Lessons from the Babymoon - Chicago

 

My husband and I had never really gone on a Babymoon before, and we didn't "technically" plan this trip to Chicago as truly a "babymoon", but as the time got closer and people asked, we realized that by definition we were looking to enjoy a little extra time as a couple before a new member joined our family within the next month! 

 

It is so hard for anyone to get away, so I was thrilled when my husband had a few days off work and my mom miraculously could watch our three kiddos so we could take some special time away.  With my husband's schedule sometimes he is working around 40 hours a week, but more commonly he can be pushing near 90 hours between clinical shifts at the hospital and EMS work.  His schedule rotates between days/nights and what days of the week he works as well, and often time by the time he is done working he is so exhausted that he is sleeping!  I cannot begin to tell you how nice it was to have HIM, away from work and stressors and have time for just us.  People asked us what we were going to do, going to visit Chicago, and we kept answering that we didn't know!  We left with nothing planned besides spending time together and it ended up being great! 

 

We arrived to Chicago and after checking into the hotel we took a nice walk and ended up at St. Peter's in the Loop which amazingly offers the sacrament of Confession from 7:30am-6pm daily.  I don't know about you, but for my husband and I making it to confession as often as we would like can be difficult between our schedules, when it is offered at our parish and our children!  It was so beautiful to start our vacation together with two sacraments; going to confession and staying to participate at daily mass together!  God truly was granting us some special graces for our time together.

 

 

We spent a lot of time walking and exploring the city together.  You quickly realize how nice it is to not be scheduling your days around naps and bedtimes and how nice it is to hold a hand that isn't covered in cookie crumbs or dirt from playing outside!  We explored Millennium Park, the Navy Pier, people watched, sat and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather and we ate great food! 

 

We decided to have some nice casual meals and save up for one really nice date night out as well!  While in Chicago we decided that pizza was a must so we had a delicious stop at Gino's East!  We commonly eat early as a family around 5-5:30pm so I was laughing at my husband as he asked if we should make a reservation to go out around that same time in Chicago!  I told him I thought we were probably about 2 hours before the dinner rush, if not more!  We had lunch one day at Billy Goat Tavern and while we were there the TV channels were interviewing Ronnie "Woo Woo" as the Cubs were getting to play their wild card game into the Playoffs!  He came by and chatted with us afterwards, and even though we are not Cubs fans it was a fun little Chicago experience!  Our nice meal was at Volare and as a pregnant Italian gal I was in heaven!  The homemade pasta, the cannolis, it was all wonderful!

We had been to Chicago as a couple once before about a month after our wedding over 8 years ago, but it was nice to do a few new things this time around!  We went on a boat and lake tour and learned some really interesting architectural history details about the city.  We also made a stop at Ghiradelli for some ice cream, because again, what pregnant lady is going to say no to chocolate and ice cream? 

 

 

 

On our final morning we visited the Holy Name Cathedral and also Loyola University's Museum of Art.  It was so nice to be able to slow down and just take in sights and experiences together as a couple!  We had the time to talk about goals personally, as a couple and for our family.  We talked about where we see ourselves in a year, in five years and how we can best support each other through these times.  I cannot express how nice it was to have time to talk without any interruptions!

 

 

 

Another one of my favorite things about traveling without kids with us is having extra time for pleasure reading!  I love to read and try to make time for it even while I am at home and in the thick of everyday craziness, but I love being able to grab the book that has been sitting on my wishlist for months and reading it in one setting while traveling!  This trip I had the chance to read two great books; Catholic and Married: Leaning into Love and Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting.  They were both fantastic books and such amazing stories to help me connect more with the vocations that God is calling me to as wife and mother!

 

We had a great time and are one step closer to meeting our newest little one!  We have learned in time that as strong as our marriage is, some of our toughest times together as a couple are when we have a newborn in our home.  We struggle with the time that a new baby takes away from our marriage, the change in intimacy, and the pure exhaustion from of lack of sleep!  We have gotten better with each child, mostly at communicating our needs to each other and finding how we can best help each other.  We have learned that I am really good with babies, and my husband is really awesome at occupying our older children and picking up with extra chores around the home.  We had great opportunities to talk about our expectations, our needs, our desires and how ultimately we need to simply keep asking God for His grace in our daily lives and marriage and we know we will be blessed!

35 weeks with our little one