RTÉ star Eileen Whelan opens up about 'very stressful' IVF journey

Eileen welcomed her second child, a baby boy, with her husband Larry Donnelly 10 years ago.

Larry Jr is now 10 years old and Eileen has another son, 23-year-old Sean, from a previous relationship.

Speaking to RSVP Magazine, the 58-year-old said that said the difficulties and stress she had during the IVF process were worth it in the end.

“Anyone who has gone through IVF will know that it is a very stressful time,” she said.

“Apart from not knowing if it is going to work, you have all the medical side of things. You are conscious of preparing your body, eating healthily, not drinking much and living a clean life.

“Additionally, you have to take extra hormones and injections and you have the stress of waiting to see if it works.

“It didn’t work for us the first time but it worked the second time. We consider ourselves to be extremely lucky to have a beautiful healthy boy to complete our family.”

Eileen said that, because she was 48 when she welcomed Larry into the world, there were some health concerns.

“You read all the scare stories and we had all the tests and scans to be reassured from 12 weeks that Larry was a fit and healthy baby and there were no complications, which was a huge relief.

“But, all the way through, I didn’t dare to believe until I saw him and held him in my arms on the day he was born.”

She added that there were pros and cons to her sons having a 13-year age gap.

She explained: “You are more relaxed the second time around. Any first-time parent will tell you that it is really worrying and you are constantly second guessing yourself.

“I took becoming a mum a second time around in my stride but I did find it hard going back to nappies, sleepless nights and not having my freedom. I had just got my freedom, Sean was 13, and I could come and go as I pleased for the most part.

“I envied my peers who were going away on long weekends and doing girly things. I couldn’t do that for a couple of years.”