We record this episode on Pierce’s birthday and get pretty deep about how happy we are with our lives just as they are, living simply and within our means. We cover the subject of finances, they are such a big part of the decision to have a child and it is difficult to plan financially when you have more children on the horizon! Our house, car, jobs, daily lives and basically everything would have to change in order to accommodate another child and honestly - we’re really happy with what we have and don’t want to change it!

We read several messages on this topic from parents who prioritize travel, stay at home parenting, their careers, and more over expanding their families. 

In the pop culture segment we talk about the longest running sitcom of all time - that actually doesn’t perpetuate only child stereotype all that much in its 30+ years - The Simpsons! There is a recent episode that has a brief nod to only children as Marge and Homer are reminiscing about their pre-baby lives. Fun fact: Pierce is just as old as The Simpsons!

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Katie Mack runs an interior design business and is hugely popular on Instagram for her pastel colored home decor and incredible design aesthetic. Jess found out about her when people started sending her a video she posted about being the mom of an only child and how it left room for more time and money to travel, pursue her creative endeavors, and focus her time and energy on just one kid. We had a great talk about being moms of only children, how the stereotypes are untrue and it is actually awesome. Follow her @candycoloredhome on Instagram!

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Happy new year! As we move forward into 2021, we want to try and reframe the conversation of being one and done into one that is positive, affirming and not open for debate. In this episode, we talk about interactions we’ve had with friends, family members, and strangers about our decision to have an only child. With a little practice, we work on some ways we can manage a conversation that feels judgmental and negative and turn it into something that reminds the other person that their questions/judgements are hurtful and unnecessary. 

We read a couple emails from parents, in one of them a woman’s husband wants to be one and done and she is on the fence. In another, a woman wants to adopt instead of having biological children and ultimately opts to just have one child with the option for adoption later on.

We take a journey to Middle Earth in the pop culture segment and discuss 2001’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, a movie we were very surprised to find a ton of only children in. We talk about how most of the main characters are only children and how that may be the reason they are so brave and ready for a great adventure.

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To commemorate the holiday season, we asked our social media followers to tell us about the special ways they celebrate with their only children this time of year. We read messages and comments all about their pajama and movie nights, sledding, and looking at festive light displays. This episode is a really sweet reminder of all the wonderful memories our children will have of our little families as they get older. As parents, it is our job to create magic for our kids and make the holidays extra special; and it feels even more important when they don’t have siblings to share the fun times with. Pierce and Jess talk a bit about their holiday traditions and sign off for the last podcast episode of 2020. We are so grateful for all of our listeners and ready to come back with tons of ideas and interviews in 2021!

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This week, we explore a topic that is near and dear to our hearts - feminism! Jess talks a lot about what it’s like to grow up as a woman and be expected to focus more on settling down than on her own passions and ambitions. We have a great discussion on gender roles, expectations for moms vs. dads, and why many mothers decide to wait until later in life to have children, which can lead to just having one. It is truly our stance that the most feminist thing a woman can do is to choose for herself, whether that means to not have children at all, just have one, or to have many, as long as it works for her then she should be supported.

We read several emails and messages from moms who have chosen to be one and done partially due to their careers or academics. We also hear from a listener all the way in Sweden who talks about the differences between American and Swedish maternity, post partum, and childcare services.

In the pop culture segment we pretty much just make fun of 2017’s “Bad Moms Christmas,” which randomly popped up on our Netflix queue and we decided to give it a shot. It stars Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis who are only children with rocky relationships with their moms. At Christmastime, they are expected to make the holiday perfect for everyone else and their own wants and needs are deemed unimportant. As silly as this movie is, it definitely portrays the sacrifices many moms have to make, especially around the holidays.

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Welcome to our first ever game night! In this mini episode, we play the party game "two truths and a lie" with an only child twist! Jess and Pierce each choose three celebrities to quiz each other on, two of them are only children and one is not. We try to guess which person is the lie and have a lot of fun chatting about why we came to that conclusion.

The celebrities in question are, on Pierce's side: Robert De Niro, Robert Pattinson, and Robert Herjavec and on Jess's side: Russell Brand, Zooey Deschanel, and "Weird Al" Yankovic. Tune in to find out who is an only child and who is not!

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We have heard so many stories from listeners that are one and done due to infertility - so we decided to dedicate a whole episode to it! In this episode we cover different types of infertility treatments, adoption, as well as surrogacy. We chat about the time, financial, emotional and physical commitments of these measures and how it can feel isolating for parents going through it. Since we have not been through infertility ourselves, we took this opportunity to learn more about it and now we both have a little bit better idea of what it must be like for folks out there who have struggled to get pregnant.

We read a couple emails from parents who went through infertility struggles, one of which had a successful IUI treatment and another who went through the process of adoption.

In the pop culture segment we discuss the 2008 Amy Pohler/Tina Fey comedy “Baby Mama”! The movie covers IVF as well as surrogacy in a very silly and lighthearted way. It touches on things that aren’t usually brought up in TV or movies, but it fails to portray some of the realistic aspects; like how much nine cycles of IVF would really cost.

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In our second ever podcast interview, we get the opportunity to chat with author Carri Lyons! Her response to the Thankfulness Episode which mentioned her struggle with having a stillborn baby, surviving cancer then navigating an international adoption within the span of a few years - inspired us to reach out to her and get the whole story. She has an incredibly resilient spirit and we were honored to meet her and talk about how her journey to parenthood led her to being one and done.

You can find her book, Along Came Hope, available on Amazon here.

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‘Tis the season to give thanks for the ones you love! In this special episode, we asked our listeners to send emails and messages telling us what they are most thankful for when it comes to their only child. We got tons of responses and dedicated a whole episode to the many positive things about being one and done. With everything going on in the world right now, we thought we would take a break from talking about the stigma surrounding having an only child and instead cover what isn’t talked about enough - how awesome it can be!

This episode is meant to provide some comfort and positivity to anyone who has dealt with negative comments or is feeling doubt about the choice they have made. Whatever decision you make about your family size, you deserve to be supported and validated.

In the pop culture segment we chat a little bit about the most positive, affirming, earnest and motivating only child on T.V., Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope. We cover an episode where she throws an engagement party and tries to bring her fiancé’s family together with the help of her mom and a tight-knit group of friends.

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In this episode, Jess and Pierce discuss how important it is to surround yourself and your child with a loving and supportive family - regardless of whether or not you are actually related to them. The family you choose can be your best friends, your neighbors, your soccer team, even your bunk mates at summer camp! We tell stories about the different sibling-like relationships we had as children and think of different ways we can expose our child to other kids without actually having any more.

We read several emails, including ones about growing up surrounded by kids in an apartment building, making friends while living in another state as your relatives, and becoming an “aunt” to your best friends’ children.

In the pop culture segment we discuss the most-requested TV show so far, Gilmore Girls! Jess is a superfan and reveals which “team” she is on, and we discuss an episode where Rory has a family birthday party as well as a friend/neighbor birthday party.

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