after a very long, unanticipated break due to cam's very exhausting and tumultuous first trimester, we're back for a new episode! this week, we talk to jen hinds, a relationship and sex coach and educator. we talk all about jen's progression in her career, from getting her masters in human sexuality to finishing school and doing work revolving around domestic violence before eventually starting her business during the pandemic after the loss of her job.

we talk all about sexuality, both within the confines of a relationship and with ourselves. as the conversation flows, we move toward jen's recent doula training and how that came to be as well as how she sees it growing in time. in a parallel, cam talks about her art business in the same way.

by the end of the episode, we talk about our similar beliefs in the power of the universe to pull you in the direction you're meant to be in. we both discuss that while the path of entrepreneurship is not easy going, it's 100% worth the trouble when we can step into our full power and become the people we were meant to be.

after a two week break, cam returns to talk with tori freund (she/they), a full spectrum doula and childbirth educator based out of milwaukee, wi. tori shares of their experience as a women and gender studies (soon-to-be) graduate and how it relates to their work in the birth sphere and how school communities are important to feeling supported in all you do.

tori moves into the topic of chosen family and how it resulted from their lived experience of coming out to family that didn't support them. they talk about the need for boundaries and how that relates to choosing the right people to walk with them on their journey, both in life as a whole, but during their most treasured moments as they try to conceive with their partner, chris.

tori touches on their continued journey to conceive, using a known donor, after they navigate the loss of their first babe due to ectopic pregnancy. they chat about what the process looks like for themselves, their partner, and their known donor, including donor contracts, parental agreements, and second-parent adoptions. because of the weight this process carries, tori explains how they lean back on their chosen family for support along with a virtual queer parenting group.

by the end of the episode, tori and cam chat about the changing landscape of birthwork and ttc during a global pandemic. we talk about how tired we are of zoom meetings and cam shares of a christmas song that makes her cry every time she listens to it. so join is as they chat about all the things!

in this week's episode, i chat with brenda amaya, @the_doulatog, about all things birthkeeping and photography. brenda share all about her birth experiences and how they led to her finding her passions within the realm of birthwork. she goes over what births look like while being a birthing person's doula and photographer. as the episode continues, i go into detail into how i found birthwork through a psychedelic mushroom trip (or 7).

after covid hit in march, brenda moved her services online by creating mentorships for other doulatogs and some classes. we talk about the importance of building birth teams (and life teams) that serve you best when trying to meet goals. brenda goes on to explain her upcoming course on mother blessings and how it builds community before the baby arrives earthside by creating supportive, connected relationships to turn to during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

through this entire episode, we weave in stories of supportive relationships in regards to all aspects of being human and how setting up boundaries in life helps you show up as your truest self. so listen in as we navigate small-business life, birthwork, and leaning into the person you're meant to be.

in this episode, cam talks with heather and sarah from The Abortion Project, a documentary photography project focusing on medical abortions and how they may look.

after heather experienced a medical abortion with sarah's support, they combined their full-spectrum doula work and birth photography backgrounds into something so much larger: to support other people as they navigate their own medical abortion experiences.

through our episode, we talk about the similarities between birth, death, postpartum, and abortion care. as the conversation flows, we move toward the importance of feeling all the things in every life experience: fear, sadness, joy, and all the valid emotions in between.

so join us as we talk about full-spectrum care and approaching all situations with love and reverence for the magick.

in this episode, cam talks to chaney, @theintersectionaldoula, about midwifery school, boundary setting, and healing using all the tools.

from discussing how to protect your energy and set boundaries online and in real life, we segue into a conversation about healing our own bullshit before stepping into our callings. as midwifery students and future midwives, we remind one another how important it is to ground yourself on the daily so that you can show up to each and every birth renewed and refreshed, ready to assist all birthing people during their most vulnerable experiences.

once we talk about our pasts, we move into the importance of therapy in all forms to better provide services to the people in our communities. chaney talks about their experiences in eMDR therapy and how they uses tarot cards to ground theirself during dissociation-inducing situations.

chaney also discusses the importance of their name and how their ancestors show up in everything they do, including harnessing the strength of those that came before them when approaching tough situations like their PCOS diagnosis and showing up in the world aligned with their queer identity.

join us on this journey as chaney and i FINALLY get to talk after a couple years of internet relations and discuss all the things that make our own journeys so wyldly magickal.

in this episode, i talk to kimber about all things body movement, doula work and the changing landscape due to covid, and reclaiming monthly hormonal cycles to take control of your physical, mental, and reproductive health.

drawing on her past experiences as a student of dance therapy and as a live figure drawing model, kimber speaks to the importance of really feeling comfortable and IN your body during pregnancy and birth. in between my own stories of returning to the body using psychedelic mushrooms, we talk together about the nonsensical nature of being human and the power of affirmations in every day life. as the conversation moves toward personal reproductive health, we chat about the power of the moon during monthly cycles and how birth control can impact bodies of all kinds.

join us as we navigate the stream-of-creative-consciousness that is flowing, human conversation.

in the first guest episode, cam talks to ellen all about her past as a montessori teacher and how she uses the same tenants in raising her daughter as a stay-at-home mom. together, we talk about the history of montessori and the checkered past of child psychology while exploring what a "typical" day might look like for her and her daughter.

upon discovering her goals of potentially becoming a birthkeeper, we talk about her birth story and how cool she found the experience for herself. we chat about the magick of being human and experiencing the intense duality of being alive before uncovering what magick means to the both of us.

so tune in and listen as we explore what it means to be a human raising children during this moment in time.

in this very (very) brief introductory episode, cam details her reasons for starting the podcast and for her future intentions. follow along to see where this all goes from here!