• The intrusive comments she receives about her age as a parent can still be hurtful.

I really enjoy my time with my son

I’ve had a long time to think about how I want to balance work with spending time with my son, as it’s important to me to spend as much time with him as possible while keeping my nutrition business going. I took a step back from my business when my son was born, seeing clients only when they approached me — I didn’t do any proactive marketing again until this year. My husband runs his own small advertising agency, so he had some flexibility to step in and take care of our son when needed, and we also use a babysitter.

Now our babysitter comes for about half the day, and I take care of Lewis myself for the other half. That’s the other thing you have to think about when you start a family at this age – you can’t rely on grandparents to help. They have either died already or are too old to have the physical strength and mental capacity to take care of a toddler.

I really enjoy my time with my son, though, and I hope he does too. I take him to toddler activities like golf, gymnastics, and soccer. When he takes a nap, I try to lie down with him to rest and be near him.

It’s frustrating that so many people think it’s OK to make the insensitive comments that they do. You don’t know what someone else has been through. It’s nobody’s business how old we are. We are doing the best for our son, and that is what matters.