When George was born, he brought joy even to strangers.

From the moment he came into the world on Christmas Day two years ago, people seemed drawn to him.

The nurses would stop by, each morning, to check on him in the neonatal ward, before beginning their day.

It is not every day you witness something close to a miracle.

George was born at 29 weeks and three days in Melbourne to Anthoula Giannakopoulos, a 56-year-old mother who began the journey to motherhood on her own. He was conceived through egg and sperm donation after Anthoula underwent treatment in Greece before returning to Australia for his birth.

George, now a toddler, is in the garden playing with his grandmother while Anthoula tells us what becoming a mother has meant to her, and the intense happiness she has felt at every stage.

“Being a mother, I’ve experienced intense unconditional love, a contentment I never felt before. Although this is a demanding role, involving constant care, nurturing and protection and placing George’s needs above my own, he has taught me to prioritise what is important in life.”

With George at playgroup.

Starting motherhood later in life

Anthoula says everything in her life happened in reverse.

“I had my career when I was young. Now I’m done and dusted. I don’t need to work anymore and I have all the time in the world for George.”

If she had her life again, she says she probably would do it the other way around, “but I wouldn’t change anything about George. I love everything about him. He’s my life.”

Having a family was always in the back of her mind. In her mid-30s she realised how much she truly wanted to become a mother. “But it never eventuated with meeting the right partner and going down the path the conventional way.”

She probably could have frozen her eggs when she was younger, but she says she never thought of it. “What I thought of, was meeting the right person.”

Anthoula began exploring the idea of becoming a mother on her own at 46 when she saw an IVF specialist.

“But I was one year over the limit in terms of using your own eggs. I was 46 and you had to be 45 to use your own eggs in Australia.

Due to my age I didn’t want to venture trying with my own eggs anyway. I wanted to have a healthy baby.”

George with his grandmother, Jenny. She tells him stories and sings to him.

One last try

In 2023, between the Centre for Infertility Solutions in Melbourne and the Genesis Athens Clinic in Greece, Anthoula prepared for what she describes as “one last try” to carry a baby.

In Melbourne, Dr Nick Lolatgis and his nursing team assisted her with the correct medications so she would be ready for the embryo transfer by Dr Konstantinos Pantos when she arrived in Athens.

Anthoula says she will never forget how anxious she felt while sitting in the clinic, waiting to hear whether her endometrium was good enough to receive an embryo.

“I had all these fears and thoughts running through my head… and wondering whether I was doing the right thing…”

And then something extraordinary happened. Her father, who had passed away a few months earlier, appeared in the doorway, wearing the shirt he always wore, with a big smile on his face, and spoke to her.

To this day, she cannot fully explain what she saw. A vision, a dream? It felt completely real.

“He told me ‘Don’t be sad. Everything will work out.’”

“That gave me so much strength at a moment I needed it most. He was always supportive, always encouraging me to chase my dreams and whatever I wanted in life.”

Fourteen days later, she was pregnant with George.

“I was over the moon. I started crying. I was surprised at the sheer happiness I was feeling. I had never experienced that before. To have a baby and be able to carry it at 54 was a miracle in itself.”

Since bringing George into the world, everything has shifted.

From the moment he wakes up, the day revolves around him; taking him for walks, drawing, doing puzzles, going to playgroups, playing and discovering the world together.

Anthoula says one of the positives of becoming a mother at this stage in life is having the time to focus completely on George. Without the need to work or worry about money, she is able to enjoy every moment with patience and presence.

Anthoula says that everything in her life has shifted, since George came into the world.

On Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day approaching, Anthoula recalls how difficult the occasion once felt before George came into her life.

“It was hard. I would often think how the years have flown by and how I hadn’t achieved what I really wanted in life. I thought that I left it too late, and it hurt me that I didn’t have a child… that I wasn’t a mum.”

She is aware there are many women who want children and have not been able to have them. If there is a message she would send them, it is not to give up and to find a way to make it happen.

“There are options out there. Whether the option is to carry the baby yourself, or to adopt, or to achieve it through surrogacy. These options are perhaps easier overseas. Adoption or foster care is one of the most beautiful things you can do. There are so many kids in orphanages, or in families that cannot afford to raise them. And all they need is love and protection. If my last try wasn’t successful, I would have adopted a child. You can become a mother regardless of whether the child is your blood or not.”

This Mother’s Day, Anthoula plans to spend it with George, eating plenty of cake, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.

“Love is everything,” she says.

One of the most beautiful things a mother can experience, she says, is hearing the word “Mama” for the first time.

“And he says it all the time,” she laughs, adding how she adores the way he always runs up to her to hide between her legs.

George has brought new light into the family.

“He’s a happy child,” she says.

With his mother, grandmother and aunty doting on him and showering him with all their love, he is growing up wrapped in warmth, and feeling adored.

“My mother has new life in her. He gives her so much energy. She now lives for George.”

Looking back, Anthoula reflects on the long journey. “There were a lot of sacrifices, but in the end, it paid off. We live many lives, and having George, is by far my favourite.”

One day, she hopes her son will understand how deeply he is loved and how much she went through to have him.

“George was my ultimate dream, he’s my baby. A gift from life. He’s taught me love. Love and tenderness.”