A pediatrician. Her brother. His platonic co-parenting journey. The Unplanned Parent follows one family's real-time path to baby, with the science, the decisions, and the conversations your doctor skips. New episodes every other week.

What does it actually take to say yes to becoming a parent — especially when it was never part of the plan?

In this first episode of The Unplanned Parent, Dr. Angel Rampal (board-certified pediatrician) and her brother, Raman, kick off the season by going back to the very beginning: the moment a running joke between friends stopped being a joke. Raman's longtime friend Ashley had frozen her eggs at 34, she was ready to have a baby at 44, and she wanted to know if Raman was in. His first answer? Hell no.

This episode traces how that hell no turned into a text message that said "I'm in — where do I go?" They cover the long deliberation process, the friends and family Raman consulted (including a Tim walk that shifted things), the lawyers and accountants who told him not to do it, and the one variable that quietly tipped the scale: everyone who knew Ashley said yes.

Dr. Angel also weighs in from a pediatrician's perspective — what the research actually says about non-traditional family structures, why platonic co-parenting can work, and the medical detail that gave her the most hope: Ashley's decision to freeze her eggs a decade ago.

No scripts. No tidy conclusions. Just two siblings sorting through a genuinely unusual situation — and a season just getting started.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

YouTube Chapters

00:00 Cold Open — 'If we end up old and want kids, just ask'

00:46 Welcome to The Unplanned Parent — Angel Introduces the Show

01:17 Meet Raman — The Nomadic Co-Host Who Said Yes to Fatherhood

02:06 The Man Who Never Wanted Kids

03:25 D-Day: The Text That Started It All

04:25 How the Joke Between Raman and Ashley Started

05:43 How Raman and Ashley Know Each Other

07:35 Ashley Gives Raman a Deadline: Answer by Thanksgiving

08:26 Raman's First Answer: Hell No

09:17 What Made Him Reconsider — The Kids on the Ski Trips

11:13 Angel's First Reaction: Also Hell No (But for Different Reasons)

13:06 Angel's 180 — Why She Changed Her Mind

15:20 The Tim Walk — The Conversation That Helped

16:12 Bobby's Advice: There Is No Wrong Answer

17:08 The Lawyers and Accountants Who Said Don't Do It

17:59 What Raman's Parents Said

19:22 The Pattern Raman Noticed: Everyone Who Knew Ashley Said Yes

20:09 What It Takes to Co-Parent With Someone — Angel's Take

21:56 The Mental Hurdles: Raman Was Dating Someone

22:35 Masha — How His Girlfriend Fit Into the Decision

23:00 The Poconos House, Gabby the Dog, and What Might Change

25:26 Ashley's Promise: Your Involvement Level Is Up to You

26:03 Angel's Pediatric Take on Non-Traditional Family Structures

27:30 What Raman Might Have Missed — Angel's Medical Concerns

28:33 Ashley Froze Her Eggs at 34 — Why That Matters

29:18 Is This Normal? Two Friends Having a Baby Together

30:01 Angel's Biggest Concern: Carrying a Pregnancy at 44

31:34 The Adverse Childhood Events Research — What Actually Affects Kids

33:38 Why This Baby Is Starting With Plus Points

34:24 Closing — What's Coming Next episode

Saying yes was the easy part.

In Episode 2, Raman walks through the six months between his "I'm in" text and the actual embryo implantation — and it was a lot more than just showing up to a clinic. Psychological evaluations. Lawyers. A legally binding document covering everything from vaccines to what kind of car the kid can ride in. And one sperm sample that, in his own words, could have been better.

Dr. Angel weighs in on what she found surprisingly refreshing about the whole process, when to tell a child they were conceived non-traditionally, and the science behind why all of Raman and Ashley's viable embryos came back male.

Thorough, candid, and occasionally very funny.