It's never too late to be a mum - and one woman is living proof of it.

Tatiana Kaplan, now 54, was dead set on starting a family with her IT guru partner, Kenan Kaplan, 52, and they got cracking on baby-making just a month after getting together.

But after three long years and no baby joy, the couple turned to IVF, enduring seven gut-wrenching fails that set them back a hefty $100,000 CAD (£58,207). Tatiana was close to throwing in the towel on her motherhood dreams until she fell pregnant, aged 50.

The pair decided to blow off some steam with a Euro trip, and upon their return, Tatiana realised she didn't get her period. After an 11-year wait she fell pregnant naturally.

Tatiana breezed through her pregnancy, staying sprightly with daily 6km walks, and welcomed her nipper, Mark Kaplan, now aged four, into the world via C-section.

Now the mum-of-two believes she's aged like a fine wine, gaining wisdom over the years and pouring all her time into her family life. She's now on a mission to spread hope to other women dreaming of late motherhood, despite some naysayers labelling it "shameful".

The stay-at-home mum said: "I feel I broke free of confined expectations about what is possible at different ages. Perhaps that's why I don't feel in my 50 years internally. Instead, I brought new life into the world.

"I hoped to demonstrate to women that staying healthy and fit into their 50s, rather than early decline, is possible and important.

"Some commented that late motherhood would be shameful in their cultures. In parenting my son, I fully immerse myself in his beautiful years."

Tatiana had her first child, Katerina, 35, when she was just 19 and tragically lost her father when she was only four. She remained single for a considerable period, but met Kenan in February 2007, and the couple started trying for a baby immediately.

Tatiana revealed: "We knew from the first days of our relationship that we wanted a family together. As I approached 39, nesting instincts stirred, and a dream of a child grew too strong to ignore.

"My partner and I started trying to conceive right away when we began living together - just one month after our first meeting."

Despite doctors confirming they were both perfectly healthy, the couple struggled to conceive. Tatiana maintained a regular swimming routine, and ate a nutritious fresh diet, to boost her chances but found no success.

In October 2010, the couple decided to try IVF but after seven attempts and spending $100,000 CAD on travel, hotel stays, medication and procedures - nothing worked.

Tatiana confessed: "My final try was at 47. I started thinking I should give up hope. I asked the universe why my son hadn't arrived yet and in a dream, he told me 'Mum, we will meet when the time is right'."

The pair opted for a road trip from Antalya, Turkey to Montserrat, Spain in the summer of 2018 as a distraction from their heartache. After 11 years of hoping and dreaming, along with seven failed IVF attempts working with top fertility clinics and two miscarriages, her hope of carrying a child was nearly gone.

But, in January 2019, Tatiana realised she was late on her period.

She continued: "I sprinted to get tested, praying silently for positive results. When my husband showed me the paper saying 'you're pregnant' I screamed so loudly the whole hospital heard.

"I was blessed with the happiness and privilege of a natural pregnancy. Isn't it miraculous how motherhood found me after exhausting all options medically, and being at the end of my journey?

"All those years of waiting, all the disappointments, only to have success come when I least expected it. To experience pregnancy naturally, after the incredible struggle to conceive, truly feels nothing short of a miracle."

Tatiana had a smooth and active pregnancy, but underwent a C-section as her son was breach. He was born on September 18, 2019, weighing 6lbs 6oz at North York General Hospital, Toronto.

She said: "As they placed him on my chest I cried tears of joy, telling him how we made it this far together and thanking him for his strength. My husband witnessed the birth and was the first to look at our baby. We both sobbed at the overwhelming emotions.

"Amazingly just five hours post-op, I started walking through the halls and holding the wall for support. Some younger mums couldn't get up yet.

"I recommend all women practice fertility yoga, eat healthy and release negativity - it greatly aids conception and supports an easy pregnancy even later in life."

Tatiana's son, now four, is "fascinating" and "curious".

She said: "I have found parenting my son as a 50-year-old woman to be a different experience. Over the past decades since becoming a teenage mother, I have sought to understand life's deeper meanings and allow my soul to grow wiser through the years.

"I strive to embrace each moment we share - whether those moments are big or small - with greater appreciation and presence. As a busy student and worker with responsibilities when my daughter was young, I sadly lacked the luxury of fully immersing myself in her wonder-filled early childhood."

Tatiana loves inspiring other later-life mums with her story, adding: "Growing older doesn't have to mean becoming feeble. It can mean staying cheerful."

You can follow Tatiana on TikTok @‌aurora.stories.