My New Name is Mommy

That's right. Since I last posted, I had our first baby. Ari Paige joined us February 25, 2017 and has been such a fun adventure ever since. For the last 2 months, motherhood has pretty much consumed my entire being and purpose. (As I write this post, I'm also pumping - the milk shop never closes.) [EDIT: My little one will be 6 months next week(!). I had every intention of posting this when I started writing it 4 months ago, while I was still on maternity leave. Kudos to all moms out there juggling a job, a new baby, and can still find time to post blog updates!]

Becoming a first-time mom was an overwhelming experience for me. I was instantly filled with so much love for my tiny human - she made me so happy and all she had done was exit my body and cry. Unfortunately, when the reality of what I had just gone through and would continue to go through sunk in, it hit me like a freight train. My body underwent the most physically traumatic changes it has ever been through. Sleeping to recover was not an option. And if that wasn't enough, the hormone-induced roller coaster mood swings and basically 9 months-worth of periods all rolled into one was the cherry on top.

This post is not about any of those things, though.

During my pregnancy, breastfeeding was something I felt very strongly about wanting to do for my kids, but I had been warned by friends and nurses: "It can be difficult. Don't give up!"

When Ari latched in the hospital during her first 24 hours, I thought we'd conquered it all. In the days that followed, I breastfed around the clock, barely slept, and cried at just about everything. When we were referred to a lactation consultant, Ari was almost a week old and already down several ounces from birth. (It is normal for babies to lose a certain (read "small") amount of weight after they are born.) We took the LC's advice, kept trying and scheduled Ari for a weight-check the following week to make sure everything was picking up.

It wasn't. She was still losing weight and would cry all night unless someone was holding her. I still wasn't sleeping and was almost as inconsolable as Ari was, which does very little for milk production. After another appointment with the lactation consultant, we determined Ari was not getting enough to eat. I was devastated. My body's job, now that it was no longer a house, was to provide sustenance for my baby. And it couldn't do that (well). I felt broken. But, as we talked about how to supplement after nursing and were given samples of formula, it stopped mattering to me that my baby was no longer being exclusively breastfed. She was basically starving, so I was going to do whatever it took to take care of her. #FedIsBest.

That first nap she took after we started supplementing with formula was such a relief. The first night she slept for 3 hours straight was absolute bliss. Going to her next weigh-in and hearing that she was back up to her birth weight was heaven. I started to relax - we were figuring things out and finding our rhythm.

I just had to learn to accept that my body was doing the best that it could - that I was not broken. I refused to talk about this, what I saw as a failure, with anyone except my husband and our doctors. I didn't want to expose that vulnerability to the judgment I thought I would receive. I felt alone. Then, I remembered an article a friend shared along with her personal story about this very same topic and I realized I wasn't alone. But, I still wasn't ready to talk about it.

Two months have gone by since the birth of my daughter and I'm finally ready to talk about what I'm working through. I wanted to do this because I think the more that women talk about it, the more we will normalize breastfeeding and all of its rewards - and challenges.

Just remember:

1) You are not broken and you are certainly not alone. Be proud of what your body has just been through and what you are doing currently. If you're ready for it, talk to other moms.
2) Healthy mom, healthy baby. Mom needs to be able to take care of herself in order to take care of baby. Get some sleep and keep an eye out for post-partum depression.
3) Be flexible! You may plan to breastfeed exclusively, but it may not happen. It's OK!

You got this, mommy!

Let the home renos begin!

On June 30, we officially became homeowners! Since then, we have been moving in, packing up what was left at our parents' houses, and going on several mini-vacations. (The only reason that is relevant is because they took up multiple weekends, so we didn't have a lot of time to work on the house.)

Starting now, we are finally diving into some home renovation projects! We're planning to tackle the master bath and master bedroom first. We'll also be painting the living room, but that is probably all we need to do for that room - woo hoo! Here's what we have on tap, along with the "before" pictures (complete with paint samples!):

Master Bathroom

• Paint
• Replace all gold hardware with brushed nickel
• Stain cabinets
• Update outlets, light switches, faceplates, etc
• Replace medicine cabinet with shelving
• Frame mirror

Master Bedroom

• Paint
• Update outlets, light switches, faceplates, etc
• Switch out doorknob
• New ceiling fan (?) - we may actually wait on this one, but we got caught up at the home improvement store today, so we decided to consider changing this out sooner, rather than later

Living Room

• Paint

I'm excited to document our journey (even though I know we'll have hiccups) and can't wait to see the transformation!

Happy Honeyversary :)

Gavin and I didn't get a chance to go on our honeymoon right after the wedding last May, so we decided to take a honeymoon/1st anniversary ("honeyversary") trip this year. Luckily, there are Carnival cruises leaving out of Charleston, so we only had a 3-hour trip to get there. Even luckier, there was a cruise leaving the day after our exact anniversary, so we were able to spend a little time in Charleston as a pre-honeyversary.

Sunday, May 24
We left Charlotte early enough on Sunday morning to make it to Charleston for lunch. Gavin got to pick the lunch spot because a girl scooping italian ice told us about a Thai restaurant that is only open for dinner. Gavin opted for Southend Brewery and Smokehouse. I had a pulled pork sandwich (typical) and Gavin had the Old South Burger, complete with a fried green tomato and pimento cheese. He also tried a beer flight and when he picked up one of the samples, the tray smiled at us. :)

After lunch, we walked around Charleston to see if we could find Robert Jordan's house. Gavin has been a fan of his writing since he was a child, so it was a happy coincidence that he used to live in Charleston. We managed to find it but I will not be posting the address, for privacy purposes. However, here is a picture of Gavin next to the gate.

After some more wandering, we found Rainbow Row:

By this time, we decided we needed a nap before dinner and wanted to check into the hotel. (If you are not a fan of Hampton Inn, I hope you will be after this post. In an attempt to save money (and time), we didn't want to park at the port when we left for the cruise. We had read on several travel sites that there are hotels in the area that allow you to leave your car in their parking lot if you stay for at least one night. We jumped at this opportunity and were delighted to find out that Hampton Inn in North Charleston provided a complimentary shuttle to and from the cruise ship, as well. We were dropped off before the bulk of the passengers arrived, so we were able to leisurely board the ship. We were also picked up quickly and delivered back to our car at the hotel in a timely fashion. I can't speak highly enough about this service.

AND, if that wasn't enough, Miss Donna (in the kitchen) went out of her way to accommodate a request of ours. We had foolishly thought we could eat the entire top tier of our anniversary cake in one sitting, after a full meal. We maybe ended up eating 3 bites each. Whoops. In any case, I asked if there was any way she could store it in the freezer for me while we were gone. AND SHE DID! Seriously, this place wins for customer service.)

Back to the trip :) After we checked into the  hotel and had a quick nap, we headed to Basil for dinner. I didn't realize that this was the same Basil we have here in Charlotte until I looked up the menu online. We were told there would be about a 45-minute wait, so we put our name on the list and went to a bar down the street to wait. Literally 15 minutes later, I received the text notification that our table was ready! How's that for starting off a "honeyversary" on the right foot!? Best part: we got to sit at the chef's counter, which meant we got to watch them prepare the dishes right in front of us. It was a neat experience!

I ordered the Pad See-Eu and Gavin had the Pad Thai. Both dishes were delicious! If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend it! We ended up over-eating because it was so good; we didn't want to stop!

We were told to try Holy City Brewery while we were in town, but it ended up being closed by the time we got there, so we had to skip it. To round out our night, we had our top tier wedding cake waiting for us at the hotel. (Special thanks to Maxie B's for our delicious 1st anniversary cake!)

Monday, May 25 - First day on the ship!
When I booked our cabin, we qualified for priority boarding/debarking. I highly recommend this, especially if you are able to carry your luggage on and don't need to check anything. We didn't really need it to board the ship as we were so early to begin with, but it definitely came in handy when we were debarking at the end of the week.

We worked our way through security, got our Sail and Sign cards, and posed for our first (of many) photo. We were so excited! We boarded the ship and found our way to our room. We splurged a little and booked a junior grand suite with a balcony, but we mainly picked it for the location of the cabin. Having now experienced a moving boat in that location, we are probably going to opt for something a little more central on the boat.

After we got settled, we decided to go-for-the-gold and start relaxing right away!

Beautiful pre-sunset as we set sail for the Bahamas!

Tuesday, May 26 - 1st Sea Day

Given that we couldn't get off the boat this day, we opted to maximize our sun/pool time by heading to the lido deck to relax. We laid out, read books, had drinks - it was very low-key! Gavin even got to play corn-hole - kind of. The tournament was single elimination or something, so if his team couldn't get enough points during the first round, they couldn't continue. They were one point shy from advancing :(

This was our elegant dining night, so we got a little fancy and enjoyed a nice dinner with our table-mates. I wore a pretty blue dress that I hadn't worn since a friend's wedding and forgot how much I love it!

Wednesday, May 27 - Freeport, Bahamas

We pulled into our port early in the morning, so when we woke up, this is what we saw. Basically, a scenario from The Wire could have happened before our very eyes. (just kidding - I'm sure it was a very safe dock.)

 Then, the Little Tugboat That Could started pulling a barge into position. It was pretty neat to watch!

 And watch we did...from our balcony...in our robes...with mimosas! Happy Honeyversary :)

We had an excursion at 12 PM , so we had a leisurely breakfast before getting off the boat for Open Bar on the Beach. (I can't really remember the pricing now, but I regret not opting for the buffet, as well.) After a 30-minute drive to the beach, we were ready to relax! The drinks were OK, but knowing now that we could only order from a specific menu and that they were mostly sugary drinks, we might make a different decision next time.

It was a wonderfully relaxing afternoon :) We had an umbrella next to a couple about our age, who happily took this photo in exchange for one of their own:

We enjoyed the water, but (foolishly) didn't make enough time to get on the GIANT trampoline. Also, children were everywhere, so I didn't really have much of a shot, anyway. Towards the end of the excursion, we participated in the biggest game of flip cup I've ever seen. However, couples could not be on the same team, so it was husband vs wife for the Mitchells! Unfortunately, one of us had to lose... no comment on who it was...both times.

We caught our bus back to the ship where we had enough time to take a nap before dinner in preparation for the evening festivities. We opted for the George Lopez Punchline Comedy Club. They started off each show with 4 shots and 1 Punchliner - which looked like a 16 oz glass of KoolAid (but I'm sure it had a kick to it!). The MC asked for 4 women and 1 man to join him on stage to drink up and kick the show off. Needless to say, since we upgraded to the all-you-can-drink(-and-more) package, we didn't really need to accept any free drinks. We found seats near two couples from our dinner table, so the evening was more enjoyable.

Thursday, May 28 - Nassau, Bahamas

We were in the Nassau port when we woke up, so we had a quick breakfast and got off the ship to start exploring on our own. No excursion booked, so we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted.

In the morning, we walked through the straw market and all of the little shops right off the port. We only made a few small purchases: a hat for Gavin, a Christmas ornament for Mandi, and some local Bahamian liquor to share. We saw many beautiful sites while we were looking for a small bar (recommended by a friend), but couldn't actually find the bar.

We decided to have our lunch back on the ship since it was free. (No shame in an already-paid-for-meal.) After lunch, we got back off the ship to find a local beach and relax for the afternoon. Junkanoo Beach was not too far of a walk, and we could rent an umbrella and get a beverage for $10.

Between the two beaches, I preferred Freeport, but I'm sure if we had booked an excursion in Nassau, we would have gone to a different beach, so I can't really compare them.

We got back to the ship and I was EXHAUSTED. So, I took a nap and Gavin played poker. Several hours passed and I decided I didn't want to put real clothes on for dinner, so we ate on the lido deck in our lounging/workout clothes and dropped by the piano bar for some sing-a-longs.

Friday, May 29 - 2nd Sea Day

Our final day at sea was a bumpy one! I don't even think we were behind schedule; that is just how the last full day at sea is spent - full steam ahead until we reach Charleston!

We got up relatively early in order to grab lounge chairs in the adults-only part of the ship. WORTH IT. We really lucked out because one of the couples from our dining table was just about to leave their umbrella and offered it to us. We spent quite a few hours sunning and enjoying the quiet of the ocean. It was such a relaxing day but, by this time, I was ready to be off the ship.

We made an effort to catch the sunset over the water before we headed down for our last dinner. Beautiful, right?

After dinner, we played a couples quiz game with some of our table-mates, even though none of us ended up on stage (thank God). After that, we caught one last comedy show before turning in for our last night on the ship.

Saturday, May 30 - Back in Charleston/Charlotte

We got back to Charleston bright and early, and since we had priority debarkation, we had to get up and get going. No breakfast today, so we made a deal that if we could wait until we picked up our car, we would get Bojangles or Chick Fil A :)

As I mentioned earlier - get priority boarding/debarkation if you can. I can't stress this enough. We were off the ship in less than 30 minutes and the only line (barely one, at that) was for declaring our liquor. Our hotel shuttle was waiting for us, as promised, and we were on our way back to life as we knew it in no time.

The next few days were a bit of a struggle in terms of readjusting to not being on the water, but eventually, the motion sickness wore off and we were comfortable walking a straight line again. This was really our first vacation alone as a couple, so I'm glad we were able to celebrate something special while we were away.

Here's to many more happy years! And hopefully, many more happy vacations :)

30 Day Photo Challenge - Days 22-25

SO CLOSE.

Welp, I didn't live up to it (and I didn't really expect to). I don't have a photo for Day 22 (October 17).

On Day 23, we went out to celebrate a friend completing boards (for dental school). The boys decided to eat fries with chopsticks. I couldn't tell you why - they just did. :)

Day 23 - October 18

On Saturday, we attended Das Best Oktoberfest down by the stadiums. It was nice to be able to walk and not have to worry about driving or parking. Not to mention, we just drank the afternoon away without a care in the world.

We met my cousin and her husband there, along with her coworker. We also happened to bump into some of Gavin's classmates. Small world :)

Day 24 - October 19

The highlight to day-drinking: I fell asleep WAY too early, but slept through most of my hangover, so I was ready to go on Sunday. We took ourselves down to Arundel Mills to watch as many football games at one time as possible. (I do not recommend this. Everyone got dizzy flipping around to see another game.) I had the opportunity to return a damaged candle that I ordered from Bath & Body Works. Whoever handled that shipping did not heed the words "Fragile."

Day 25 - October 20

In any case, I got a brand new candle so I'm a happy camper. :)

30 Day Challenge - Days 19, 20 and 21

OK, now I don't really have an excuse... I was tired? I had errands to run? I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow?

In any case, here are my photos for the last two days and today's :)

Day 19 - October 14

I was coming home from work on Monday and was stopped at a light behind this car with the license plate, "Top Chef." I can only assume someone famous was in front of me. Now, to Google all potentially-bald, glasses-wearing Top Chef's, presumably located in the Baltimore area. (But I guess he could be visiting?)

Day 20 - October 15

Being in the car is becoming a recurring theme in my pictures. Want to know why? Because I spend a lot of time in the car. And nothing really exciting happens to me at work or at my apartment (luckily). Yesterday's photo is the view I have driving home from work every day. I did what I could to get the skyline, but it doesn't do it justice. When we were making the decision to move to Baltimore, the sight of the skyline was thrilling. My first big city and so much potential. Now, I don't even give it a second glance. I know I shouldn't take it for granted, but I can't bring myself to revel in the fact that I live in downtown Baltimore anymore. It's not as thrilling as I once thought.

Day 21 - October 16

As of January 1, 2013 Maryland recognizes same-sex marriage as a legal union, so today, we threw a groom's shower for one of my co-workers and his groom-to-be and their sweet black lab mix, Churchill. As part of the Fun Team, I got to help plan the event and it came together so well! We had lunch brought in, we raised money for a gift and we decorated (manly colors, of course).

Most importantly, though, we recognized this momentous milestone in their lives. They've been partners for over 10 years and now they're finally able to have their relationship legally recognized. It was wonderful to be  apart of that celebration. :)