Cocoon

Lizzie Heiselt

Cocoon is not a pregnancy podcast. Not really. It’s not about babies. It's about you. It's about what you didn’t expect when you were expecting. It's about the messy complexities of growing a family, from the unforeseen challenges to the surprising joys. It's about how you, and your life, has changed through the process. It's about what you have become.

  1. Mini Episode #4: Abundance in Parenthood

    04/10/2025

    Mini Episode #4: Abundance in Parenthood

    I talk to a lot of people about their experiences of becoming parents. I am always struck by the difference in the ideas people have about parenthood before they become parents versus after. Which may be obvious because, let’s be honest, on paper, parenthood doesn’t look that great. Lots of noise, lots of messes, power struggles with toddlers, years of interrupted sleep, and so much more. It is a lot. Who would ever sign up for that? But the interesting thing is, that once you start talking with real parents about real children they are really raising, the tone changes and the lists of pros and cons mostly disappear. In fact, I would argue that if you are using a pros and cons list to determine whether or not you should have a child, you are using the wrong tool. I wrote this essay for Wayfare magazine to explore the aspects of parenthood that generally don't make it on to the pro/con lists, to argue for the more of parenthood that is joyful, fulfilling, wondrous, abundant. https://www.wayfaremagazine.org/p/abundance-and-natality

    18 min
  2. Super Concentrated Love

    12/04/2024

    Super Concentrated Love

    As a young single woman living in a punk house in LA, Sarah made an unusual choice: to become certified as a foster parent. Over the next few years Sarah welcomed young traumatized children and surly teenagers into her home and gave them all the love she had to give. Then, after days, or weeks, or months, she let them go. Sarah talks about what it is like to not know the end of the story, to know that maybe nothing is fixed, and how she sees her role as a foster mother in both the lives of the children she loves and the parents who are trying their best with what resources they have available.

    59 min
  3. #34: It Was a Journey

    10/16/2023

    #34: It Was a Journey

    Tysha was basically born wanting to have a family of her own, with as many children as she could handle. But she got a late start, and it seemed as though she might never reach the destination she'd had in her heart when she started.

    43 min

  4. 02/06/2023

    #33: 17 Years

    For 17 years Jamie had hoped to have a baby but only experienced loss after loss after loss. Meanwhile, her cousin Bonnie was watching and waiting—knowing and hoping that she could offer a solution that would bring healing to both of them.

    46 min

  5. 08/01/2022

    #32: "It Was the First Time I Took Charge of the Decision" (part 3 of 3)

    After a bit of difficulty trying to get pregnant with their third baby together, Kristin and David decided to pursue IVF. It was an experience that would stretch them and help Kristin find her own boundaries around her body.

    36 min
  6. #31: Surprises, Good and Sad (part 2 of 3)

    07/25/2022

    #31: Surprises, Good and Sad (part 2 of 3)

    David and Kristin got married in 2008 and after taking some time to adjust and blend their lives with their 3 children, they decided it was time to try to have a baby together. Before too long, they were parents of two daughters. And then . . . things started to drift.

    22 min
  7. #30: "You Already Know Who It Is"

    07/18/2022

    #30: "You Already Know Who It Is"

    When David was 30, he was a kindergarten teacher in a rough part of LA. He decided that, despite being a single man, there must be something he could do to relieve the suffering of a child in foster care and chose to pursue adoption for a child in need. It was the first step in creating a home that is a refuge for many different people with many different needs.

    34 min
  8. #29: The Surrogate

    12/14/2020

    #29: The Surrogate

    Amanda was at a crossroads in her life—a tricky transitional place between bearing children and moving beyond that—when a friend asked for some help finding someone who might be willing to be a surrogate for her. Amanda took some time to think about it and found that she could be that person. Over the course of the next year, Amanda took on a physical and emotional challenge that would not only result in a beautiful baby girl, but in strengthened friendships, greater peace as she closed her childbearing chapter, and (no surprise) the best sleep of her life.

    34 min
See All (39)

5
out of 5
34 Ratings

About

Cocoon is not a pregnancy podcast. Not really. It’s not about babies. It's about you. It's about what you didn’t expect when you were expecting. It's about the messy complexities of growing a family, from the unforeseen challenges to the surprising joys. It's about how you, and your life, has changed through the process. It's about what you have become.

Information

  • Creator
    Lizzie Heiselt
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2025
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Lizzie Heiselt
  • Show Website
    Cocoon