It’s easy to feel “behind” when it seems like everyone around you is moving forward with partnerships, pregnancies, and families — and meanwhile you’re fielding questions from parents, watching friends’ announcements roll in, and quietly feeling the pressure of time. The biological clock conversation can feel loud, heavy, and incredibly anxiety-provoking, especially in your late 30s and 40s.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Beth Gulotta — licensed therapist, founder of NYC Therapeutic Wellness, and host of the podcast Quiet the Clock. Beth has spent years supporting women who feel out of sync with cultural timelines, while also navigating her own very real and layered journey with partnership, egg freezing, infertility, pregnancy loss, and becoming a mother at 40.

Together, we talk honestly about what it’s like to want a child while living inside uncertainty. We explore the emotional and practical tension between taking action — getting information, exploring options, making decisions — and learning how to loosen your grip on the parts you simply can’t control. We also name the grief, comparison, and complicated feelings that can surface when life doesn’t unfold the way you once imagined it would.

In this episode, we talk about:

1. The emotional impact of feeling “behind” in your 30s or 40s
2. Navigating misaligned timelines within a partnership
3. Beth’s experience with egg freezing, natural conception at 39, and secondary infertility
4. How to take proactive steps without letting anxiety run the show
5. Why we so often put our lives on hold while we’re “waiting,” and how to stop missing the life you’re actually living
6. Making decisions based on how you want to feel, not what you think you should want
7. Supporting yourself during the holidays, when longing and triggers can feel amplified

This is a thoughtful, compassionate conversation for anyone who is carrying questions about fertility, timing, and what it means to trust yourself when the path forward isn’t clear.

Connect with Beth:

1. Have a listen to Beth’s podcast Quiet the Clock.
2. Follow Beth on Instagram.
3. Learn more about NYC Therapeutic Wellness on their website.

👩‍👧‍👦The Single Greatest Choice is the single mother by choice support you’ve been craving for every stage of your journey. You can find 1:1 Coaching for every stage of solo motherhood by choice, Community Groups for thinkers, triers, and pregnant SMBCs, The SGC Village Membership Community,

Today’s episode is something a little different. I’m sharing a bonus conversation that was recorded for another podcast, Quiet the Clock, created by psychotherapist Beth Gulotta. Because Beth’s work and mine overlap in such meaningful ways, we decided to release this interview on both of our feeds today.

If you’re new to Quiet the Clock, it’s a deeply thoughtful space for women who are feeling the pressure of fertility timelines, missed milestones, and the quiet (or not-so-quiet) grief that can come with life unfolding differently than expected. In other words, it’s a space that will likely feel very familiar if you’re listening to this show.

Beth helps women question and rewrite the stories that no longer serve them, creating room for a life that actually fits — one grounded in self-trust, empowerment, and choosing your own timing. Her personal journey, combined with her clinical background, makes her a steady and compassionate voice in a space that truly needs more of both.

You’ll also be hearing from Beth again next week when she joins me as a guest on The Single Greatest Choice, so this is a beautiful introduction to her work and perspective.

After you listen, be sure to follow Quiet the Clock wherever you get your podcasts and explore more of Beth’s episodes. If you’re here, I have a feeling her work will resonate deeply.

Podcast - Quiet The Clock Podcast

The search for a sperm donor can be overwhelming for anyone, but for Black women, the lack of available Black donors adds a whole new layer of complexity. When Lakia Holmes—senior producer of Bleacher Report’s branded sports content, award-winning journalist, and now a single mom by choice—began exploring her fertility options at 37, she had no idea just how winding the path would be.

What started as an egg-freezing consultation quickly revealed blocked fallopian tubes and a 2% chance of conceiving naturally. Suddenly, the dream she’d been putting off to grow her career became something she could no longer wait on. Choosing IVF meant choosing herself—and stepping into the unknown as a solo Black woman navigating infertility, donor scarcity, and the fear of how this choice might impact her career.

In our conversation, Lakia shares the emotional and logistical realities of that season: long donor waitlists, genetic mismatches, profiles with only a name or two left… and then the moment a miracle phone call changed everything.

“It wasn’t my plan A, but my plan B worked out pretty damn well.” — Lakia

Lakia opens up about the fast-moving year that followed—egg retrievals, her very first embryo transfer, and the shock and gratitude of being pregnant with her daughter, Isla, who arrived in May 2024. She also speaks honestly about postpartum depression, rebuilding her support system, heading back to work in the sports media world, and dipping her toe back into dating as an SMBC.

Most recently featured in Forbes, Lakia is now using her platform to bring fertility awareness to the Black community and to tell the story she once needed to hear.

Her honesty, humor, and courage offer such a powerful reminder: when you decide your dream of becoming a mother can’t wait any longer, so much becomes possible.

In this episode, we explore:

• How an egg-freezing consult revealed blocked fallopian tubes
• Recognizing that waiting for the “right time” or the “right partner” might mean waiting forever
• Why Black sperm donors are so scarce—and how that impacts Black women pursuing donor conception
• Finding a donor when the options feel impossibly limited
• Getting pregnant on her very first embryo transfer
• Lakia’s experiences during pregnancy and birth
• Postpartum depression and learning to ask for help
• Returning to work, navigating childcare, and preparing to travel again
• Reentering the dating world as a solo mom by choice

Find out more about Lakia’s coaching at Lakia Holmes | Fertility Coach, Speaker & Advocate

👩‍👧‍👦The Single Greatest Choice is the single mother by choice support you’ve been craving for every stage of your journey. You can find 1:1 Coaching for every stage of solo motherhood by choice, Community Groups for thinkers, triers, and pregnant SMBCs, The SGC Village Membership Community, Retreats for early stage SMBCs and Family Trips for moms & kids.

💌Become part of the SGC community and stay up to date by joining our newsletter. You can sign up >>here<< at the bottom of the page.

Reach out to Katie over at katie@singlegreatestchoice.com