Laura Byrne will be almost 35 when she gives birth for the second time, classifying her in the “advanced maternal age” category – words that make her cringe. The Communication alumna says she doesn’t regret waiting to have children, it allowed her to advance in her career in TV news, meet her husband and gain financial stability.

Since graduation in 2001, Byrne has worked as a Reporter for SNN Local News 6 in Sarasota, WCTV in Tallahassee, WINK-TV and WTSP-TV. Most recently, she founded TampaFamilies.com, a collaborative effort dedicated to providing local, honest and relevant information to families in the Tampa area. The website will be up later in 2015.

Byrne says being an “older mom” is the new norm – and she might be onto something. The Tampa Bay Times featured Laura in their article, “More women in their 30s and 40s are having babies“.

The Tampa-based mom is seen above with her 2 year old son, JR.