Diane and Andrew Randle told everyone that they didn't want children, rather than admit to their infertility worries - but fate had a family in store for them after all

I am eternally thankful to the colleague who persisted in questioning me about motherhood. I always replied that I didn't want kids, but she saw through the lie. One Christmas I was chatting to her about the presents I had bought for my nieces, when she said, 'Diane, imagine what it would be like to have children of your own.'

That did it - I admitted that I thought I was infertile. She said, 'Are you really sure there's nothing that can be done?'

She spurred me to see the doctor and get to the bottom of my problem.

I was a teenage bride
I got married two days before my 20th birthday. I was very happy and very much in love. The question of children was always put off - we were 'DINKYs' (double income no kids yet) and lived life to the full with lots of expensive holidays and fast cars. I think most people, family included, had written us off as far as parenting was concerned.

Then I hit 30
Time to get serious - my biological clock was ticking down. So I came off the Pill. No periods, so I went to see the doctor for a test. He told me that 'we will do a pregnancy test, but it could take a year plus for your body to recover from taking the Pill for so long.'

Two period-free years later, a series of tests were carried out. The results were that I was ovulating normally, but if I was desperate they could give me some pills to help me get pregnant.

I didn't want to do that - if taking the Pill had caused this, I did not want to take more to reverse it. I was assured that it would eventually sort itself out, so I carried on enjoying life and waited for my periods to return.

Eight years passed
I was now fast approaching 40, and getting more desperate. I went back to the doctor. I had almost given up hope and started to convince myself that I could not have children.

He responded positively: 'you are healthy, do not smoke and so there is no reason why you shouldn't have children - we need to investigate.'

I was referred to a gynaecologist in Coventry. Again I was put through a series of tests and, much to his amazement, so was my husband.

Getting results
I was expecting a similar response to that which I had had eight years before. So imagine my horror when I was told: 'you have an excessive amount of prolactin in the bloodstream, and this is most likely caused by a brain tumour.'

How I drove home from that consultation I'll never know. I was in a total spin. I had been reassured that, if it was a tumour, it would not be malignant. But they didn't know that my boss's husband had just died from a brain tumour the week before.

I went for a brain scan and, yes, I did have a tumour or pituitary adenoma (prolactinomas, the most common form of pituitary tumour, cause amenorrhoea - loss of periods - and infertility). I was prescribed a drug to shrink the tumour. An operation to remove it was considered too risky because it was so close to my retina.

The drug eventually worked and at the age of 40 I started to have periods again. I was so fortunate. I had at most four periods when they stopped because I was pregnant.

Trouble-free pregnancy
I sailed through pregnancy without sickness. I was offered all the tests because of my age but refused an amniocentesis, as I could not get rid of the life that was now growing in me even if it was not 'perfect'. In January 1999 I gave birth to our son Alexander, 8lb 5oz.

Even the birth was easy - just six hours, with no pain relief at all. The problems came after the delivery.

I wanted to breast-feed - I didn't even buy any bottles - but I found it impossible. With my condition I should have had too much milk but I had none. (The excess prolactin - the hormone that triggers milk production - caused by the tumour can cause galactorrhoea, which is the spontaneous flow of milk from the breast in women who are not pregnant or breast-feeding.)

I cup fed Alex as I was advised not to use a bottle as this would lead to nipple confusion. But after five days I gave up and put Alex on the bottle.

As everything went so well, we decided almost immediately that we wanted another baby. I could not take the pills I needed for my tumour during pregnancy but another scan revealed that the tumour had shrunk. As soon as I could, I got back on the pills and after only two periods yet again fell pregnant.

The joys of late parenthood
Charlotte is now 13 months and Alex fast approaching three. My life has totally changed but I am happy. I know that being a mum at 40+ has its problems, but I for one would recommend it.

My husband took to parenthood like a duck to water. He was always just a big kid himself - I find that most men are. So now he gets to play with Lego without having to visit our many nieces and nephews.

We are very fortunate in that we have been able to see how our brothers and sisters coped with their children, and we've picked out the bits that seemed to work. It is almost like having the benefit of hindsight.