Stork'd

What do you do when the two things that you want most in life are in conflict with one another? When Tammy had to decide between staying married or not having a family, she chose divorce and received an embryo donation from her friend, Michael. Although her heart-wrenching situation was unique to her, it's something we can universally relate to. It's the harsh reality that we rarely get everything...

In this week's episode, we speak with Michael Mills about how he and his partner pioneered the path for gay people in the UK to grow their families. They did so during a time when family building options were fairly limited in the US and almost non-existent in the UK. As a gay man, Michael always believed that having a family or children was beyond the realm of possibility. It wasn't until the ear...

In this week's episode, we have the pleasure of talking with spiritual coach and healer, Gwen Dittmar. Gwen shares the incredible journey of healing her body and soul through holistic medicine and how despite being told she would never have children because of PCOS, is now a mom of two. She teaches us that sobriety can be a tool to find an access to who you are at your core. She illustrates the co...

In this week's episode, I speak with Tara Krueger about building a family and making a meaningful life in the context of having a long-term health condition. Tara has epilepsy and shares how that has impacted the way in which she is raising her children and the family structure they have created around her epilepsy. This is an important episode because there are not enough conversations about heal...

In this week's episode, we talk with Aaron Kartchner about fatherhood and what it's like to be a non-stereotypical stay at home dad. Aaron's first daughter was born extremely premature at 27 weeks resulting in a 135-day stay in the NICU. She was born weighing just one point 5.5 ounces. As a result, Aaron chose to step into the role of primary caretaker. Aaron discusses how parenting impacts self-i...

In this week's episode, we chat with Annie Compton, a mom, storyteller, and Emmy nominated writer and producer.  Annie shares a beautiful narrative of choosing adoption as her first priority in her family building. We hear of her experience with private domestic adoption and the joy of becoming an adoptive parent. We discuss the experience of having an open adoption and a relationship with her dau...

In this week's episode, we talk with Paige Pieroni about Turner Syndrome and the incredible family building journey she and her husband are on. Turner Syndrome is a genetic condition which affects female chromosomes at birth, and one of the main ways it impacts Paige is that she is unable to have children as a result of underdeveloped ovaries. Knowing this at a young age, Paige was very open about...

In this episode, I speak with Saundra and Susan who have built a community which they lovingly call their village family. Filled with friends, family and neighbors, the village family was composed to create a diverse and rich environment for their daughter to grow and thrive in. We talk about community as family and how to build your community. We also explore a fertility journey including conside...

Welcome to season 3! Today, we discuss the upcoming Season 3 and I share an important life update. In many ways, the start of Stork'd and my own family building journey have run parallel to each other. I share my journey behind choosing to become a single mom through sperm donation and how Stork'd began from my own exploration of different family building experiences. I share about single parentin...

This special edition episode is a compilation of 13 special guests from Season 2 answering the question, "how do you define family?" This compilation is pulled from informative interviews with a range of everyday friends, family, neighbors, and experts sharing their own journey to define and create a family.  This episode features Emily Westerfield, Drunk Aunt Overseas, Carmela, Laney, Jorge, Jenn...

They were the perfect family of four. Their life was full of love and Ash and her husband were reaching all of their goals. After the unexpected passing of her husband, Ashe was suddenly a young widow and single mom. In this episode, Ashe Hornsby joins Julia, as she shares her interesting tale about loss, growth and family blending. Ashe candidly shares her journey through grief and healing and ho...

In this week's episode, we are joined by Kelly Fay. In this episode, Kelly shares her experience as an adoptee and her journey to explore her own self-identity. She will share her experience discovering her adoption as a child, her personal evolution, her relationship with her adoptive parents, and her experience reconnecting with her biological family. This episode, digs deep into the crevices an...

When we hear about fertility issues, we often hear stories from the female's perspective. In the middle of his own family building process, Director Tom Webb realized that he didn't often hear the male's point of view as a couple battles infertility. Because of this, Tom set out to make a documentary, The Easy Bit , that focused on some of the physical aspects, but mostly the emotional journey a m...

In this episode, we talk about the tools and resources one can use to support family building, starting from the journey of fertility and conceiving. Ali Vadber Baan, a master acupuncturist whose passion for whole health, provides an integrative style of care to help her patients achieve their unique wellness and fertility goals.  After years of unexplained medical symptoms from stress and hormone...

Could you be happy in life without finding love and having a family? This was the question that Ambi Kavanah was asking herself in her mid 30's. She did indeed find love in the coming years, only to be faced with fertility issues after marriage. Several failed IUI attempts, surgeries and about to move forward with IVF, Ambi was tired of the pressure to get pregnant and the anxious energy she felt....

In this week's episode, we are joined with Dara Kurtz, a mother, author, and cancer survivor. Dara navigates the depths of difficult and complicated questions, and the question she is exploring today deals with the dynamics of intergenerational mother-daughter relationships. Twenty years after her mother's passing, Dara unexpectedly found several letters written to her from her mother and grandmot...

Caroline Priebe's journey to Motherhood is what some would consider unconventional. Living in New York City and not feeling confident she would meet someone, Caroline made the decision to pursue motherhood without a partner. After feeling resentful towards the fertility clinics and processes in the United States, Caroline researched clinics overseas, and in the end decided to celebrate her 40th bi...

As Jenna Guadagni walked away with her three month old daughter from a relationship that was no longer serving her, she knew she was making the best decision for herself and her child. In this week's episode, we talk with Jenna, a multi hyphenated woman exploring all levels of what strikes her passion in life. She is a trained Shaman, master yoga instructor, meditation teacher, student in Ayurvedi...

In this episode, Jorge shares his perspective and experience of going through a divorce and blending two families. He reveals to us his journey in love, relationships, and spirituality. I once opened up to Jorge about a complicated relationship I was going through. He gave me an interesting perspective on what to understand and how to think about that relationship. I'm glad he's here today to shar...

For this episode, we are joined by an incredible woman named Laney, who is here to talk about her important journey as a transracial and transnational adoptee. We get a glimpse of her life as she shares her resiliency in trying to find her biological family, yearning to experience that moment of reunification. As a Chinese national adopted by an American family, Laney was determined to follow a pa...

1 in 8 Americans struggle with infertility. Of those, 75% simply cannot afford the financial burden that comes with infertility treatments. The truth is when it costs this much for fertility treatment, building a family by carrying a child is not a given. In this episode of Stork'd, Julia is joined by Carmela Rea, founder and CEO of EggFund, a company helping more people afford a baby, no matter t...

Childfree by choice is a growing community of people whose definition of family does not include having children. In this episode, we are joined by a woman who runs an Instagram account called Drunk Aunt Overseas. Her mission is to normalize and create a community of people who are choosing to be childfree. It is important to include all definitions of family building and today we are focusing our...

After seeing a close relative go through infertility, Emily Westerfield discovered that surrogacy was her calling. Not only has Emily been a gestational surrogate three times, but she is also a Director of a surrogacy agency helping match families with surrogates and helping to facilitate the process before, during, and after the birth of a child. The perspective Emily offers as a mother, as a sur...

Welcome to Season Two of the Stork'd Podcast! In this episode, we revisit host Julia Karol's family-building journey and learn more about what has transpired in her story since the last season. This episode will also introduce Season 2 and provide an overview as to the purpose of the podcast and why it was created. I'm thrilled to take you on this exciting season two journey, exploring the many di...

This special edition episode is a compilation of 11 special guests from Season 1 answering the question, " What Does Family Mean To You ?" This compilation is pulled from informative interviews with a range of everyday friends, family, neighbors, and experts sharing their own journey to define and create a family.  This episode features Molly,  Arden O'Connor, Christian & Jamie, Suman, Brooke Jame...