The Queer Family Podcast – LGBTQ Families & Queer Parenting Stories

This episode originally aired back when the show was called If These Ovaries Could Talk, hosted by Jaimie Kelton and Robin Hopkins — before the show evolved into The Queer Family Podcast.Over the years, I’ve had countless listeners reach out asking the same thing: “Can you connect me with Emily and Sara? I want to learn how they shipped fresh sperm.” So I’m resurfacing this conversation because yes — it can work. And since this episode first aired, Emily and Sara have helped many others create their families using the same method.In this archival episode, Emily and Sara share the truly unforgettable story of how they made a baby by shipping fresh sperm to Northern Canada, using test yolk buffer, precise temperature control, and the kind of coordination that can only come from a very committed family — including Sara’s brother Justin, one of her quadruplet siblings and their known donor.Between COVID travel restrictions, cargo flights to remote communities, DIY temperature experiments, and more than a few logistical curveballs, this episode is equal parts educational, funny, stressful, and deeply hopeful.🗂️ Archival NoteThis episode was originally released under the show’s former name. Audio quality, sponsor ads, and cultural context reflect the time in which it was recorded.🏳️‍🌈 Key TakeawaysShipping fresh sperm can work, even over long distances and to remote locations.Temperature control mattered more than anything — success came after dialing in the ideal range (cold, but not frozen).Test yolk buffer helped preserve sperm viability during transit.Cargo and courier shipping require flexibility, backup plans, and patience.Emily tracked ovulation carefully (BBT + ovulation strips) and they inseminated across multiple days to cover timing variability.A strong support system — aka the village — made all the difference.Known donor arrangements can be deeply positive when communication, trust, and legal clarity are in place.🏳️‍🌈 About the Guest(s) 🏳️‍🌈Robin Hopkins — original co-host of If These Ovaries Could Talk and interviewer for this episode.Emily & Sara (cis women, both identify as queer)Plus a bonus clip from Justin (donor) explaining how temperature tracking helped make the successful shipment possible.🏳️‍🌈 Legal & Parentage (Canada-Specific)🏳️‍🌈 Emily and Sara discuss working with a lawyer to create a known donor agreement, and navigating province-by-province differences in parentage laws. Requirements vary, and they emphasize the importance of understanding local regulations.🏳️‍🌈 Sponsors (Original Air Date) 🏳️‍🌈This episode originally included ads for TUSHY, First Republic Bank, and Storyworth.🏳️‍🌈 Book with GWK's Spring Break Cruise Vacation! Join Jaimie and her family (and other LGBTQIA+ families) on a 3 night cruise in the Bahamas. Be sure to mention that you heard about it here! Click that link ➡️ https://travelbrilliant.net/mbg/gwk-spring-break-2026/🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email [email protected]🎧 Loved this episode?Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?Drop a comment, DM us, or email [email protected]—we love hearing your stories!🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book 🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato 🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As we head into a new year, we’re revisiting a very special episode — and carrying those Pride vibes forward with us.This episode originally aired as the finale of our very first Pride Extravaganza, where all month long (and a little beyond) we doubled up on Queer Family goodness with incredible guests and powerful stories.For this grand finale, I asked every single Pride Extravaganza guest one simple but loaded question: What does Pride mean to you?What you’ll hear is a moving compilation — a beautiful quilt of voices reflecting on Pride as visibility, self-love, family, community, resistance, joy, responsibility, and hope. These answers will absolutely give you the feels.Let this episode be your reminder as we move forward together: Pride is every day. Stay proud of who you are. Stay proud of your differences. Stay proud of your uniqueness. And keep showing up — unapologetically.We’re here. We’re queer. We make families. And we make beautiful, intentional families.Happy Pride — always. 🌈✨🗂️ Archival NoteThis episode originally aired as Season 12, Episode 13, closing out the show’s first-ever Pride Extravaganza. Audio quality, format, and language reflect the time it was recorded.🏳️‍🌈 Book with GWK's Spring Break Cruise Vacation! Join Jaimie and her family (and other LGBTQIA+ families) on a 3 night cruise in the Bahamas. Be sure to mention that you heard about it here! Click that link ➡️ https://travelbrilliant.net/mbg/gwk-spring-break-2026/🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email [email protected]🎧 Loved this episode?Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?Drop a comment, DM us, or email [email protected]—we love hearing your stories!🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book 🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato 🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Before The Queer Family Podcast had its name, it began as If These Ovaries Could Talk—a show Jaimie launched with original co-host Robin Hopkins.In this very first episode, Robin interviews Jaimie and her wife Anne as they share the real-time story of building their family as a lesbian couple: unexpected infertility, choosing a sperm donor, navigating IUI and IVF, and the emotional and financial reality of trying to have a second child.At the time, they couldn’t find many podcasts that talked honestly about queer fertility and LGBTQ+ family building—so they made the show they needed.This is an archival re-release of the episode that started it all, capturing the very beginning: pregnant, overwhelmed, hopeful, and figuring it out as they went.Archival note: Originally released as Episode 1 of If These Ovaries Could Talk (Pre-TQFP). Audio quality and language reflect the time it was recorded.🏳️‍🌈 Key TakeawaysQueer infertility is real—and often invisible.Even without a medical diagnosis, lesbian couples can face long, emotionally taxing fertility journeys.Fertility treatment isn’t linear.IUI, IVF, switching doctors, and starting over are often part of the process—not signs of failure.The donor search can become overwhelming.What starts as practical decision-making can quickly turn emotional, ethical, and financially complex.This conversation didn’t exist yet—so we created it.The podcast began because queer families weren’t hearing their stories reflected anywhere else.🏳️‍🌈 About the Guest(s)🏳️‍🌈Robin Hopkins — original co-host of If These Ovaries Could Talk and interviewer for this episode.Jaimie and Anne are a married couple living in New York City. They’ve been together for 17 years and married for 13, and are raising their two children (plus their dog). During their own journey through infertility, fertility treatment, and donor conception, Jaimie realized she couldn’t find honest, relatable conversations about queer family building—so she decided to create the show she wished had existed.🏳️‍🌈 Thanks to our sponsors!• California Cryobank If you’re listening to this show, there’s a good chance you’re building your family the queer way — and might need a little help in the sperm department. 🩵 Use code QUEERFAM25 at cryobank.com for a FREE Level 2 subscription to their donor catalog!•Be Parent Surrogacy Be Parent oversees the creation of family through surrogacy and IVF, from the very beginning, extending support even well after birth. Mention The Queer Family Podcast to receive $2000 of your treatment!🏳️‍🌈 Book with GWK's Spring Break Cruise Vacation! Join Jaimie and her family (and other LGBTQIA+ families) on a 3 night cruise in the Bahamas. Be sure to mention that you heard about it here! Click that link ➡️ https://travelbrilliant.net/mbg/gwk-spring-break-2026/🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email [email protected]🎧 Loved this episode?Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?Drop a comment, DM us, or email [email protected]—we love hearing your stories!🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book 🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Robin Hopkins 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato 🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jaimie talks with Naia, founder of Be Parent Surrogacy, about international surrogacy options, what intended parents can expect when working with an agency, and how Be Parent supports LGBTQIA+ families with transparency, ethics, and hands-on care. Naia also shares her own IVF story and her real-time sperm donor search—including why she’s choosing to freeze embryos as a future “insurance policy.🏳️‍🌈 Key TakeawaysThe “quiet times” in family-building are real—and consistent support from an agency can make the waiting feel less lonely.LGBTQIA+ families often enter the process with excitement because we know we’ll need help from the start, even if the waiting still hits hard.The donor search can make anyone go full spreadsheet-brain (“the search for the superhuman” is REAL).Be Parent works internationally and aims to reduce long wait times by helping intended parents start when they’re ready.They offer local support through “Be Body” ambassadors in the U.S. to guide legal/logistical steps while the journey happens abroad.Surrogacy should be treated holistically—including education, doula support, insurance planning, and post-birth check-ins.Egg donor and surrogate communication is customizable—from anonymous to open-ID and various levels of contact, based on preferences.International surrogacy can be significantly more affordable (Naia cites Mexico programs starting around $60K, varying by program type).Doulas aren’t just for pregnant people—they can be invaluable for two-dad families navigating newborn care in a new country.🏳️‍🌈 About the Guest(s)🏳️‍🌈Naia has spent nearly eight years in the surrogacy field and founded Be Parent Surrogacy, an international agency supporting intended parents across family types—same-sex couples, single parents, and heterosexual couples. She is also an IVF patient herself, which informs how she approaches the emotional and logistical realities of fertility treatment and family-building support.🏳️‍🌈 Thanks to our sponsors!• California Cryobank If you’re listening to this show, there’s a good chance you’re building your family the queer way — and might need a little help in the sperm department. 🩵 Use code QUEERFAM25 at cryobank.com for a FREE Level 2 subscription to their donor catalog!•Be Parent Surrogacy Be Parent oversees the creation of family through surrogacy and IVF, from the very beginning, extending support even well after birth. Mention The Queer Family Podcast to receive $2000 of your treatment!🏳️‍🌈 Book with GWK's Spring Break Cruise Vacation! Join Jaimie and her family (and other LGBTQIA+ families) on a 3 night cruise in the Bahamas. Be sure to mention that you heard about it here! Click that link ➡️ https://travelbrilliant.net/mbg/gwk-spring-break-2026/🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email [email protected]🎧 Loved this episode?Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?Drop a comment, DM us, or email [email protected]—we love hearing your stories!🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book 🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato 🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Anish & Miguel are two dads in Berlin who recently welcomed their son, Alexander, through agency-based surrogacy. And listen — some of us (cough… Jaimie… cough) approached queer family building with good vibes and very few spreadsheets. But THESE TWO? Absolute meticulous gay dad excellence. From cross-country agency visits, to karyotype testing, to annual goal-setting (“become parents” was literally on the list!), Anish and Miguel walk us through the entire surrogacy process with clarity, honesty, and so much heart. This episode is truly a surrogacy masterclass — a must-listen for anyone exploring this path.🏳️‍🌈 Key TakeawaysSurrogacy through an agency is all about trust — more than glossy brochures or fancy clinics.Anish & Miguel treated the process like a project: research, goal-setting, and risk assessment at every step.They visited multiple countries and agencies before landing on Be Parent Surrogacy in Cyprus.Genetic testing (karyotype screening) helped them make informed choices about their egg donor and embryos.Their egg donor was selected to reflect both of them, and fresh-egg IVF increased their chances of success.Long stretches of waiting in silence between milestones were some of the hardest emotional parts.Neither dad felt an instant, magical bond at birth — and they talk honestly about how connection can grow over time.German law still requires second-parent adoption for the non-legal parent, even after surrogacy abroad.Despite the legal hoops, they received full parental leave and government benefits — a big win for equality.🏳️‍🌈 About the Guest(s)🏳️‍🌈Anish & Miguel are new dads living in Berlin with their four-month-old son, Alexander. After years of thoughtful planning, cross-country research, and honest conversations about what family means to them, they pursued agency-based surrogacy through Be Parent. Their story is full of intention, vulnerability, and practical guidance for queer families exploring the surrogacy path.🏳️‍🌈 Thanks to our sponsors!• California Cryobank If you’re listening to this show, there’s a good chance you’re building your family the queer way — and might need a little help in the sperm department. 🩵 Use code QUEERFAM25 at cryobank.com for a FREE Level 2 subscription to their donor catalog!•Be Parent Surrogacy Be Parent oversees the creation of family through surrogacy and IVF, from the very beginning, extending support even well after birth. Mention The Queer Family Podcast to receive $2000 of your treatment!🏳️‍🌈 Book with GWK's Spring Break Cruise Vacation! Join Jaimie and her family (and other LGBTQIA+ families) on a 3 night cruise in the Bahamas. Be sure to mention that you heard about it here! Click that link ➡️ https://travelbrilliant.net/mbg/gwk-spring-break-2026🏳️‍🌈 Interested in advertising? Email [email protected]🎧 Loved this episode?Support The Queer Family Podcast on Patreon for exclusive bonus content and help keep these stories alive!OR become a paid subscriber through our RedCircle page for bonus episodes and one-time or recurring donations:🔗 redcircle.com/thequeerfamilypodcast/exclusive-content🏳️‍🌈 What resonated most with you?Drop a comment, DM us, or email [email protected]—we love hearing your stories!🏳️‍🌈 Let’s Connect!Find us on IG, TikTok, Bluesky, & YouTube: @thequeerfamilypodcast 🏳️‍🌈 Watch full episodes on YouTube🏳️‍🌈 Order the If These Ovaries Could Talk book 🏳️‍🌈 Edited by: Jerson Barajas 🏳️‍🌈 Theme Song by: Tiffany Topol 🏳️‍🌈 Logo by: Daneen Stevenato 🏳️‍🌈 Shop merch here. 🏳️‍🌈 Full transcript & episode info available on our website🗳️ VOTE. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ ADVOCATE. 🍼 BUILD QUEER FAMILIES.The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a trusted professional for your specific situation!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-queer-family-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy