Coffee + Crumbs Podcast

When Kate receives the call about a newborn boy in need of foster care and a forever home, her heart is ready to open wide. Assured that the baby’s mother is unlikely to regain custody, she dreams of a future with this child. Meanwhile, Cindy begins to see glimmers of hope amidst all her struggles. Fueled by faith and a determination to turn her life around, she begins the hard work of creating a stable home. Through time and a mutual love for the same baby boy, Kate and Cindy form an unlikely friendship. Together, they navigate the complexities of love, sacrifice, and what it truly means to put the best interests first for the child they both cherish. “Making a Mother” is a production of Coffee + Crumbs.  Executive Producer, Writer: Ashlee Gadd.  Producer, Writer, Host: Julie Vlahon.  Music, Sound Design, Mix Engineer: Scott Vlahon Special thanks to Amanda Morales. To learn more about Serenity Foster and Adoption or other information shared in today’s episode visit our show notes at coffeeandcrumbs.net/makingamother. If this story impacted you, please consider sharing it with a friend and leaving a 5-star review wherever you listen to podcasts. This episode is brought to you by Needed—offering Radically Better Nutrition™. Use CC20 at checkout to get 20% off your first order of a single product. If you’re shopping between Jan 6th-20th, check out their New Year’s deal, which offers 25% off your first subscription.  Thank you for supporting the brands that helped make this series possible.  

After struggling with infertility, IVF and multiple losses, Kate and her paraplegic husband choose to pursue adoption through the foster care system. Meanwhile, Cindy—battling homelessness and addiction—gives birth to her sixth child, a boy, who is immediately removed from her care. In the next episode, we learn how these two women’s stories collide and intertwine in the most unexpected ways. Content warning: sexual assault and pregnancy loss. “Making a Mother” is a production of Coffee + Crumbs.  Executive Producer, Writer: Ashlee Gadd.  Producer, Writer, Host: Julie Vlahon.  Music, Sound Design, Mix Engineer: Scott Vlahon For more information on today’s episode—including podcast club discussion guides—check out our show notes at coffeeandcrumbs.net/makingamother. If you’d like to support the show, please share this episode with a friend and consider leaving us a 5-star review wherever you listen to podcasts.  This episode is brought to you by Needed—offering Radically Better Nutrition™. Use CC20 at checkout to get 20% off your first order of a single product. If you’re shopping between Jan 6th-20th, check out their New Year’s deal, which offers 25% off your first subscription.  This episode is also brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/CC10 and get 10% off your first month. Thank you for supporting the brands that helped make this series possible.  

Making a Mother is a collection of raw, honest stories about some of the complex circumstances and unthinkable challenges women face in the pursuit of motherhood. These stories speak to the physical scars left on our bodies, as well as the emotional scars left on our hearts. Featuring universal themes of loss and redemption, broken dreams and resilience, deep heartache and unwavering love—each episode showcases one woman’s unique story of courage, hope, and tenacity. Making a Mother will be released in January of 2025. If getting a peek into these stories moves you the way it moves us, we’d love for you to be part of our Making a Mother podcast launch team.

From deserted baby books to the tens of thousands of photos sitting on our phones, it’s easy to feel perpetually behind in memory keeping. Today, as we talk about the challenges of commemorating all the milestones, we also share our imperfect wins and how our approach has drastically changed since becoming first-time moms. Katie has a revelation about redefining what is actually worth remembering, while Ashlee shares her desire to capture the “essence” of her kids instead of data. We’ve come to the conclusion that a) we need to lower our expectations, and b) the chaotic, silly, and in-between moments are the ones that actually make up our lives. We hope this episode inspires you to keep doing your best—via quick notes jotted in a journal or by leaving the camera on the counter—to make those everyday memories the ones you keep.  This show is brought to you ad-free by our generous Substack community. If you’d like to support the work we do for as little as $3/month, head to coffeeandcrumbs.substack.com to join us (and get bonus episodes!). For show notes, go to coffeeandcrumbs.net/podcast. Listen to this bonus episode to see what else is saving our lives, besides taking the pressure off of memory keeping.  For more encouragement in your motherhood journey, check out the stories at Coffee + Crumbs.