S8, Ep5 One Embryo Is All It Took: Kellyn Nagel's IVF Story as a Single Mother by Choice

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 low AMH diagnosis to IVF with frozen eggs, and ultimately to the birth of her daughter, Kellyn’s story is one of trust, resilience, and quiet courage.

We talk about the heartbreak and hope of navigating IVF as a single woman, how Kellyn leaned into her gut instincts at every step, and the profound ways motherhood has shifted both her career and her understanding of the family court system.

We also touch on the power of donor sibling connections, postpartum realities, and what it means to keep the door open for a second child as a single mom by choice, even when the path is anything but straightforward.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Kellyn’s journey began with egg freezing and a low AMH diagnosis;

• Her decision to move from two failed IUIs to IVF using her frozen eggs;

• The emotional weight of having just one viable embryo, and the joy when it worked;

• What it’s like to give birth and navigate postpartum as a solo mom;

• The challenges of working in child welfare while becoming a parent herself;

• How she connected with donor siblings and built early relationships for her daughter;

• Her reflections on sleep deprivation, daycare, and going back to work as a new SMBC;

• And more.

  Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Book: This Might Be Too Personal: And Other Intimate Stories - Alyssa Shelasky

• Listen to Season 6, Episode 8: “Accidental” SMBC Through Foster to Open Adoption With Elizabeth Friedland