What happens when the life you imagined for yourself doesn’t happen on the timeline, or in the order you expected? In this deeply personal episode of Powerful Ladies, Kara Duffy sits down with her dear friend and past guest Aleks Lason to talk about becoming a mom by choice, navigating a two-year IVF journey, and building a new chapter of her life without putting her ambition on hold. Kara opens up about why she kept her IVF journey private, the emotional and physical realities of multiple rounds of egg retrievals and embryo transfers, and the moment she had to grieve the family she thought she would have. She shares how choosing herself ultimately created more freedom—not just in motherhood, but in her businesses and her life. Six months into motherhood, Kara also gets candid about pregnancy, an emergency C-section, the realities of postpartum recovery, choosing a birth partner, building systems around a newborn, and learning when to let the plan change. Together, Kara and Aleks explore what it means to build a life that makes room for motherhood, entrepreneurship, creativity, friendship, and joy—without believing you have to compromise one for another. The Powerful Ladies podcast, hosted by business coach and strategist Kara Duffy features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, chefs, writers, scientists, and more. Every Wednesday, new episodes explore what it means to lead with purpose, create with intention, and define success on your own terms. Whether you're growing a business, changing careers, or asking bigger questions, these stories remind you: you're not alone, and you're more powerful than you think. Explore more at thepowerfulladies.com and karaduffy.com. INSTA: @kara_duffy WEBSITE: karaduffy.com 00:00 — Kara Has a Baby?! 01:00 — Becoming a Mom by Choice 03:00 — Why Kara Kept Her IVF Journey Private 05:00 — Choosing Motherhood Without Waiting for a Partner 08:00 — What the IVF Process Actually Looks Like 12:00 — Three Egg Retrievals, Two Embryo Transfers & the Emotional Toll 15:00 — Grieving the Family She Thought She’d Have 17:00 — When an Embryo Transfer Goes Wrong 22:00 — The Anxiety of IVF & “I’ll Believe It When I See It” 25:00 — Hearing Kaia’s Heartbeat 27:00 — Planning for Motherhood When You Can’t Plan Everything 30:00 — Pregnancy Changed Everything at Work 32:00 — Treating Motherhood Like a Project 34:00 — The Emergency C-Section 36:00 — The Scariest Experience of Kara’s Life 39:00 — Five Seconds With Her Baby 42:00 — Writing SOPs for Birth 44:00 — Choosing Andrew as Her Birth Partner 48:00 — How Kara Chose a Sperm Donor 51:00 — Getting Kaia a Passport at Three Months 52:00 — The Schedule Gene 55:00 — Is Raising a Baby Like Running a Business? 57:00 — Building a Life Without Expanded Resources 59:00 — “I Love Being a Mom, 1,000 Out of 10” 01:00:00 — Pumping, Mastitis & Learning to Trust Her Body 01:03:00 — “I Became a Mom to Be a Mom” 01:05:00 — What’s Next for Kara 01:06:00 — The Substack, Motherhood & Redefining “Less but Better” 01:13:00 — Naming Kaia-Roux 01:15:00 — Motherhood, Empathy & Letting Your Child Be Their Own Person 01:18:00 — Gratitude, Miracles & the Next Chapter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
