If you’re excited to be a part of the Blended community, make sure to follow on Instagram. If you're struggling this Mother's Day, please be easy on yourself, the greatest bit of advice I've got was from Julia Samuel, just turn your phone off and try to enjoy the day. We decided not to put this episode out on Mother’s Day so you can listen in the build up, afterwards or whenever feels right for you. Rio will describe himself as not having massive highs and lows in his emotions but he’s really getting better at voicing his feelings especially around grief, and our takeaway message as a family is do what feels right to you. Rio and I talk about how our family has changed over the years and how our emotions of grief evolve around Mother's Day as time goes on. That’s why for today’s episode I really wanted you to hear my husband Rio’s perspective on this day. Today’s episode of Blended is all about Mother’s Day, an event which can mean so many things to different people. As always, these conversations show that there’s no ‘normal’ way to raise a child, the main thing is to show them support and love. Liv gives us a really honest account of what it's taken to create her family through sperm donation, the financial burden, and how you need to be especially kind to yourself if you decide to start a family solo. Her Dad had always called her Little Herbert, which is why her longed for son is called Herb.

Liv gave birth to her son on her Dad's birthday who sadly died when she was 12. Happily, and somewhat surprisingly, it was her 4th round of IUI that resulted in a successful pregnancy. Liv had said to herself that she would try 4 rounds of IUI before she would undergo the more invasive (& expensive) route of IVF.

Having chosen donor sperm from a bank in Denmark, her first three attempts to conceive via natural IUI failed. When she was still single in her thirties, it stopped being a joke and she started researching sperm banks and fertility clinics. When Liv Thorne was in her twenties, and single, she would joke to friends that if ‘Mr Right’ didn't come along she'd have to take matters into her own hands and have a child on her own. This week on Blended we have an inspiring conversation on single parenthood with author of the book ‘Liv’s Alone: Amateur Adventures in Solo Motherhood’, Liv Thorne.

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