The Single Greatest Choice: For Single Women Exploring Solo Motherhood by Choice (SMBC), Fertility, and Having a Baby on Their Own Through Donor Conception or Adoption

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “It takes a village”, but what does that actually look like when you’re choosing to become a mom on your own? Today’s guest is the perfect example of why becoming a single mother by choice doesn’t mean you have to raise your child alone. You’ll hear exactly what it can look like to build a deeply supportive village, both before and after becoming a solo mom. In th...

What happens when you only get one viable embryo and it’s your only shot at becoming a mom? For Kellyn, her single embryo became the greatest gift of her life. Today’s guest is Kellyn Nagel, a fellow single mother by choice and dedicated attorney who represents children in foster care. Kellyn shares her emotional and financial journey through fertility as a single woman: from egg freezing after a...

Solo parenting one child is a big job. Add a second baby to the mix, and do it all without a co-parent, and everything shifts. In this episode, I’m joined by Randi Maves, a solo mom by choice to two boys, four years apart. Randi wouldn’t trade this life for anything, but she’s honest about how intense it can be juggling two different stages of parenting on her own. From navigating daycare drop-off...

The desire to share life with a partner doesn’t just disappear when we choose to start our families on our own. And it doesn’t have to. Today’s new episode is a beautiful reminder that both things can be true: you can want motherhood and partnership, and you don’t have to give up one to have the other. At 35, Erin Russell was faced with the hard realization that her family line would end with her...

Expanding your family as a single mother by choice isn’t always easy — but many solo moms desire more than one child, and today’s conversation is a beautiful example of how it can unfold. Lauren — a returning guest and seasoned SMBC — shares her journey from welcoming her first daughter to expanding her family with twins, all in just a few years. Along the way, she navigated fertility treatments,...

I recently wrapped up one of the most unpredictable SMBC retreats I’ve ever hosted, and I’m still unpacking all the lessons it had to teach me. This solo episode is a behind-the-scenes look at what happens when things go completely off-script, and how self-compassion, surrender, and unexpected moments of connection carried me through. This isn’t your typical retreat recap. It’s a story about what...

You always imagined becoming a mom someday, but what if someday doesn’t look the way you expected? Maybe you're considering solo motherhood, wondering if having a baby on your own is really possible. Maybe you know you want to be a mom, but the clock is ticking, you’re single and aren’t sure what to do next. Perhaps you’re already on the path: researching sperm donors, weighing IVF or adoption, or...

For most of my life, I believed that finding the right partner was the key to starting a family. I spent nearly 20 years searching for the perfect relationship, thinking that marriage had to come first before motherhood. But at 39, I was single and I still deeply wanted to become a mom. That’s when I decided I was done waiting. I would have a baby on my own. In this special cross-over episode, I’m...

When Eboni K. Williams froze her eggs, she had zero intention of using them, but she did it anyway, just in case. Years later, at 38, her perspective on motherhood shifted, and she was grateful she had taken steps to preserve her fertility. That decision gave her the freedom to pursue solo motherhood on her own timeline, using IVF to welcome the child she once wasn’t sure she wanted. In this episo...

Are you waiting for a partner to give you the ‘green light’ to become a mom? For Richelle Carey, the answer became clear in her mid-40s: She wasn’t going to wait anymore. After freezing her eggs at 42 and attempting IVF at 46, Richelle realized she wasn’t attached to biological motherhood. What she truly wanted was to become a mom. That’s when she shifted her focus to adopting a child as a single...

Deciding whether to have kids is one of the most personal, and often most complex, choices a woman can make. For many, considering solo motherhood brings up even more questions: Should I wait for a partner? Can I do this on my own? What if I’m not sure I want kids at all? In this episode, I sit down with Keltie Maguire, coach and host of the Kids or Childfree Podcast , to explore what it really lo...

When Jamela’s marriage ended at 37, she wasn’t interested in dating. Instead she decided to become a Single Mother by Choice (SMBC). With a deep desire for motherhood and a clear vision of the kind of family she wanted to create, she embraced solo motherhood by choice with the full support of her mom, who even helped her choose the right sperm donor. Now, as a mother to 4-month-old twin girls, Jam...

Pursuing IVF as a single woman is a deeply personal decision; one that comes with emotional, physical, and financial challenges. For Whitney Foley, the desire to become a mom was stronger than her fear of doing it alone. At 34, after years of dating and waiting for the “right” partner, she realized she didn’t want to leave motherhood up to chance. Instead, she took control of her fertility and emb...

Life doesn’t always go according to plan but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on the dream of growing your family. Today’s guest, Virginia Drader, knows this journey well. After unexpectedly becoming a single mom after a divorce in her late 20s, she spent the next decade focused on her career and raising her son. But after a surprise pregnancy and miscarriage in 2022, Ginny realized her desir...

At some point, every single woman who dreams of motherhood faces a critical question: Do I keep waiting for the right partner, or do I take control of my future? For Valerie Bauman, that moment came at 38, during the pandemic, when dating felt nearly impossible. She realized she couldn’t put her dreams on hold any longer and made the empowering decision to pursue solo motherhood on her own terms....

As more women pursue higher education and successful careers, the dating landscape is shifting. For the first time in history, women are earning more degrees than men. Could that very achievement be making it harder to find a life partner? With fewer equally educated men in the dating pool, many single women are left wondering: Should I freeze my eggs while I wait for the right relationship? Or sh...

My final guest of this season is Ashley Coates, a longtime Instagram friend and solo mom by choice living in Portland, Oregon. When Ashley decided to pursue solo motherhood, she decided to ask a close friend to be her known donor. What happened next feels almost too good to be true. Tune in as Ashley shares her experience of navigating conception, pregnancy and birth with a known donor and the une...

We discuss more about….. The transition from corporate life to focusing on solo motherhood. The joys and challenges of parenting during a global pandemic. Her mother’s health crisis and its impact on her responsibilities. The process of writing her book featuring stories of 20 Australian SMBCs. Strategies for achieving a better work/life balance. Prioritizing experiences over material luxuries. Ti...

We discuss more about….. Elizabeth’s journey to fostering and adoption. Balancing professional life with motherhood. The emotional and logistical challenges of fostering. dating and introducing our children to a future partner. Building and relying on a support system. Insights and advice for those considering fostering or adoption. Connect with Elizabeth! Website | Instagram | Instant Mom Podcast...

We discuss more about….. Emily's initial adoption research and the steps involved in the process. The emotional journey and uncertainties of getting matched. The costs and logistical aspects of adopting in the U.S. Adjusting to motherhood and balancing work with childcare. The importance of support and strong friendships in solo motherhood. 👩‍👧‍👦The Single Greatest Choice is here to support you...

We discuss more about….. Celine's transition into embracing single motherhood. The challenges and emotional journey of egg retrieval and embryo transfer. Moving from the Netherlands to Sedona, and eventually to New York City. The vital role of community and support for SMBCs. Balancing business and motherhood, and the importance of surrounding oneself with supportive influences. Celine’s birth and...

We discuss more about….. What the fertility process looks like in Colombia The raw emotions while undergoing IV Deciding whether or not to have a second child Support and expectations during pregnancy and postpartum   More info about 1:1 coaching , group coaching and community groups with The Single Greatest Choice at www.singlegreatestchoice.com/ 👩‍👧‍👦The Single Greatest Choice is here to supp...

When Danielle and Paige were ready to grow their family, they knew the route of a traditional sperm bank wasn't right for them.  They went to great lengths to  find a known donor by tapping into their own network and doing a TON of legwork.  After walking that path themselves, they decided to create The Seed Scout to help other families who were looking for options beyond the big, impersonal and d...

If you’ve been going back and forth about whether or not to have a second child as a SMBC, you’re not alone! I frequently get asked about this topic, and it’s one that’s on my mind a lot these days. From making decisions about egg and embryo freezing to deciding on spacing between children to weighing the pros and cons of being “one and done”...there’s a lot to think about! In this episode, I’m op...

For years, Meredith and her gay best friend had a running joke that if they were both still single without kids by a certain point, they’d have a child together. Recently, Meredith decided it was time to take that joke seriously. In our conversation, she’ll explain more about her decision, the arrangements she’s making with her known donor, and how she’s prepping for her future life as a single mo...