Speaker 0
Into the wild, I'm going into the wild, I am. It's been a wild freedom child, since I left my roots back home. Into the wild I'm good. Into the wild I am. It's been a while, freedom child, since I left my roots back home.
Speaker 1
Welcome to the Free Birth Society podcast. This is a radical space for women who are ready to celebrate their autonomous choices in birth, motherhood, and beyond. Together, we'll learn about wild birth through personal narrative, we'll explore the politics of birth, and we'll analyze everything that relates to our lives as women from a feminist perspective. Here's your host, Emilee Saldaya.
Speaker 0
It's been a wild freedom
Speaker 2
change since
Speaker 0
I've left my rules back home.
Speaker 3
This week, I have artist and first time mom, Callen, telling the easygoing story of the birth of her son. She recalls her lifelong love and obsession with babies, mothers, and all things birth and the exciting revelation that she was ready to start having her own babies and could just do it on her own. One sunny day with rainbows cast about the room, she gave birth. We speak on the incredible power of women telling their stories of autonomous birth and how quickly we can upgrade and evolve through our collective experiences. Callan's story serves as an example of how beautifully simple birth can be when you just stay home and have your baby.
Speaker 4
Okay. Hi, Calvin. Hi. We'll start the whole podcast laughing. Okay. Alright. Calling in from Sedona. Yes. Tell me all about you. Where does your mothering journey begin?
Speaker 5
Well, I am an artist. I live in Arizona, and I pretty much started my mothering journey when I was really young. I've always felt a call towards motherhood. I've always loved babies. Every time I see a baby, I'm just like, you're an angel. I love you. And I don't know. I guess when I was twenty, I started seeing some of my friends having babies, and I was like, that's where it's at. That's what I want. And I really started calling in a baby probably in my twenties.
Speaker 4
Was when your friends having the babies before you, were they having positive experiences with birth and motherhood?
Speaker 5
You know, to be honest, they weren't really talking about that. They were just showing pictures of them with their babies, and they didn't really talk about their birth story. I wasn't really, surrounded by that kind of talk in my twenties at all. You know? People really talking about birth. And, I'd say more in my thirties when I really started to follow a lot of different people online who were, you know, into natural birth and stuff like that. That was more when I started to see it more often. Mhmm. Yeah.
Speaker 4
K? So then what happens? You start thinking more seriously about it?
Speaker 5
Yeah. I started thinking more seriously about it. And one day, I was talking to my therapist on the phone during the pandemic, and she said, I was telling her I wanted a baby, and she said, well, what's keeping you from having one now? And I was like, woah.
Speaker 2
I was
Speaker 5
like, nothing, you know, that I know of. And I was like, woah. I could have a baby now. You know? I was already, like, thirty three, thirty two at the time. And
Speaker 4
You had a partner?
Speaker 5
Yes. Yes. I am still with the same partner. He's amazing. We have a great relationship. It's beautiful. You know, I've had some bad relationships in the past, so I'm just so happy to have my person that I feel great with, and that was huge for me. You know? Of course, I want my baby to have a good dad that treats me right. So I was like, wow. That's, like, perfect. You know? So we started trying to have a baby, and it didn't go as smoothly. Excuse me. It didn't go as smoothly as I thought it would. You know? I thought I didn't know. I thought I'd get pregnant, like, right away. And
Speaker 4
How long did it take?
Speaker 5
It took nine months, which Mhmm. It's a little bit of time.
Speaker 2
You know?
Speaker 4
It's enough to make you probably go a little crazy.
Speaker 5
Yeah. I started to question myself, you know, a lot, and I had two miscarriages. So
Speaker 4
In that nine months? Yeah. Okay. So you
Speaker 5
you did chemical pregnancies, which technically are you know, when you first find out you're pregnant, I was, like, freaking out, and then it was gone. And it was very dramatic, very difficult. Mhmm. And I found out that I had a thyroid condition, which, you know, I didn't know about. But, anyways, I got pregnant nine months later, and that one was, like, sticking. So that was really nice, and that's that's my baby now. And where were
Speaker 4
you at with your learning about how you would birth and how you would have a pregnancy in that nine months? Were you already, like, aligned with your commitment to free birth, or when does that
Speaker 5
great question. Yeah. When I was in my conception period. Yeah. So I, at that time, knew that I wanted a home birth. That was pretty much the only thing that I knew.
Speaker 4
Mhmm.
Speaker 5
I was not yet exposed to the information about midwives, as you say, and about the, system being involved with midwives and that they're liable to them. You know? Like, I knew that in the back of my head, but I didn't really realize what that meant. You know? I probably thought, oh, that's good. That's safe. That's, you know, that's what I need. But, man, did I go down a rabbit hole while I was pregnant. It's actually quite the story. So going into my pregnancy, I was questioning myself because of, you know, it took a little time to get pregnant. Found out I had this, thyroid problem that runs in my family, but I got medicated for that, so I was doing fine. But I I started to strangely, I started to to doubt my ability to, like, be pregnant and you know? Because I'd never been pregnant before. You know? And so
Speaker 4
You know that's really, really common. Right? Like, that's Yeah.
Speaker 5
Because of your podcast.
Speaker 4
Pregnant, like, one month, and I was like, I'm infertile. I knew it.
Speaker 5
Yeah. I'm never gonna have a baby. You know, all these things pop up when
Speaker 4
Yeah.
Speaker 5
You start meeting people that are like, it took seven years, and you're like, oh, that's gonna be me. And, anyway, you know, your mind just goes to the worst possible scenario. But, anyway, I was pregnant, and it was sticking, and it was fine. And I was just in my head, and that's what the system loves because they get you even more in your head. Mhmm. The second that you start to feel like, oh, I'm good. You know? They they find a way to make you question that. You know? But, anyway, I was going to a midwife in the beginning, and she's a wonderful person, but she is tied to the system. And I was feeling really good about it, but I kept having a call towards free birth. It kept popping up for me, on Instagram, you know, people I was meeting, and your podcast, of course. And I started listening to your podcast, and, basically, I just went down the rabbit hole, like, crazy, you know, and I started researching. And when I get into something, I really get into it. But as I was researching it, I I was, like, in tears, And, like, I was kinda scared because I knew deep down that I needed to free birth. You know? I really felt that I needed to free birth, and that was what was meant to happen. And I would, like, listen to your podcast, and I would just be in, like, tears. Like, at the time, we were moving slowly to Sedona. Shortly after I got pregnant, we found our house in Sedona, and we've been looking for years. So I really felt like my baby was, like, calling me into Sedona and to have a free birth, and it was just really intense. You know? It was a lot.
Speaker 4
So what about free birth was attractive to you?
Speaker 5
Honestly, the biggest thing for me is my privacy. I'm a I'm a pretty private person. That's why this is, like, the first podcast I've ever been on because Oh, really? Yeah. Because I just feel it's really important to tell this story, but, yeah, I'm pretty private. And to me, it really comes down to, like, if I can't poop in front of this person, then how am I gonna have them, like, in the room? You know? Mhmm. And I kept thinking that, like, every time I go to meetings with the midwife, I'd be like, you know, this is a really nice lady, but I really don't see her being in the room. You know? I don't think I want her in the room. Nothing personal, but I don't want anyone except for Steve, my partner. You know? It's so private.
Speaker 4
Go ahead. How did you so there's that going on, and then how do you contend with or how much contending was there with the, you know, the, like, devil's advocate of the other side of, like, but what if and, you know Oh, so stuff that keeps women working.
Speaker 5
It was it was not just like, oh, yeah. I feel called towards free birth. I'm gonna do that. It was scary. It was really scary because I had all these doubts of myself and my body, and I was really needing to trust myself. That was the biggest thing. Like, I need to trust myself and trust my body and just know that it that it's the best choice. You know? And I I went back and forth a lot. You know? I didn't choose to go wild and have a free break till I was thirty weeks pregnant. Yeah.
Speaker 4
So you were with the medical midwife until then? Yeah. Gotcha.
Speaker 5
Pretty much. And, it kind of happened organically too because she had been saying, yes. I will come to Sedona, which is two hours from where her office is and where I'm from because I was moving in at that time. She had been saying, yes. I will make the trip to Sedona. I will come to your birth, blah blah blah. And then kind of, like, last minute, she not last minute, but right before we moved, she said that it's actually gonna be kind of an ordeal, and it's gonna cost more. And I was like, okay. You know, I was already feeling a shift. You know? I was thinking about finding a radical midwife here or radical birth keeper, here. And it happened organically because I tried to do that and didn't work out. You know? And I was thirty weeks. One woman who does birth work outside the system here, she, said that she could try to make it, and we were trying to work it out. And but she would wanna meet with me double so we could get to know each other, and and I totally understand that. You know? But I was like, I don't wanna go to meetings anymore. I feel good. You know? I feel good. Like, that was my motto every day. I feel good. Why should I worry? My baby's fine. I feel good. Like, I'm healthy. And someday, my baby's just gonna come out, and it's gonna
Speaker 4
be fine. Yeah. It's simple. Yeah. So Your partner was all good with that?
Speaker 5
Yeah. In the beginning, when I first told him, I was, like, in tears, and I told him, you know, I think we should just do this on our own. I think it's gonna be fine. And he said, I don't know if if I feel comfortable with that. It feels like a lot of pressure on me, but we were driving up here a lot because we were moving our stuff slowly and working on our house, and we were listening to your podcast a lot together. And he really after listening to the episodes with me, was, like, totally down. And he was like, you know, I actually think that this is really cool, because he's very, like, anti government, anti system himself. And so he was he was like, yeah. Because we, you know, we've been vegan for, like, six years, and we're very much, you know, anti the system. And so it's kind of part of our nature, you know, to be outsiders in a way.
Speaker 4
So Okay. Yeah. And so at thirty weeks, you are just kind of it's just kind of unfolding that way. And when do you really, like, lock it in? Like, this is what I'm doing. This is like, what does that look like at the end of your pregnancy?
Speaker 5
At thirty weeks. Yeah. When we moved here, we met virtually and in person with two different midwives outside the system, and and I was I thought about it for probably a couple weeks, few weeks. And I was like, do I really want to pay six thousand dollars for someone I just met to, like, be at my birth. You know? Because at that point, you can't really get to know someone. You know? And like I said, and Well
Speaker 4
and your issue is the same. Whether they're licensed or not, your if your core issue is around privacy
Speaker 5
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4
It's the same whether they yeah. For
Speaker 5
sure. And yeah. But I I really just knew in my heart that it was gonna be okay. Like, I just felt it. You know? So that was really nice. But I was also scared, of course. I also had moments where I was scared, and and I listened to a lot of affirmations. I took your course, your free birth course, and that was really helpful. Of course, as you say, you and Yolanda say, you don't have to do any research to give birth. You can just give birth. But for me personally, it felt better to to know about certain things. You know?
Speaker 4
Well, the modern woman, you know, it's like we have so much unlearning to do. We have so much, we've been so misguided about our bodies and about how it works that I'd say probably the average woman who does choose free birth very much wants to research and learn about it. And, also, yeah, I love I love remembering that, like, women give birth in comas. You know? Women give birth
Speaker 5
That's my favorite. Yeah.
Speaker 4
You know? I mean Yeah. That's and just give birth. I'll call them all too.
Speaker 5
Yeah. Whenever I felt scared, I did think about the coma thing.
Speaker 4
Me too. Yeah. That was one of my it's kind of a bizarre one, but that was one of my touchstones in my most recent birth. I just anytime I just was tripping, I was like, but women do this even if they're unconscious. Like,
Speaker 5
hey. Okay. Yeah. I love to tell people that too. They're like, what?
Speaker 4
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So what else do you wanna share about the end of your pregnancy? And and I'm also curious about, you know, your, like, community, your family. Like, are you telling people what's that like?
Speaker 5
Yeah. We decided not to tell anyone. And if they asked or whatever, we would just say, yeah. We're gonna have a midwife there. Because I just didn't want well, here's the thing. Not everyone knows about spontaneous physiological birth. They just don't.
Speaker 4
No one does. I mean, there's like every people that do.
Speaker 5
They should. You know? Yeah. It's like, even even with doctors, it's like, it's totally understandable. And I have doctors in my family, you know, that I told them I was having a free birth, and they said, you're not gonna get to a hospital in time. And I was like, for what?
Speaker 4
You're like, well, that's literally the point.
Speaker 5
Yeah. Yeah. I don't ever wanna go to a hospital ever. So, anyway, I I didn't tell people, except for my therapist who I probably shouldn't have told because she got all weird, but she ended up reading she ended up reading a book about it and stuff. So
Speaker 4
because she was like You're supposed to stay neutral. I know.
Speaker 5
I know. She doesn't. That's
Speaker 4
funny. Getting better.
Speaker 5
But, yeah, I told her, and then I told my mom. My mom responded well. She was like, you're so brave. Oh my gosh. And I'm like, mom, stop.
Speaker 4
That's sweet.
Speaker 5
It was really sweet.
Speaker 4
Mom, are you?
Speaker 5
So sweet. Yeah. She wanted to be there too, but, you know, the privacy thing.
Speaker 4
So end of my two hours away. So is your family there too, two hours away?
Speaker 5
Yeah. My dad, my stepmom are two hours away, and my brother, my older sister's in Portland, and, my younger sister is also in Phoenix. And And then my mom my mom is in Prescott, so she's an hour and a half away. Yeah.
Speaker 4
That's nice. That's like a really nice amount of distance from
Speaker 5
that. Totally. It's perfect.
Speaker 4
You're not just popping by, but you could see them in the day. Yes.
Speaker 5
You know, honestly, Emilee, watching or taking your course and listening to your podcast, really helped me to not feel alone because of all the stories and and, you know, following women who have free birth and watching them and their babies thrive. And I have a friend who free birthed. I talked to her and
Speaker 4
Nice.
Speaker 5
And so, you know, that really helps to have the other women that have done it or, that want to do it. Having my partner was big. You know? He is very supportive. And every day as part of my, like, prenatal thing for myself, I would go out into nature barefoot and just kind of, like, connect with nature. And I just kind of asked the mountains that surround my house to, like, look after me and the baby, and that that to me is, like, my, you know, extent of what you would call, like, a religious thing that I do. And and so that felt very comforting to me. Yeah. There's a mountain right behind me. It's called Thunder Mountain, and they call it the grandfather mountain. And it's just, like, so powerful and solid. And and it really felt like the mountain was watching after me. I know that Sunny is kinda crazy, but whatever. It was it was nice. It was nice.
Speaker 4
Alright. So take us into your birth.
Speaker 5
Okay. I I was pretty much in labor. Looking back, I was in labor for a while. You know? I was having sensations for, like, a month, and they really just got intense one day. The day before my son was born on his guest date, which is so rare. I was I was shocked by that. I was like, I was expecting I was just expecting to go to forty three weeks, but, just in case because I didn't wanna end up being, like, impatient. But I was having more back to back sensations the day before the guest date. My partner and I had made love in the morning, and right after that, I started having really strong sensations. And I remember just kinda going through the day thinking, you know, don't get too excited. Don't think that it's labor, you know, reminding myself, you know, to not just expect it. So I just went through the day. And then that night, we went to go to sleep. And as soon as I laid down, they got even more intense, I think, because I was just so relaxed. You know? And it's kinda funny because my partner had randomly gone running, like, the day before. He hadn't run-in so long, and he, like, had gone to play disc golf and all this stuff. And he was, like, totally exhausted. You know? Like Oh,
Speaker 4
no. Yeah.
Speaker 5
And I was like, I'm definitely in labor now, like, trying to, like, wake him up because I was I was like, oh my gosh. This is it. You know? And he was, like, so tired. He was not having it. And I started, like, moaning from the sensations and stuff, and he, like, even put, like, earphones in or earplugs in at one point. Oh my god. At the time, I was pretty pissed, but looking back, it was funny. Yeah. Well, I mean, I was just like, how dare you not be
Speaker 4
prepared? Totally. And, like, witness me.
Speaker 5
Yeah. No. But The headphones are a strong move. The earplugs. Yeah.
Speaker 4
Earplugs. Yeah.
Speaker 5
I know. I know. Because we'd been told so many times by, like, Armand, my friend, and and hearing it and stories, like, don't expect it. It could take three days. And as soon as you start labor, go to sleep. That's what he remembered. Like, go to sleep. Go to sleep. So he was telling me
Speaker 4
mean that for him.
Speaker 5
I know. I know. I know. Honestly, I have to tell that part because it's so funny now. But
Speaker 4
Good laugh.
Speaker 5
At the time, I was like, oh, I'm so annoyed with you. Anyway, I I was in it. You know? I couldn't go to sleep. There's no way I was, like, in it. So you know what I mean? And I went into the bathroom. I sat backwards on the toilet for a while and, like, laid down on some towels, and I was just, like, trying to breathe. Basically, I labored in the bathroom for a while. And pretty much till morning, I tried to go back to sleep, and I was just moaning and just trying to get through the sensations.
Speaker 4
How did it feel to be alone?
Speaker 5
Honestly, I was just in it. You know? I wasn't really I was a a little bit happy to be alone in a way because it was nice and dark and quiet. And I think that it did help me to progress in a way because I was just fully in it. I wasn't worried about anyone around me. So I guess it was nice in a way. I was a little bit like, where's Steve? You know? But it was actually nice. And then when he woke up in the morning, he set up our birthing pool that we got. It was like a pretty big birthing pool, and we put it in what is gonna be our son's room. Right now, our bunnies are in that room. But, anyway
Speaker 4
It's funny. They're taking over right now.
Speaker 5
But we set up the birth pool. I labored, you know, all through the morning. It was kind of a blur. He was, like, feeding me snacks and stuff, and it was just getting through the sensations. I was just trying to breathe. You know? Literally, my lungs were sore the next day because I was just breathing so hard.
Speaker 4
That's all you can do.
Speaker 5
Yeah. So it you know, I labored for sixteen hours, which isn't for a first time mom. I guess that isn't that long, but I was tired. You know? I hadn't slept the night before, and I was starting to think, you know, how long is this gonna take? Because my water hadn't broken. I hadn't seen a mucus plug or anything, and I was like, woah. How long is this gonna take? You know? But around noon, I started to lose my mucus plug. And we we really knew at that point that it was progressing, which was nice because I knew that, you know, it's gonna it has an end now.
Speaker 4
I just wanna see something. Yes. Exactly. Totally.
Speaker 5
So stuff started coming out, and I was like, oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. You know? Then it really started to feel, like, exciting. And I started to see, like, little blood clots coming out. I got a little bit freaked out for some reason because I I didn't remember anything in my research about that in that moment. And Steve was like, everything's looking really good and healthy. And I was like, thank you. That's all I needed to hear. You know?
Speaker 4
Like, I love it. Like, as if he knows anything, but it's, like, such a sweet thing to say because you just want the reassurance. Yeah. I know. It's like, it all looks healthy.
Speaker 5
That's adorable. I know. And, yeah, so I did start to get freaked out. I think that's when I transitioned, you know, because I started to, like, feel a little bit scared. But he reassured me, and and that was huge, you know, to have someone reassure me. You know, looking back sorry to go on a tangent, but looking back, I'm so glad that I wasn't being continuously monitored because that would have really set me back and put, like, bad thoughts in my mind. And and I really don't think that that's good for a woman's brain when she's in labor to be
Speaker 4
You're talking about cervical exams?
Speaker 5
Yeah. Cervical exams.
Speaker 4
Yeah. Can you imagine, like, getting fingered every hour or two and being told how slowly you're opening up?
Speaker 5
Yeah. Yeah. And it doesn't even mean anything because you could yeah. Anyway so I was progressing really well, and I was just listening to, Yolanda's affirmations and my playlist, and my partner was right there giving me water and just being quiet, which was nice. And it was just honestly, it was it was great. It was a wonderful day. I was really happy. You know? I was in pain, I would say, but I was happy. You know? And it was just me and my partner, and it felt really magical and, like, wow. We're starting this, like, crazy adventure together. You know? So my mucus plug came out, and then I started having the bloody show. And then throughout the process, I pooped probably five times. You know? And I had felt like I had to go poop again, so we went to the bathroom, and my partner was in there with me. And I started to feel my vagina pushing, which I'd never felt before. So I was really excited. I looked at him with, like, really wide eyes, and I was like, I'm pushing. And so he helped me get back into the birthing pool. And the pushing feeling didn't come back again right away because we moved places, you know, on the toilet. It's like you're letting go and then you move and but it came back as soon as I went into the lunch position. The lunch position was like it it, like, really started the process and helped me to progress a lot, which I kinda knew that before. I would I think that in a way, I was kinda keeping myself from progressing a little bit with positions throughout my labor because, you know, I was a little bit scared, and I was like, just need to do it. Just get into the right position. So I finally got into the lunch position, and I was leaning over the pool and I was pushing, but I wasn't, like, trying to push. You know? I was just letting my body push. And Steve was reminding me, like because I was kind of, like, screaming a little bit. It was reminding me to, like, keep my voice low and to, you know, just let it happen, which, you know, I think that was good. And I just breathe and let my body do the work. And and all of a sudden, Steve was like, I see him. I see his head. And I felt his head coming down, of course. I'll never forget that feeling. Yeah.
Speaker 4
We know, Steve. We can feel it. Yeah. That's cute, though.
Speaker 5
I felt it coming down, but I didn't know that it was, like, showing yet. So and he and then he was like, I see his face. He's so cute. And I thought he might have been posterior because my back was hurting really bad. I I injured my tailbone at some point because it was really sore for a while. But, yeah, he was facing backwards and and, you know, a couple more Steve behind you. Steve was behind me in the birth pool because, my butt was out of the water, so I wanted him to, like, catch him so he didn't go in the water. I guess I could have just gotten out of the pool. But when you're at that point Yeah.
Speaker 4
That'd be amazing. Don't wanna make You're not, like, tasking correctly. Yeah.
Speaker 5
And, yeah, he came out, and Steve handed him to me right away through my legs. And he was like, take your baby, and he was crying. And and I was just, like, in shock, and I was like, you know, you're here. You're finally here. And, I didn't know that Steve had, like, got it on video, but it was just such a magical at some point, I'm gonna learn how to, like, edit that and share it, but it was just such a magical such a magical experience, seriously. And I'm, like, so grateful that I had such a good experience, and I really do think that it's because I just trusted myself and let it happen, you know
Speaker 4
Mhmm.
Speaker 5
The way it was supposed to.
Speaker 4
Yeah. And keeping it simple.
Speaker 5
Yeah. Exactly. Like, I love something that you said that really stuck with me was, like, you can literally just stay home and have your baby. You know? It's it's a simple thing when you let it be simple. You know? Like, it's literally as simple as pooping. Like, your body will
Speaker 4
I mean, maybe it's a little bit complicated. You're right. You're right. But But, like It's the same You're right.
Speaker 5
But There's limbs. Just Yeah. I know. I know.
Speaker 4
But I'm with you. I shouldn't say that. No. I'm with you, though. And it is I mean, the it's the it's the head, the fear, it's the overanalyzing, it's the what ifs, you know, that make it not simple. Because physically physically, it is it is actually fairly uncomplicated almost always. You know? Yeah.
Speaker 5
Yeah. Almost always.
Speaker 4
So in a sixteen hour birth, it sounds like you just, like, really were able to keep up and just track with it. And
Speaker 5
Yeah. Yeah. It was amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. You know? He was born in the afternoon, and there was, like I have, like, rainbow prism things in the room. There was, like, rainbows shining on us. Yeah. You know? And it was just yeah. It was Perfect. It makes me wanna have birth again. You know? Give birth again.
Speaker 4
Mhmm.
Speaker 5
For sure.
Speaker 4
I really think that is the design.
Speaker 5
Yeah.
Speaker 4
Because that's what we hear from women who have who have amazing births, you know, and who have physiological births and and who are well supported. Like, there's definitely a combination because, you know, there are, of course, women who free birth who are in horrible relationships and have terrible dynamics and, okay, that's complicated, and and maybe they're not emerging wanting to have another baby. But Mhmm. Makes sense to me that in a healthy environment with an intact birth experience where the hormonal matrix is fully, you know, intact and the mother baby are untraumatized, that the result of that is to want to continue breeding, you know, on, like, a, like, a very mammalian level and also on a spiritual level that we wanna keep bringing souls here, you know, that we wanna keep being a portal and a channel. It makes sense to me that that is, like, the intended design.
Speaker 5
Yeah. And that amazing high that you get too.
Speaker 4
So what about postpartum? What do you wanna say about about your first time in that domain? What was that like the first, you know, couple days or weeks?
Speaker 5
It was different. You know? It was it was challenging for sure. I definitely think that because I free birthed, I was already on that trajectory of trusting myself and trusting this whole process. It was really helpful to have taken your class because you mentioned what a normal newborn looks like. And, you know, I often thought, you know, what what would I have done? You know? Because he was, like, blotchy and
Speaker 4
Yeah. And stuff like that.
Speaker 5
Yeah. They're so weird. Yeah. But, you know, it was beautiful. It was challenging, and it was beautiful. And the breastfeeding was challenging because of the tailbone injury. Mhmm. But, I was very, very privileged to have my partner home and making me meals, and we had prepared meals for ourselves. Like, we've made a whole bunch of, like, really hearty stews and put them in the freezer. And we, just knew that we were gonna need to have those, that we were gonna just be we prepared to just be present with Gregory as much as possible. You know? And that was huge for me, you know, to just be with him and just be bonding as much as possible, and that's what we did.
Speaker 4
And when do you start to let your family and friends in?
Speaker 5
Well, it happened a little bit earlier than I wanted to just because I had this, like, worry about my milk because I'd I hadn't seen any milk coming out. And it had been, like, three days, but it it started coming as soon as we had the family come to bring they had gotten me a pump, and they had sent it to themselves instead of my house. So we had his parents I know. It's kinda complicated. We had his parents over, like, four days postpartum. I wasn't ready for it, but it was nice. You know? They just came for a little while. But I told people I wasn't gonna have anyone over for at least ten days. You know? But, yeah, we we didn't have my family members over until, like, the next month. You know? And it was it was perfect. It was great. Yeah. Everything about his birth and him, like, being here now has just, like, elevated my life. You know? It's
Speaker 4
Yeah. I was gonna ask you how becoming a mother and going through such a magical birth and and navigating postpartum has informed or changed your art?
Speaker 5
Oh, yeah. Well, I've been making birth and pregnancy art for a long time because I've always been really fascinated with birth and pregnancy. But, now it's, like, even more so, and it's so much more meaningful to me. When I was six weeks postpartum, I created a painting called a wonderful new life. It's one of the prints that you got, and I
Speaker 4
Love that. I would
Speaker 5
love that one. It's very personal to me because it's it's basically me and Gregory or it it represents all mothers in birth. You know? And it's just it really just, in cases how I feel after this experience because it's it's a wonderful new life for me and my son. You know? And I can't stress enough, like, how much the birth and the postpartum made that more wonderful. You know? We we
Speaker 4
know so many of, you know, our sisters, our women, our mothers are not emerging from their births and postpartum thinking what a wonderful new life. You know? Yeah.
Speaker 5
Exactly. It's
Speaker 4
not the the frame that so many women have. So
Speaker 5
It's it's so like, when you wake up to this stuff, it's so sad to, like, see that around you. It's, like, all around me in my life. And, like, the debt, the trauma, the disempowerment, the not being able to breastfeed, you know, all these thing. It's like, it's totally a domino effect. Mhmm.
Speaker 4
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 5
So I'm so grateful, and I'm so happy, you know, to share this story with anyone I can because, listening to stories like this was seriously medicine for me. Mhmm. And most of us in this society, we need to, like, reprogram our brain. We you know, there's certain things in movies that I, like, remember so vividly of women dying during birth and stuff. And it's crazy how it's been ingrained in our brain. You know what I mean?
Speaker 4
Mhmm. Yeah. And how quickly we can clean it is the other, like, very encouraging part. Right? Because how many women now have literally just heard a couple episodes of this podcast and then go free birth and rewrite their entire relationship to their body and lineage to come. I mean, it's so cool. And and and the the healing happens forward and backwards because when a woman really embodies, you know, a lot of these principles and and and values, whatever we're gonna call them, it I very often seen it. Even in my own family, it also facilitate healing in my mother and my grandmother, you know, backwards who are still alive. Like, so it's so cool how much it like you said earlier, just the ripple. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's making me think of my one of my favorite quotes from sister morning star is, what one woman can do, all women can do. And I feel like that is the container of this podcast in so many ways is just that's what happens. Right? We hear a story, and we're like, that could be us. And then it becomes us, and then we tell our stories, and then it just
Speaker 5
keeps happening. Important. This podcast seriously changed my life. Thank you.
Speaker 4
That's awesome. Yeah. So many of the women on this season are full circle. Like, they they found it. They found free birth through the podcast and then free birth and then came back on the podcast or for not back on for the first time. So beautiful. Alright, girlfriend. Is there anything else you wanna say before we close today?
Speaker 5
No. I don't think so. I just wanna say thank you so much for having me on the podcast or on the show, and, thanks for being so inspiring and for helping to empower helping to let women find their power. You know? They have the power. They just need to find it within themselves. You know?
Speaker 4
Yeah. So Yeah. I think the storytelling is is such a such a easy way. We all learn so fast.
Speaker 5
Yeah.
Speaker 4
Oh, it's so cool. I think women I don't know about men. Maybe it's like this for them too. I don't pretend to understand men, but I feel like women, we've got this thing about storytelling, you know, that just lights us up and just the amount of learning, I feel like, can be integrated from a story is so different than, like, reading a book or statistics or Oh, yeah. You know? Totally.
Speaker 5
Yeah. It's like, it's very powerful. It's very, very powerful.
Speaker 4
And for anyone that wants to check out your art, where can they where can they go find that?
Speaker 5
Oh, yeah. Thank you. My website is kallenmickel dot com, k a l l e n m I k e l, and my Instagram is kallenmickel. You can find my art there.
Speaker 4
We'll put links for that as well. Okay. Awesome. Well, thank you. It's so nice to hear your story. I love the rainbow prism water birth visual I have now.
Speaker 5
Yeah. It was truly magical, and I'm just so happy. My son turned ten months today.
Speaker 4
Aw. Oh, this is still pretty fresh.
Speaker 5
Yeah. Yeah. And congratulations to you and your baby.
Speaker 4
Thank you.
Speaker 5
Yeah. Alright.
Speaker 4
Thank you.
Speaker 5
Thank you.
Speaker 3
And that's it for today, my sisters. Check out everything we do, including one on one and group coaching. Learn about our private membership, in person retreats, and more on free birth society dot com. Our online courses are on free birth society courses dot com, including our flagship course, the complete guide to free birth. Don't miss the radical birthkeeper school if you're ready to become the authentic midwife that women are searching for. Together we rise and the revolution starts inside each of us. I'll leave you with our Freebird Society theme song, Wild Woman by Aruba Red.
Speaker 2
I honor you for the wisdom you held, the ancient traditions of plant medicine and womb magic. Magic. I feel the spirit of the ancestors as I place my hands upon my belly. This sacred portal will be honored, eons upon light beams of survival, withstanding, the eradication of our power by design. I will not allow the separation of our young to be forced upon me. My sisters will no longer birth in captivity. The picket line redefined from burning our wild women to paralyzing us and drugging our babes. Babes. Strapped down in a clinical white bed, drying up the milk from our breasts, keep your needles. My family will never again be doomed to chase those dragons or your poison. We reject your fear. We choose love. Everything with intention. Death, ascension. I will fly and bring her back from the star. Wild woman, she still lives inside. Wild woman, from you I will not hide.
