Made for Mothers
26. From Kindergarten Teacher to Birth Educator: Kaila Maguire on Empowering Parents & Navigating Motherhood
I’m so energized by this conversation where I discuss all things birth education with Kaila Maguire.
Kaila Maguire, a former kindergarten teacher turned 21st-century childbirth educator and podcaster, joins me today to share her passion around empowering other moms. She’s a fellow boy mom who sought something entirely different after navigating significant life changes during her pregnancy and early postpartum period, coinciding with the world's shutdown in 2020. Motivated to shed light on less-discussed aspects of parenthood, she launched Parent Tell, a podcast focused on diverse and underrepresented pregnancy and parenting narratives. Despite not being able to attend birth prep classes, Kaila turned this challenge into fuel and became a certified birth instructor, birthing Not Your Mama’s Birth Services.
In today’s conversation, Kaila and I share our birth experiences and highlight the need for more relevant information, not only in birth education but also in the fourth trimester. We explore Kaila’s transition from kindergarten teacher to childbirth educator, the concept that all moms are ‘working moms,’ the importance of community and reducing isolation in the post-pandemic era, the ongoing juggling act of motherhood, and more.
Kaila takes pride in being the friendly face and warm presence for expecting parents. Not Your Mama’s Birth Services is not just educational and inclusive but also FUN – because birth education should be enjoyable! I'm incredibly grateful for Kaila's efforts in shedding light on the various birthing options in our society and providing invaluable postpartum support for families. Whether you’re a new mom, building your business, or simply managing multiple responsibilities, I believe this raw and empowering episode will offer invaluable support!
____
Connect with Kaila on Instagram @notyourmamasbirth
Learn more about working with Kaila by visiting her website
Listen to Kaila’s podcast: Parent Tell
Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones (Netflix documentary)
Connect with me on Instagram
Learn more about booking a Biz Therapy session and working together by visiting my website
I’m so energized by this conversation where I discuss all things birth education with Kaila Maguire.
Kaila Maguire, a former kindergarten teacher turned 21st-century childbirth educator and podcaster, joins me today to share her passion around empowering other moms. She’s a fellow boy mom who sought something entirely different after navigating significant life changes during her pregnancy and early postpartum period, coinciding with the world's shutdown in 2020. Motivated to shed light on less-discussed aspects of parenthood, she launched Parent Tell, a podcast focused on diverse and underrepresented pregnancy and parenting narratives. Despite not being able to attend birth prep classes, Kaila turned this challenge into fuel and became a certified birth instructor, birthing Not Your Mama’s Birth Services.
In today’s conversation, Kaila and I share our birth experiences and highlight the need for more relevant information, not only in birth education but also in the fourth trimester. We explore Kaila’s transition from kindergarten teacher to childbirth educator, the concept that all moms are ‘working moms,’ the importance of community and reducing isolation in the post-pandemic era, the ongoing juggling act of motherhood, and more.
Kaila takes pride in being the friendly face and warm presence for expecting parents. Not Your Mama’s Birth Services is not just educational and inclusive but also FUN – because birth education should be enjoyable! I'm incredibly grateful for Kaila's efforts in shedding light on the various birthing options in our society and providing invaluable postpartum support for families. Whether you’re a new mom, building your business, or simply managing multiple responsibilities, I believe this raw and empowering episode will offer invaluable support!
____
Connect with Kaila on Instagram @notyourmamasbirth
Learn more about working with Kaila by visiting her website
Listen to Kaila’s podcast: Parent Tell
Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones (Netflix documentary)
Connect with me on Instagram
Learn more about booking a Biz Therapy session and working together by visiting my website
Hi, I'm Kayla McGuire, former teacher turned podcaster and certified childbirth educator. After going through pregnancy in the fourth trimester, I started Parentel, a podcast dedicated to sharing all types of pregnancy and parenting experiences, but particularly those that are not yet discussed enough in the mainstream. I'm also a certified childbirth educator, offering classes and birth planning through Not your Mama's Birth Services. In-person services are available in the Northern Virginia area in addition to virtual classes.
Speaker 2:Hello and welcome to the Made for Mothers podcast, your one-stop shop for candid and relatable conversations about motherhood and entrepreneurship. Think of the show as your new mom friend, where we dive into all things marketing, branding, mindset, money, childcare and growing your business while we all navigate our roles as both CEO and mom. I'm your host, maria Stockman, and I wear a bunch of hats I'm a boy mama, I'm serving as a marketing mentor for mothers, I'm running a six-figure marketing agency and, on top of that, I'm the proud founder of the Made for Mothers community. This show is about sharing the real stories and the practical strategies from fellow mother-run businesses. So dive in, grab your headphones, reheat that coffee and let's go. Grab your headphones, reheat that coffee and let's go.
Speaker 2:Hello, hello, hello and welcome to another episode of the Made for Mothers podcast. I'm your host, mariah Stockman, boy mama and biz therapist for moms who run businesses and also founder of the Made for Mothers universe. I'm so excited to have Kayla McGuire here with us today. Hi, kayla. Hey, I love that she is a birth educator she's a fellow podcaster and also that her mission is to bring stories around birth and birth education into the fold that I feel like are not being told. Is that a pretty accurate way to describe that whole scene?
Speaker 1:Yes, and it rhymed, so that was like super cute, good for you, cool, cool.
Speaker 2:I just feel like, as a mom with a two-year-old right, I was kind of like I don't know. I was served like an unfair flatter at my birth, which you and I have talked offline about and we'll be discussing on your podcast at some point and I just I so desperately wish that there was pieces of my birth that happened that are very common. I have now realized, I wish that what I went through and what I experienced could have been experienced, could have been. I could have been a little more educated that, hey, this could happen and this could, it could go this way and it could look like this, and they might ask you to do this and here are your options. And and I was like a very prepared mom going into birth, I did hypnobirthing, which I just felt so empowered, you know.
Speaker 2:So I can only imagine women, moms, going into those situations with no birth education and having those like mind blown right, yeah, yeah. So the go ahead, go ahead. Oh no, I'm just, I'm just thanking you. So thank you for for drawing, you know, for shining a shining light on the non you know, mainstream topics of like, well, are you going to have a natural birth? Are you going to have a medicated birth or are you going to birth at home? Are you going to birth at the hospital? And it's like, okay, we got to get off that track, like there's a hundred other better questions that we should be asking or conversations we should be having with pregnant moms going, I think, personally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and it's so funny because, so, like I said, I am a former kindergarten teacher, so I have been teaching in some aspect for 11 years now, but I, oddly enough, I don't think I really realized how much of a teacher and educator and, like my drive to spread information education I didn't realize how much that really exists in my body until I started teaching birth class and so I until I like, yeah, until I like, really pivoted, yeah, and just like, started teaching adults.
Speaker 1:And obviously, if you're listening, you have no teaching experience, I wouldn't expect you to know this. But teaching children and teaching adults, complete opposite. And I just, it's so funny, I just had lunch with my former mentor teacher who I've known for 11 years now. We became very quick friends and I was talking to her and I was like you get it. I was like you know, I was so much more intimidated to teach adults and she was like, absolutely, she teaches first grade. Yeah, yeah, kids are just like. God bless, they are one shorter than you physically. I am taller than you, so we naturally the power dynamic is very clear here I am hilarious, okay, you know like I taught kindergarten.
Speaker 1:And I'm a tall person, I'm five, nine, so like there was no chance, maybe like if I taught fourth, fifth grade.
Speaker 2:You are a tall person. Wait, can we just stop there for a second? What was like one of the first things I said to you when I met you Remember? Do you remember this? I think we were both like oh my God you're so tall.
Speaker 2:We both were like wow, you're tall Because we met we had like a, we had a Zoom call about the podcast, and then you came to a made for mothers meetup and I remember you walked in and I was like oh, she's really tall. And you were like wow, you're like wow, you're really tall. And I was like we're like really tall, I'm not like, but I love that, that's so.
Speaker 1:I totally forgot we had that interaction until you just said that Okay, cool, well it's so funny, cause I think, well, I think like and I think like side note, so many things being virtual and like virtual meetings, everybody's sitting down, you have no scale and everybody, I think, kind of assumes that like everybody's shorter than them, unless you're a shorter person because, like my best friend, is five too, so I'm pretty sure she must assume like everybody's taller than her Cause, that's her experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my experience tends to be like everyone's shorter. If you're a dude, you're like my height or a little taller. Yeah, if you're a woman, you're most likely shorter than me.
Speaker 2:So I am always like, oh my God, like you're up here with me too, like so good, I love it, and I think I was wearing like tall boots too, or something which is always like an added fun perk to being tall and I'm like very like, actually pretty, like average, like I'm five, eight, but people always think I'm taller because I do have like really big, full hair. So I'll just say I think we also have tall energy. So there you go, yes, yes, and I like I do have.
Speaker 1:I come from a tall family. Like my dad is six four and it wasn't until I was probably like in high school or college, and there was this one picture of us standing next to each other and it's just like you know, his legs are this high and mine are like not that far behind. I'm just like, wow, we are tall people, like long-limbed people, as I like wave.
Speaker 2:Obviously this is not a visual medium, but I'm like a hand talker and I'm waving my long arms around.
Speaker 1:What about your kiddo? Are they tall? Yeah, he's definitely. He's always been taller for his age. It's actually recently that I'm realizing how tall he is, because, yeah, I'm like looking at his classmates and he's not towering over them, yeah, but he is like, solidly, he's just about four. He turns four in may and the kids who like turn five this year, he's their same height or taller.
Speaker 2:So I'm like, oh wow, you are tall you're my dude, my son's in like the 889th percentile of height and I'm always like a beaming. I'm always beaming with pride is your husband tall? Uh, he's, he's six foot, like he's not he's. I mean, he's tall for me, tall for me my 6'4" though, so like your dad so, and my grandpa was like 6'5" Same same, so I like yeah, and my father-in-law is also like pretty tall, so like we're just a bunch of towering giants in this family.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, cool.
Speaker 1:Are we into this conversation? So back to towering over yeah, if you're still with us, back to towering over the kindergarten. So yes, these little like four and a half feet tall kindergartners, and it's just their dynamic. You know, a child's mind is so different. They are flexible, compromising, accepting, inclusive. They like especially at that age, like they don't hate you yet they love to love you Versus adults are as tall as me, so we're on the equal playing field. Adults can be very closed off.
Speaker 1:Adults can be very judgmental and you can read it on their by-language in their face and as the person who's standing up there teaching, it can just be really intimidating.
Speaker 2:But somehow we're constantly pushing past the imposter syndrome, so I'm constantly pushing past that Especially in birth education, Especially in that space, because I feel like people come in with so many preconceived notions of what they've seen on TV, what their friends experienced. Everyone loves to tell a pregnant family a horror birth story. I'm like please don't do that.
Speaker 2:You know, like I will never tell my birth story to anyone until after their baby is born. Yes, yes, I always say like gosh, I can't wait, I can't wait to tell you in nine months, Like yeah.
Speaker 1:I do, I do the same and I don't. I mean, the class is so jam packed. I'm showing pictures and videos from my real labor and delivery, but I'm not necessarily going into detail about what's happening. I'll be like this is what an active contraction looks like versus a latent contraction. This is what this is. Look at me, high as a kite on my epidural, loving life, but I also have the labor shakes. I'm pointing things out, but I'm not necessarily diving into my trauma because I, yeah, like my, I don't want to scare you. My whole point is to prepare you so you feel less scared. So it is this tight rope that I'm constantly walking and, yes, so many people coming in and we all have such a weird like movies and TV depict labor and birth like so strange. So the amount of times I just had a class this past weekend. So the amount of times I was like, yeah, you know how you see that in the movies.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no, yeah, please, like, erase, like I think my husband literally was like we can't have a home birth because like what, if we have to go to the hospital and like you give labor in the car, you have to give the birth in the car. I'm like, okay, how many scenes have you seen in a movie where, like a baby, they're like giving birth in a car and like we have? A lot more time than that like yes, yes so much time days in our case.
Speaker 2:Um, anyways, he's like his idea of like you make, your water will break and the baby's there. You know, I'm like yes, maybe, but like rare we're not the rarest we're not giving birth in a back of a taxi cab.
Speaker 1:Okay, like that's not happening anyways, yeah yeah, it is it, and like we can't help it, that's what we're exposed to. So that's good tv, man, it's good tv, dramatic, it's entertaining. And you're like, oh my god, she's screaming. I always reference knocked up. Oh my god, yeah, every single class, I always reference knocked up. And I say, you know, when she is like in the throes of labor, she's about to start pushing and she's just like Katherine Heigl's, losing her mind, screaming, screaming, screaming. And I was like, yeah, that might be you for a couple minutes, that's not you for hours at a time. And that's actually. A lot of movies and TV depict all of labor and delivery as one specific part, which is called transition or the ring of fire, which is when you're at that nine centimeter mark if you're having a vaginal birth. And it's called the ring of fire for a reason. Let's picture that, let's visualize that.
Speaker 2:Let's take me right back, kayla. Let's just, let's just push all the buttons. Yep, sorry, trigger warning, trigger, warning.
Speaker 1:Unmedicated birth. So fun. Wish I had an epidural cool okay and look if you, and that is, I think, like that's kind of why my class is different, because a lot of people are under the perception that, like, birth class is very woo woo, it's very crunchy, it's very granola, yeah, and I'm gonna be like anti c-section and like don't you dare get an epidural and I'm like no, look at this video of me on an epidural, check it out. I was loving life. I just took a nap. I just woke up.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, oh my God. We had, I'm sorry, very different births. Yeah, my birth wasn't traumatic, it was my immediately after and we can talk about that later. Yeah, it wasn't the actual, it wasn't my pregnancy, it wasn't the labor, it wasn the.
Speaker 2:You know the surges they call it, or the pushing like the, everything that is associated with pain, we're very very fixated on like how can we have the least painful, physically painful birth, when something I've learned through my own birth is like pain is actually very productive. Like I obviously had an unmedicated birth. You had an epidural. We both had different layers of pain. We did like at certain points in our birth. However, everything that I needed to know more about was immediately after Like that's what I like around postpartum recovery, around the hospital stay, around.
Speaker 2:You know just, there was so much like that needed. There was so much more than I needed, so much more. So, anyways, keep going.
Speaker 1:No, I was just going to say don't be surprised if later this year, you go to my website and I've just created a whole class dedicated to postpartum, because I talk about a lot. So my childbirth class is a weekend intensive. It's two days long, on Saturday and Sunday Cool and we literally go from physiology of your body what does it look like when a full-term baby is squishing all of your insides and your lungs are up to here and your stomach's up to here to what is postpartum. What does that actually mean? What does that look like for you? How are you taking care of yourself?
Speaker 1:But I still, every single time, I still feel like I am not doing the early postpartum period justice and I say that out loud to people and I'm like look, I want to talk about this more. We have to talk about this more. Please, if you have questions, ask me. Contact me after you have your baby if you have questions, and ask me if you need resources. I just emailed my clients from this Best Weekend. I actually sent them. I was like, look, here's what a postpartum. These are things that I mentioned in class. I didn't have time to give you this one thing. And then here's a list of postpartum doula recommendations in this area that I have for you, because you have to have some sort of outside support and help, and so many of us, especially, I feel like in the 21st century, the level of isolation that we are experiencing, particularly in America, the level of isolation that we experience on a daily basis, is so terrible for us.
Speaker 2:It's so terrible. Oh my God, it's so terrible.
Speaker 1:I just started watching the blue zone documentary on netflix I don't know if you've watched it yet. No, but I'm writing it down. It's about um I always pronounce it wrong senate, centenarians, sanitarians, people who live to like 100 and longer yes, centenarians yeah, oh yes yes, yeah, okay, and they talk about. So this guy goes to all the blue zones in the world. There is one in the united states, shockingly, uh.
Speaker 2:Loma linda, california yeah, california, you pumping out those happy, unisolated old, 100 year olds. Happy, yeah, oh, but they talk about girl's name.
Speaker 1:But they talk about like what are the connecting factors? You know he interviews a bunch of, a bunch of the sanitarians that's not right, I'm saying it wrong Whatever People who are like 100 plus 100 plus 100 plus peeps, and he kind of comes up with, like in Okinawa, like these are the five things that are common in Bavaria. These are the five things that are common and, of course, like consistent themes. These people are not isolated, these people are not like old folks. Homes literally don't exist in Bavaria because people are not just like sent to be by themselves. So, going back to, and he kind of like spit some facts about, like the average amount of time that like people in United States like spend with each other, and he was saying, kind of know, like in the eight, you know we're this huge, amazing, cool digital age, but we are all isolated more than ever and that actually takes up to 15 years off your life. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:I totally believe it. Okay, not only that, like let's just think like post-pandemic new mom, online business owner, like how many moms listening can identify with like two to three of those like labels you know what I mean? Yeah, and all three of them, like whether you're an entrepreneur, a mother, and we're all living in that post-COVID era which I don't even think we've even processed. No, I can't.
Speaker 1:It's too painful.
Speaker 2:Society. Like what kind of happened to us? We just shut down and everything we knew to be like normal and true and real in the world was like, nope, you can't do that. Nope, you can't like hug someone. Nope, you can't go to your parents' house. Like, nope, you can't go to the grocery store. Like, grocery stores are scary. Right, grocery stores are scary to us. So, anyways, I talk a lot about the village. I talk a lot about new moms need new moms. Moms in business need moms in business. I need mom friends who don't own businesses because, god forbid, I have a group of friends who don't own businesses, so I'm not talking about my business all the time.
Speaker 2:Anyways, this piece that you're talking about is so profound, like I wish I could just be. Like this piece that you're talking about is so profound, like I wish I could just be. Like this is what we're talking about. We have so many things to cover today, but like this one piece that you are hitting on is so profound when we link it to our mental health and when we link it to how we just like feel in our bodies and how we like show up in our work and how we show up in our motherhood.
Speaker 2:This whole piece around isolation is like my entire mission right now with made for mothers, is like our tagline is build your own damn village. How do we actually do that Like that's, that's my like. The question I'm constantly asking myself, because I know people need a village, but people are moms, are like scared to like step into spaces where they don't know people or like, yeah, that like energetic kind of molasses or like dust that we have on us, still like we all want this, we all need this, but the inertia to go from like being by ourselves to like going to be in community, I still think is really hard for people. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:yeah, absolutely, because it's also. It's unfortunately a partial product of like perfection culture and hyper productivity culture, which, again in the United States, is like we put productivity and capitalism and commercialism above literally anything and everything else, and once we realize how fucked up, that is, how truly fucked, and we're just like what like humans should be, like human needs should be put first, it really does kind of like open your eyes to how like none of that shit should matter, especially when you've just had a freaking baby. You should not be doing this by yourself. You shouldn't feel like you have to do it by yourself. You shouldn't feel this pressure to like no, I'm fine, like don't even get me started on bounce back culture Like I. Just that's what we all feel. We all feel this pressure to be perfect all the time. You better be a perfect mom right away when it's like what I literally just met this baby. Like I don't know. I don't know this baby. This baby doesn't know me, and that's okay.
Speaker 2:So that's what I'm constantly talking about Like I just met myself as a mom. I don't even know myself anymore, my identity as a person. I was just talking to my therapist about. Motherhood is the fastest, quickest departure from autonomy you could ever experience in your life. No one can prepare you for how little autonomy and it's the best, most brilliantly blinding gift of my life is like the fact that I got to give up my autonomy for the, for this child who I love. It's both, yeah, it's totally both and. But it's the fastest departure from autonomy a person will ever have, more so than I don't even think that anything else exists. So so to spend like for me I'm two years postpartum to spend two years sort of slowly like crawling my way back to myself I'm almost thinking like military crawling like under, like you know, barbed wire fences and mud trenches, like cause that's what it can feel like. How nice would it be to be like.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I'm in the trenches with other people, people like as we're all sort of like crawling our way back to our some semblance of autonomy. Like I was just talking to one of my best friends in california and she has two kids hi, natalie and she's like we were both joking in the most like dry, sarcastic, beautiful way and we were like, oh yeah, we're just like not allowed to leave the house, like after seven o'clock. She's like, yeah it, yeah, it's just such a prison. And I'm like, yeah, it's just such a prison. And I know that that's just the season I'm in. I know I can go to like a 7 pm yoga class at some time in my life, but that's just where I am today.
Speaker 1:And I'm like, and I know it's not a prison you know, but I can feel that way and it's OK, but it's, it's just sort of like where do I exist in this whole like new life?
Speaker 2:and so I love what you're talking about, which is like, yeah, when you first have a baby, like other cultures aren't alone, other cultures aren't alone, like they're multi-generational households who are stepping in with like all the aunties and all the cousins and all the people and they are just like holding holding you, holding that baby, cooking, doing all the things in all the people. And they are just like holding you, holding that baby, cooking, doing all the things. And here we're in just this, such this like like almost like I just think of like track housing, like industrial, like I just think we're just all so fiercely independent that like we don't even know how to ask for help. You know, we don't even know what that looks like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll never forget, it was the weekend of my baby shower, so I gave birth in May 2020. Yes, everybody say yikes Um yikes.
Speaker 2:Pandemic pregnancy. Did you have to wear a mask in your pregnancy? I fucking did I mean in your birth.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, until I was like I dare you to tell me, but like, and it was before I got my epiduralural, so I was literally like on another plane of existence and they were not telling me, obviously, to put a put a mask on yeah, I had to wear a mask for a part of mine as well, and then yeah then the nurse.
Speaker 1:This shift changed and I didn't have to wear a mask anymore, which was nice yeah, my husband had to wear one like every single time someone came into the room if he ever went into the hallway. Obviously he had to wear one and then, and then we were by ourselves. He obviously took it off, but so I gave birth in May 2020, but I actually had my baby shower in January, because I guess I'm just a witch and I knew that if I didn't have it then it was never going to freaking happen.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, I love that.
Speaker 1:And yeah, like literally, obviously we had no idea this pandemic was coming. It was right in the middle of January. It obviously we had no idea this pandemic was coming. It was right in the middle of January. It was actually also my birthday weekend, which I was super annoyed about because I was like this is my last birthday that I actually have to myself, but it was just the only time we could do it and I ended up working out. It was the last large gathering that I went to for literal years, but I went to get a pedicure the day before and I was obviously pregnant and they were talking to me and I think they asked me like what are you doing? Blah, blah, we were just talking about it.
Speaker 1:And the woman who was doing my nails was Thai and she was like in my culture, after you have a baby, and she told me all about Thai postpartum practices and at the time, me being like sweet baby Kayla, just truly not really knowing much about anything labor, delivery and postpartum I was just like, oh, that sounds great, that sounds really cool, that's cute. Yeah, oh, my gosh, I love that Great. And then I just like, bye, have a nice day, totally forgot about it.
Speaker 1:She was telling me how essentially multi-generational household mom is not lifting a finger. They look at it as she explained it to me, as it is basically like when a snake sheds its skin Wow. And then it is very vulnerable as the new skin regrows and it takes time. And she was like it's pretty strict. You don't even take a bath for, or a shower for a certain amount of time. You are only consuming warm foods, because cold foods are not good for your body. Right now You're not lifting a finger. Everything is done for you. Everybody is catering to you because you just became a whole new person. You just shed a skin and you are in the process of growing a whole new one. And, yeah, at the time I was like wow, that's really cool. And like totally respectful, and I was like that's fascinating, I love that, but truly not understanding how powerful that is for people and how much I would need that treatment, like how much we all should be experiencing that after we have a baby.
Speaker 2:There's no way to know until you're in it, and I think that's where it becomes really difficult to give suggestions, to give advice. I'm not big on giving advice to anyone who's pregnant. I'm more interested in just listening to them and showing up for them and however they need and obviously providing them food after they have a baby, for them and however they need and obviously providing them food after they have a baby. But it's hard because they just have no idea what they're about to go through like that bridge, that they're about to walk down, and to do it well.
Speaker 2:you don't want to instill fear, right?
Speaker 1:So how do you share that knowledge base from a really loving and compassionate place of I just really want to support you and X, y and Z you might experience or you might not. That's the other part too. This might happen or this might not. So I love all of this. I'm curious how you transitioned from kindergarten teacher to birth educator and what that looked like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so basically, um, I was already on the fence talking about burnout. I had only been teaching for five years. That was my. We were living in North Carolina at the time. That was my third state that I was teaching in. I mean to navigate, um, I've taught in, uh, maryland first, where I started my career. Then I moved to California, then North Carolina, and just having to constantly pivot to each state and counties, different Everything that definitely shortened my career for sure, just having to constantly change and move but I was already feeling pretty burnt out. So when I found out I was pregnant, immediately my husband and I started talking about, again, pre-pandemic. This was 2019, two-thirds of my pregnancy was pre-pandemic and the last third was pandemic. So I'm in that very yes, a very small niche community.
Speaker 1:And so we started talking though, like so what are we doing? Am I going to keep working? And I was on the fence, we were just calculating it how much time is this kid going to be spending in daycare? I took a giant pay cut, obviously, moving from California to North Carolina, so essentially I would just be paying to go to work because all of my paycheck would be going towards daycare.
Speaker 1:So we were kind of like I'll try being a stay-at-home mom. I wasn't looking forward to it because I knew that shit's work, so I was very intimidated by it. I was not looking forward to it, because I knew that shit's work so I was like I was very intimidated by it.
Speaker 2:I can't think of like a harder job.
Speaker 1:I can't think of something that would be harder than to be a stay-at-home mom.
Speaker 2:That's why I always say like all moms are working moms, like there's no such thing as working, like that term yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, you will never find me using the term I'm a working mom. I never married the term stay-at-home mom. I truly was just like I'm a mom. That's what I'm doing right now and I'm working my ass off, regardless of whether I'm leaving the house or not, or whether I'm financially contributing to my family or not. If I'm not financially contributing, I'm actually saving us literal thousands of dollars by staying home.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So, basically, the pandemic is what kind of like? Fully committed me to stopping teaching and staying home, because I was obviously terrified to go to an elementary school, aka germ city, in a non-pandemic year and then come home to my precious newborn baby with a little no immune system every day yeah, so that really pushed me into stay-at-home motherhood. And then come home to my precious newborn baby with a little no immune system every day, right, yeah, so that really pushed me into stay-at-home motherhood. I started the podcast when my son was just under six months old. It was November 2020.
Speaker 1:And I feel like that was when I was kind of like coming out of like the fog, so to speak, and I was kind of like you know what my easiest emotion to go to is anger, because it's the easiest emotion for everybody to access. And I wasn't necessarily angry, but it had been almost a full year because I got pregnant in August of 2019. It had been almost a full year of me just in my head being like what the fuck? Or like why didn't anybody tell me this? What? Why didn't anybody tell me this was like this, what?
Speaker 1:is happening and I just knew I couldn't like. I'm not the only person experiencing this. I was the first of my friends to have children, so it was very I was automatically very isolated. I was, shockingly, the only pregnant person in my whole elementary school, which is such a rare site. As we know, elementary schools predominantly we have female teachers, and so there's always at least two pregnant people every school year. Nope, it was just me.
Speaker 2:So you were like alone, alone, alone.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, I was alone, alone. We had just moved to Jacksonville, north Carolina, and yikes, um, I am not a small town person, I'm not a red state person. Let's be for fucking real. I am originally from the DMV, so just like, do the math right there. Yes, I am a biracial person who presents white. So yes, we are just. There's a whole lot of things happening.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I had really just like reached my limit and I was like you know what I want to talk about this. Even if nobody listens, even if I'm screaming into the void, I'm going to do it.
Speaker 2:Oh, I love that nudge, though love we were just talking about like accidental entrepreneurship, like I love that, like, oh, I love that tug that you felt and you were just like I need, I need to fill this gap. This is where my voice matters and I'm going to do it and I'm going to, like launch this thing and just sort of like I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm just going to go do it and that's like yes, amen, here for that.
Speaker 1:And truly that's what it was Like. I, you know, obviously like listen to a couple of podcasts. I had no idea how to start it. Um, I just fumbled my way through, googled my way through, figured it out, found a few like online communities that were relatively helpful, and I just started it and people were very receptive and you know a lot of people who I'd spoken to since, like high school school or college, ended up reaching out to me and just being like oh my gosh, I think this is so cool. I have kids, too, and I'm also like what the fuck every day?
Speaker 1:And I was like yes, it's not just me. I knew it, I knew I was right, so I started that in November of 2020. And by probably a little less than a year later and by probably like a little less than a year later, I was obviously still enjoying the podcast, but I kept coming back to the fact that all of my birth classes were canceled in April of 2020 because of the pandemic. And it was also it was pre like easily, everything is online or we're going to do virtual. It was literally like good night and good luck to you, and it kept like just sitting with me. I don't really know why, but it kept just sitting with me and I was like you know what? Wait, that's teaching. I can still teach. Maybe I just want to.
Speaker 1:I already talk about parenting and birth and postpartum all the time because of the podcast. Maybe I want to get into this. Maybe I can help people be more prepared than I was or than I thought I was. So I joined an online program to become certified. It was amazing. I loved it.
Speaker 2:It was so nice to like be back into something and have more like it was just so nice studying and in that kind of classroom education place, yeah, yeah and having like goals and commitments and like a deadline for stuff.
Speaker 1:It was really nice. And then, in the spring of 2022 is when I finished, and I completed my certification and I started Not your Mama's Birth Services, originally called Not your Mama's Birth Class, but since I offer more than just a birth class now, I changed the name. Oh my gosh, quite a while ago now. I guess, it was still in 2022 that I changed the name, but I always kind of say that, like not your mama's birth, cat.
Speaker 1:nope, not your mama's birth, not your mama's birth centenny, centenniums, I'm telling you, I gotta look it up and I'm gonna do the little like say this to me.
Speaker 2:Wait, so not your mama's birth services. Yes, is I was gonna say that's like a pretty. That's a pretty like powerful name. Yeah, and it definitely has like a tone, it definitely has a vibe, a mood like it. I think it says a lot before even getting to know you like.
Speaker 1:So tell me about the name um well, I'm glad you think that, because that's the whole point of why I chose that name. I honestly don't really remember my whole thought process, but I do remember my own misconceptions about birth classes before I was pregnant. What did I think they were going to be like so old fashioned, so dry, so boring, so possibly not up to date, and just like, yeah, you thought this like now, not what you thought it was going to be, you were very excited for this class.
Speaker 2:Lamaze.
Speaker 1:Yes, and you said it, not me I didn't say that yeah, so, and immediately I was like no, obviously I don't want my class to be like that. I don't want it to be like if your mom did go to a birth class and maybe it was Lamaze. I don't want class to be like that. I don't want it to be like if your mom did go to a birth class and maybe it was Lamaze. I don't want it to be like that. So I was like oh, not your mama's birth class and then not your mama's birth services.
Speaker 2:From the marketing and branding perspective. Sometimes we can overthink the naming. Most times we can overthink the naming of anything Like that's a very common entrepreneurial, like headache and hill to die on is like I want to do this thing but I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to put into the world because I don't know what to name it and like nine times out of ten people do not care what anything's called.
Speaker 2:They that's true they identify with the like founder, ceo person, thought leader, entrepreneur, owner. They identify with mariah they don't identify with like mariah stockman, creative, or maybe not even like made from others. Right, my goal is that they stop identifying with me and they start identifying me from others. But long story short. It's like if you can just push through that naming thing and just start doing what you want to do, the name could also evolve with you. However, in your case, this is a cool instance where the name, I think, does matter, because it is really powerful and it is really like. It really does like land on you in a way that you're like, ooh, what does that mean? What does she mean? She kind of sounds. That's like kind of badass. You know like I want to feel like kind of badass in my birth education, you know, yeah, and that's exactly.
Speaker 1:That is the vibe I was going for. I didn't want it to feel like I don't want you to feel unexcited.
Speaker 1:I don't want you to feel like fine, like I'll go to this class but it's going to suck, it's going to be stupid. No, because that automatically shapes how you're going to perceive the information and education that I'm putting out to you. I want you to be not necessarily excited about labor and delivery let's be realistic. Not many people can use that term excited but I want you to be curious, I want you to be open and I want you to know that there are so many things that are in your control. We're going to dive into that and we're going to know our options, because within knowing your options lies your power, particularly in our Western medical system where birth is so over-medicalized in the 21st century.
Speaker 1:And thankfully, everything is a pendulum, everything swings back and forth. We are finally seeing certain trends. Nitrous oxide is finally coming back into hospitals Like thank freaking God, like nitrous oxide was your epidural before the invention of the epidural. And we're finally seeing more people advocate for themselves. More people question their medical experiences. And I'm not, you know, I'm not telling people like walk into your appointment and be belligerent, but I'm saying you have questions.
Speaker 1:Yes, ask questions, give yourself time. If you are not prepared to answer something, no is a full sentence. Or if you need more time, tell them. So I really spend a lot of time talking about self-advocacy, informed consent, what does that look like? Your rights as a human being, giving birth in our country, and how to prepare yourself and protect yourself.
Speaker 1:And it's unfortunate that I did tell this past week and I did tell my clients. I was like look, it's an unfortunate truth that a lot of our like quote hospital policies are based on they don't want to be liable. It's based on liability A hundred percent, a hundred percent. And we have to. It sucks, but we do have to acknowledge that. We can't hide from that. We do have to acknowledge that.
Speaker 1:And ultimately, the hospital will always, always protect itself first before protecting you. Even if you are a patient in their hospital, they will always look out for number one first. So guess what we're going to do? The same thing. We're going to look out for number one, and number one is mom or birthing person and baby. Everything else is white noise and comes second. We're doing everything that we can to empower ourselves, which will power our baby. So I'm really just wanting to come at it from a Listen. I'm not going over how to put on a diaper because I talk about some diaper things, like some diaper hacks, but I'm not teaching you how to put on a diaper because, frankly, that is something For the mom or the baby.
Speaker 2:For the baby, because I actually think that there's some mom diaper hacks 100 and we do go over those as well. Yeah, so yes, I'm like talking adult diapers sits bath. I'm like I'm all back there.
Speaker 1:I'm all back, yes, yeah and so we're yeah, we're talking about you know we're, we're touching there, obviously, but it's not supposed to be a class that's putting you to sleep. It's not supposed to be a class that's putting you to sleep. It's not supposed to be a class that you're like oh well, I just could have Googled that, I just could have put that up myself, especially in an age where it is very interesting being in this position, where most of us get our information from social media from 30 to 90 second videos and it has been interesting to sometimes receive that where I show a pain management tool like the birth comb, and people are like oh, I've seen that, I know what that is, and I'm kind of like oh, do you describe it to me?
Speaker 2:Because I kind of like Do you, or do you just recognize it? Yeah?
Speaker 1:You've literally seen an image or a video of this before, but you have never experienced it yourself, you never tried it on your own hand. And, yeah, it is interesting to kind of be in this intersection of like all of this information is available, which is so great. Like I myself, as a parent, follow like a select few like parenting Instagram accounts that I love, pediatricians that I love but it's really about like picking and choosing the information that you choose to digest.
Speaker 2:To consume.
Speaker 1:Yes, and that's also what I touch on is like look, you're not going to consume everything for me, and that's fine. It's a lot of information. Take what you need and forget the rest. But also keep that in mind when you're scrolling at 11pm. Not everything has to be applicable to your life, not everything's going to happen to you that they're saying in these videos, and you kind of have to really dull the noise, particularly when you are pregnant and when you are newly postpartum. I tell people like this is your time to go on an unfollowing spree. People who, like the amount of people who I unfollowed right after I had my son, I just like randomly happened to be following a lot of people who had their baby, like right after me, a couple of weeks after me. I ended up having to unfollow them because it was like really like I was like why they gave birth three weeks after me, why they look skinnier than me, and I was like nope, goodbye, that's nope, we're no, no, no, no, no, you can't go there.
Speaker 2:I think, especially when it comes to like healing, nursing, sleeping, I mean, I do think that there's nutrition, anything around nutrition, I think those are like very trigger happy topics, because I think that the noise online basically sounds like there's a right way to do things and then there's a wrong way to do things, depending on who you're following, what kind of content you're consuming, who you're following, what kind of content you're consuming. Everything is based on that content creator's account. Feeling like my way, this is my ethos, this is correct, and I think we've over swung that pendulum you're talking about. We've over swung to like and if you don't do this, then you're wrong, right. Like if your kids watch screen time, like, you're wrong. If you sleep train, you're wrong. If you co-sleep, you're wrong. If you bottle feed, you're wrong. If you nurse, you're wrong. Like, if you contact nap, you're wrong.
Speaker 2:Like I remember being like my kid's not gonna have any toys unless they're wood, like all wood. I just laugh. I laugh at there's this quote that I love and it's like everyone's a perfect parent until they have kids and I like, I, yes, I love like, I love thinking back to, like pregnant Mariah and all of the like things that I thought that I would like value or navigate, like I was like I'm gonna nurse till Henry's two and we're gonna go sleep and're going to have all wood toys and no screen time and like all of this. And it's all within reason, it's all within like what I thought, who I thought I was going to be as a mom Right, and it really does come down to that, like I thought I was going to be a certain way and I did not know myself as a mom. So until you know yourself after that baby's born and until you meet your baby and you see your baby's actual individual needs, it's like go on that unfollowing spree.
Speaker 2:I love that Lens, that digital space, because you're putting too much information into yourself based on something you have no idea what's going to happen. You have no idea who you're going to be. You have no idea who your baby's going to be. So stop over planning or over assuming something's going to be one way and focus more on what do you want your fourth trimester to feel like? That's what I would love for moms to focus on, not what am I going to be doing? Am I going to be nursing in two years? I'm like holy hell.
Speaker 1:Two years is who cares.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like I'm two years postpartum and I'm like whoa, that was the longest two years of my life. Like let's just focus on the fourth trimester. Like, let's just focus on like what's it going to feel like if you have a hospital birth? Like what's it going to feel like when you come home? Like what does that look like? What does it feel like? How are you getting fed? How are you? How are you resting? Who's supporting your partner? You know all of those pieces.
Speaker 2:Like we did not nurse until Henry was two. We had a high medical needs baby in the very beginning. He dropped three pounds within the first three weeks, so we had a lot of issues with weight and there's a whole slew of reasons why that happened. But we were in extra hospital visits, blah, blah, blah. So we were quick onto triple feeding, which is not sustainable. That's something that I wish people would. I wish I had more education on that.
Speaker 2:Which was like it is not sustainable to formula feed, to nurse and to pump as a new healing from a traumatic birth mom. So if a pediatrician who is not a lactation consultant is not certified like baby, I mean mom nutrition tells you that you should be nursing, pumping and formula feeding like that is a short, short path to a mental health crisis for a recovering mom. So we formula fed. We never co-slept. My baby never wanted to co-sleep. Oh my God, my baby is the same as the day he was born to how he is now when he's two, which is like we are ready to party, we are play, play, play. We are like balls to the wall, excuse my language.
Speaker 2:But like we are, we are like 90 miles an hour, like my son is is. He came out of me running. He's never stopped, you know. So when we try to co-sleep, it's like he just always wants he was like oh, mom, can you say co-sleeping?
Speaker 1:Do you mean bed sharing? Bed sharing is what I mean. Yeah, I just want to double check, because co-sleeping is when baby is in the room with you in their own sleep surface. Yes, yes, bed sharing.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, bed sharing. I'm so far removed from that that I don't even know, but yes we did that.
Speaker 2:We were in. He was in his own bassinet in the room until he was six months. But like I'm just laughing at all of the, all of these little pieces that I was hyper fixated on, that I thought I thought would be one way. And then I met my son and he was like nope, nope, nope, nope, super independent sleeper. Like we cannot be in your home when he's sleeping anymore. Like you know, I I just I laugh, but I wish that there was more places where there was more grace to have conversations about. Sure, you think it's going to be this way, but what if it's not? What if? What if your son or daughter wants something totally different?
Speaker 2:you know, yeah, and that's the whole reason why I started go ahead, oh, and sort of like grieving like I had to have.
Speaker 2:I had to like have a grieving process of like oh, my son like self-weaned when he was six months. So my nursing journey was kind of bamboozled from the start but it it ended at six months and when he stopped nursing that was kind of like our last contact nap. And I get like a contact nap like every once in a while because my kid doesn't sleep in a stroller, he doesn't sleep in a car seat, he has to be in a dark room, like he's just that way, he's just like oh, mom and dad are here, like let's play.
Speaker 1:You know he's like me. That's how I am, honestly yes.
Speaker 2:What's funny is like I can't even be mad about it because it's exactly the way my husband is Exactly the way my husband is, so I'm like oh yeah, he got my husband's sleeping low sleep needs. So, anyways, I wish that there was more grace to have these conversations and then also a space to be like and you can grieve that your idea how something you thought was going to be one way it didn't pan out that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, People don't talk about how much grief happens in pregnancy, starting with, like possible gender disappointment all the way through. I mean, like you know, I I feel like my number one grief, griefy thing um always has been clothing. Um, it is like very hard for me. It gets easier, it's gotten easier, but it's very hard for me to like, oh, this doesn't fit you anymore, especially right now.
Speaker 1:Oh, I know, I know it is very yeah and I know I'm not alone in that Like the amount of people have been like oh my God, me too. Like clothing is just like I sob.
Speaker 2:I will sit and I will like sob and I will be like I can't believe that when I bought this, or when we were gifted this, I thought this was so big and I thought it would take so long for you to fit into the shirt that, like, our best friend got you before you were born. And I remember thinking like, oh, this shirt's so big, it's huge. I'm never gonna have this big of a baby. And then now it's like you're busting out of it. I'm like, oh my, oh, my gosh. Time is such a thief.
Speaker 2:It's like so joyous and so beautiful, but it's also such a thief.
Speaker 1:So I use one of Robin's onesies in class and it is so hard for me. I was like they don't want to hear this, like stop, like pack it in. But it's so hard for me to not be like can we just talk about how small this is? Like I'm sorry and you know, and like they've never met my kid and I show pictures and I tell them, you know, like he's almost four, but I just like I always have a mini moment of like after I finished using the onesie for what I'm using it for. I'm just like, what do you mean? And I have such clear?
Speaker 1:Um, obviously we all take a million pictures of our kid and this specific onesie it's just like it's a Washington nationals onesie. I was like maybe blue and has the logo on it. So it's super simple. It's not anything that's super special, but I have such a visceral memory of Robin sitting in my lap. My knees, my feet are flat on the couch and so he's cradled on my thighs and he's maybe three months, maybe three and a half months, and he's bald because he lost his hair and hadn't grown back yet and I had like a little photo shoot. It's like every time I look at that onesie in class. I'm just like, but you sit on my lap and now I pick him up and he's like you know long limbs as you're talking about earlier.
Speaker 1:I'm like Jesus, he's like almost 40 pounds now and I'm like, oh my God, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's like using that onesie and like putting it on a bear or something.
Speaker 1:Actually, he saw me take it. I couldn't find the one that I normally use, just like a plain one, and he saw me take it out of his little like container of clothes in his closet and he was like are you going to, are you going to bring that back? Oh, my gosh, stop. And I was like yes, like I'm not. I was like yes, like I'm not. I was like I'm just you, I'm showing it to them, I'm not giving it to them. He was like oh, okay, because my dad, because he mean. He was like because pop-up really likes baseball, because my dad.
Speaker 2:That's hilarious. I was like don't worry.
Speaker 1:like you are getting this onesie, like you probably would barely even fit around, like your torso. I don't know if I get this over your head, but like, like, bring it back, don't worry, dude, I love that.
Speaker 2:Well, kayla, I just love all the wisdom and all the nuggets that you have shared today. I just I think it's, I do, I feel like it's so, it's so needed and it's just these, these honest, raw, like guilt-free, judgment-free spaces to have these conversations are so crucial and, at the same time, you know, our audience on this podcast are moms who run businesses. So if you could just leave with like one piece of advice or one suggestion or one piece of encouragement for any mom who's like juggling motherhood, juggling entrepreneurship and how to you know, pour into her and encourage her, like what would you? What? What kind of wisdom would you want to share with them?
Speaker 1:Well, I'm like kind of repeating myself. I did post this on someone, posted on the made for mothers Facebook group, like asking I don't remember what it was, was it you Like? What do you? Someone asked, someone asked what's a piece of advice, or if someone who's struggling. And I posted this because someone said this to me when my son was probably less than a year old and it has always stuck with me and it's essentially like we're all doing a juggling act.
Speaker 1:Every single person you meet every single day is doing a juggling act. Everybody's juggling invisible things that you cannot see. But what we all do, what all adults do unintentionally, is we think that every single thing that we're juggling is made of glass and if we drop it it's going to shatter and it's going to be ruined, and that's actually not true. These balls that you're juggling are plastic. Or these plates that you're spinning are paper, and so sometimes you can toss a few to the side and you know that you're going to come back to them later. Or if you're in the middle of juggling and a few fall that week, they are not going to break. They're going to be sitting there on the floor waiting for you to pick them back up, and that is something I'm constantly reminding myself.
Speaker 1:It echoes the you do not have to do it all, like literally don't try to do it all because you're going to burn out so quickly and be so miserable, and I'm always reminding myself that, like I don't have to pick everything up today, some days I'm literally holding one ball and that's enough. And maybe it's plastic, but it's like the thickest, heaviest silicone plastic you've ever met in your life and it's very heavy and that's all I can handle. And then the next week I'm like, oh my God, like we have four balls in the air, like we're doing a great job. I feel good.
Speaker 2:Maybe I shouldn't have used balls, you're like look at me, I can try the circus, I'm so good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and truly like. That is something that I am always. Like you said, I don't like to give a lot of pregnant people advice. I am very delicate with how I approach people who are pregnant. I don't want them to walk away from any conversation with me feeling worse than when they walked up to me, feeling scared, feeling more anxious. So that is something that I'm always telling people. It's kind of like not one of the safest things to say, but it's like a universal truth of like not everything's made of glass. They're like. I'm telling you there are some things, like sure, that are made of glass, Like your kid. Your kid's probably something that you're never going to drop because you don't want to. Yeah, but also like please have like a glass ball up there for yourself too.
Speaker 2:Like you are made of glass. Oh, I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so just like, not every and everything else, like I said before, like is white noise and you really just give and take, like what are you taking on this week, what are you taking on this day? And just constantly reminding yourself you do not have to do it all. We're literally not supposed to. Honestly, we're supposed to be in the woods amongst the fairies growing grapes and we chose to invent time and taxes. What are we doing here? It's really not that serious. Truly, think about, like you know, what my California therapist told me when I first found out I was pregnant.
Speaker 1:I was very anxious about just like giving my baby everything that they needed. It was the beginning of the school year, so, naturally, I got a beginning of the school year cold and I was freaking out. I like wasn't drinking enough water. I was so exhausted and I, my depression was skyrocketing and she was like you know, caleb, you can be in a coma and give birth. Literally, your body knows what to do. Wow, so really take care of yourself, take care of your baby, and in that order, and I constantly come back to that. I mean it's been five years, almost five years, since she said that to me and I constantly come back to that. Take care of yourself, take care of your baby, and that is something I always say to every single client Take care of yourself.
Speaker 2:Take care of your baby. It's like the simplest thing is often the truth right. Like the simplest answer is often the right answer.
Speaker 2:And I feel like not everything is made of glass, but we are and our baby is. And if we could just keep that focus and that perspective, I feel like that, just all of a sudden. It's like a collective sigh of relief among, like all moms, particular moms who are running businesses, who feel like every ball in the air is made of glass. Like you know, you don't have to answer that email, you can log off, you can, you know, say no to clients who feel toxic. Like you don't have to launch a podcast and a membership and the thing and a thing and a thing and another thing just because some like toxic business coach is telling you to do a million things this year. You know, and just having time to be reflective of like what, what, like who am, can I leave the house after seven o'clock?
Speaker 1:You can spoiler alert. I go out to dinner.
Speaker 2:I know you can, it's coming, I know, oh, I can't. That's so great. I don't want my son to grow, but also like, oh, being a four-year-old's mom, like, what's that? Like, anyways, well, let's go. Thank you. Well, oh, being a four-year-old's mom, like what's that like? Anyways, well, Kayla, I thank you. Well, kayla, I have appreciated this conversation so much. Where can people find you? Where can they tune in? Like all of that good stuff.
Speaker 1:Yes, thank you so much for having me on. It's been a while since I've been a podcast guest. It's been very nice, very refreshing. It's been great to talk to you so. So, not your mama's birth servicescom is where you can find information about birth classes, baby wearing basics, all of that stuff, and you can follow me on Instagram at not your mama's birth. The podcast is called parent tell, two different words, kind of like show and tell, get it teacher. I'm so corny and that is available on Apple podcast, spotify, wherever you like to listen to all of your podcasts, and that Instagram available on Apple Podcasts, spotify, wherever you like to listen to all of your podcasts, and that Instagram handle is simply Parent Tell.
Speaker 2:I love it and we will link everything in the show notes, along with the Blue Zone documentary, because I don't want to forget about that, yes, you have to watch it.
Speaker 1:I haven't finished it yet. I've only watched Okinawa and Bavaria and I'm already just like, okay, I need to make these things like the tenants of my life.
Speaker 2:So I can not only live longer, but like enjoy living.
Speaker 1:Yes, god bless these hundred plus people.
Speaker 2:I'm always like we don't have to move to the Netherlands, right? We don't have to move to Denmark, right? Like we can find joy and a good, sustainable life here. Can we please someone tell me if we can do that, or do we have to move to here In Loma Linda California? Loma Linda, california, loma Linda. I actually do not want to live in Loma Linda California, but I understand, I get it, I love it. Okay. Well, thank you so much for being here and giving us your wisdom. I appreciate it so much.
Speaker 2:And to everyone listening, thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Made for Mothers podcast. If you found anything relatable, helpful, inspiring, encouraging in Kayla's you know, kind of raw, lovely conversation today, please send her a DM and let her know. This is the village and community building part of the Made for Mothers universe, which is just all about moms for moms. So thank you for tuning in and we will talk to you next time. Thank you, bye. Yay, you just finished another episode of the made for mothers podcast.
Speaker 2:As always, you can find more details about today's show in the show notes and be sure to give us a review. Subscribe so you don't miss a chance to grow your biz from fellow moms. Are you wanting more one-on-one support, or are you looking to learn how to market your business in a way so you can spend more time with your family and less time stressing about what to do next? Then follow along on Instagram at Mariah Stockman or book a one-on-one biz therapy session with yours truly, and let's find that work-mama-hood harmony we all deserve. Until next time, this is your host, mariah Stockman, and thank you so much for tuning in.