My second little pot of inspiration to the '5 minutes with..' section is a lady named Kendal. Kendal is many things, as you will discover shortly when you get to know a little about her - but foremost she is a mama, a wife and her work surrounds the beautiful world of birth and babies. I find the whole process of pregnancy, birth and babies such a fascinating and equally amazing thing. I was always interested in learning about these topics even before I was pregnant (minus the birth horror stories people just love to tell you to wind you up..) but I'm even more intrigued by the whole thing now that I've been through the experience myself. Every person has a different story, a different experience to share. So over the years I've watched things that Kendal has shared surrounding these topics, and then willingly followed her journey to becoming a mama herself, and then becoming both a doula and birth photographer after this. I'm also lucky enough to call this wonderful lady family - she's my cousin, all the way over in Canada.
I love Kendal's approach to life. She's a great role model for her babes and raises them in such a gentle but oh so loving way. Reading how she captions her own photos and her birth photography photos sometimes enables you to somewhat feel the emotion that would have been going through the room at that exact moment the photo was taken. I can only imagine the rush of happy endorphins and those feel good fuzzy heart warming moments that she feels whenever she is present at a client's birth and supporting them through the whole process. Amazing hey?! Ohh the babies <3 Newborns are addictive.. Those squishy little faces, that newborn bubba smell, the little squeaky noises and snuggles for days.. Sidenote - I think something may have switched my clucky switch to permanently on ;) Kendal has also had the unique experiences of two home births for her own children in Canada. I'm sure a lot of her own experiences would assist her in understanding her client's individual needs and then being a wonderful support for them as she helps to guide them through the journey to bringing a little life into the world. Kendal also opens up about her experience with Post Natal Depression and Anxiety, and how openly sharing this has created a positive ripple of support to others. Come peek into Kendal's little world and get to know her a little better. I encourage you to also go peek onto her photography page for baby spam!!
WELCOME Kendal
Let’s start with a little bit of self loving..
Q. If you had to ‘sell’ yourself to the world, sharing your most amazing qualities or skills, tell us your top 5.
Q. Now, tell us three things not many people would know about you.
Metallica is one of my favourite bands. I threw my bra on stage at one of their concerts and the guitarist Kirk Hammett caught it lol. I am terrified of dinosaurs. I love those old school word search/crossword books.
Q. What does a usual day for you look like?
Getting my kiddos out the door for our various activities. Working from my phone - A LOT. I only have 2 days a week for editing so my life is pretty hectic while I am a full time parent + business owner. I’m also away for sometimes days at a time with my Doula clients. I do try to carve out 30 minutes of exercise a day - either a Beachbody workout or walk. Or both.
Q. Your job as a birth doula and birth photographer must be such an amazing job! What made you get into this profession?
When I was a child, we had a dog who had babies and being there for both of her births was incredible. I actually learned so much from those births that I wouldn’t realize until much later. For instance, her pups would come out still in their sac, and everyone would stand back and let her birth her babies, open the amniotic sac and nudge her babies to breathe. In the human world, we so often interfere with a woman’s birthing process. We interfere with the primal instincts. I often think of the space we gave her, witnessing her process and her birth, trusting she would know the way - we are missing this piece in our birthing world. I witnessed my first human birth as a teenager and then was an unofficial doula until the birth of my niece, where the nurse asked me if I was a doula and I said “what’s that?” And she told me that I needed to be one. When I got pregnant with my daughter, I sought out the support of a doula and the experience that I had with her solidified my wanting to be in the birth world. I’ve always loved photography and was so inspired and taken by photographers like Morag Hastings, Jaydene Freund and Leilani Rogers that I decided to take the plunge and sign up to be mentored with Morag. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It felt like a natural bridge - doula and photographer.
Q. What are three of your most amazing, or just stand out favourite memories you’ve taken in whilst at work?
Oh that’s a tough one. I’ve seen so many incredible moments. Probably the most memorable ones for me are: 1. My client going from chatty and breathing through her contractions to birthing her baby, with none of her care providers within 30mins of my arrival. I remember looking at the Dad as the head was born “do you want to catch your baby?” And him looking at me, saying “what do I need to do?”. I witnessed a Father catch his daughter and pass her through into the waiting arms of her mother. It was incredible. 2. One of the births that I attended in 2016 was that of 2 dear friends of mine. 2 mamas. Welcoming their first born. They had a homebirth and it was just the most moving experience of my life. We’ve been through so much together and I remember looking at them moments before their daughter was born and I said “this is it, guys. This is the last moment where it’s just the 2 of you”. Still gives me goosebumps. 3. Recently, I attended a birth where the 4 year old was present and the emotion he displayed was one of the most beautiful and raw moments I’ve ever witnessed. Children are so sensitive, and we often protect them too much - this child witnessed his mother roar his sister out and up into her arms. It was incredible.
[This beautiful moment captured is from Kendal's home birth with her son Flynn.]
Q. It must be so special to be there for such a magical and life changing moment in so many people’s lives. Do you ever stay in touch with the mamas or families that you’ve worked with?
Oh yes! I regularly stalk them on Facebook and keep in touch a couple of times a year. I love it when my clients send me updates :)
Q. You also have your own beautiful little family, tell us a little about the ones at home that make you smile.
I have 2 kiddos - Matilda (4) and Flynn (2). They are such beautiful souls and both here to teach me different lessons. I see a lot of myself in Matilda, and Flynn is so emotional and sensitive. Its been an honour being their Mom and learning from them.
Q. You have spoken on social media before about experiencing post natal depression and anxiety after the birth of your first child and keeping it to yourself, but then you chose to speak about it more openly after the birth of your second child. I think it’s really brave of you to share this part of your life with others, especially since what we sometimes see on social media is just a snippet of someone’s life, or a highlight reel of all the desirable things that they want you to see. Often all of those nitty gritty little details, or things that may be really tough to speak about are either left out or kept private. I think it's really inspirational when people are comfortable to open up about their struggles as I know it helps others, and I’m sure a lot of other mamas reading this now will be able to relate to this and feel a little bit less alone in their own journey. What helped you make the decision to share your struggles, strengths and journey with your little social media world?
Thanks so much, Bec. That’s so kind of you to say. When I opened up about my struggle, it was first in a parenting group that I’m a part of for Doula’s. And, I remember one of the people that responded to me told me that she too did the same thing and that when she finally got help she regretted not doing it sooner. That it didn’t define me, it was a chemical imbalance. And, it was like in that moment she gave me permission or something. I remember feeling the relief hearing her say that and I knew that sharing my journey would bring the same feelings even if just for one person. After my recent post on BellLetsTalkDay in Canada, I was contacted by 6 people. 6 PEOPLE. Sharing our struggles doesn’t divide us, or alienate us - it makes us stronger but it also lets someone else know that they aren’t alone.
Q. How has becoming a mama changed you, and what is your favourite thing about being a mama?
Honestly, it’s taught me so much about love and resilience and forgiveness and patience. I always had this idea of Motherhood and it was not at all what I expected. My most favourite thing about being a Mama is the inncocence and wonder that is childhood. It reminds me it's okay to be a few minutes late, to not always have it together, that I'm not perfect - and they love me anyways.
Q. Lastly, you’ve lived in both Australia and Canada. You grew up in Canada which is where you are currently raising your little family, but you have lived in Australia for a number of years which is where you met your wonderful husband. Spill the beans – what do you love, or not love about both?
Oh that's tough. I love Canada for it's familiarity. Its my home - my Motherland. But, Australia also felt like that in many ways. I connected deeply to many people in Australia. And the coffee is just bar none to anything I've ever had in Canada. I feel like my heart will always be split between the two.
You can check Kendal's amazing birth photography page at: * Note: I'm not responsible for any clucky feelings you may encounter after checking out all the baby squishiness on this page ;)
Thanks for stopping by and spending a few moments with us Kendal. I obviously love watching your little family grow, and I will continue to smile and feel a warm fuzzy feeling inside as I gaze at the photos you share xx
[All images are Kendal's own, except her own birth shot which belongs to @jodikaldestad]
Post Natal Depression and Anxiety information: Here in Australia one of our valuable support organisations for these topics is PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia). If you wish to find out more information about the support and services offered, or feel like you need to chat their website is https://www.panda.org.au/. Alternatively if you just feel that you need a friendly ear to listen, or someone to chat too - always feel free to reach out and send me a message. There is always someone to listen, and you are never alone xx