Cooper at 10 Months

Oh my baby boy, how did we get here.  10 months is just so darn close to a year old.  You have learned so many new things this month and are really becoming a kid.  This month has been a blast for you as you become mobile, and a mess for mommy and daddy as you destroy everything in your path!

Teeth: 5 teeth now! Cooper cut 3 in the past week and a half.

Clothes: 6-12 months, although I think I'm stretching it and he could probably wear 12 months more comfortably.  How can he be wearing the clothes that Parker wore just a few months ago though?  I haven't even taken those clothes out of Parker's closet yet!

Diapers: Size 4

Sleeping: Good thing mama can some how run on very little and interrupted sleep.  He had a 5 day stretch where he only got up once, that was great.  Other than that he's been the typical 3-4 times a night.  Once again I will say that I really need to get him sleep trained...but I hate listening to him cry...

Eating: We've made huge progress in the eating department!  I was so worried that he would never eat solids and then he just started doing it.  He wants to eat everything he sees!  2-3 small meals a day.  If you can call them meals.  I usually just give him a little bit of what we are eating, or grapes, bananas, fries.  Still just getting him used to different food.  He likes yogurt as well.  

His nursing is all over the place now that he's eating more.  I would stay he more snacks and has short little nursing sessions throughout the day.  

Milestones:

He crawls!  He was very close when we were at the cottage a couple weeks ago and I said he would be doing it within the week, and sure enough a few days later he was crawling across the house.  It's a whole new world for him and as scary as it is having to make sure that he's safe and not getting into trouble, it's really fun to watch him discover everything.

He can sit himself up.  I think that's new this month...haha.  We've had a few nights where he sits up in bed and just cries, I don't think he knows enough to lay back down.  But it's really nice to generally not have to sit him up when he falls.  

He pulled himself from sitting to standing on a table once and hasn't done it again since.

Likes:

-making noises with his mouth

-Parker

-the bath

-food

-when Parker sits on him - what a weirdo

Dislikes:

-putting himself to sleep

-mom leaving the room

First Foods

We are at that point in time where Cooper is eating real food.  I honestly was not looking forward to it at all.  Mostly I didn't want to deal with poopy cloth diapers...but unfortunately babies do grow up and they do need to learn to eat something other than breastmilk!

Cooper started solids a few days after he turned six months old.  He has had carrots, sweet potatos, pears and rice cereal.  So far carrots are his favourite.  He does ok with the purees and I only feed him once a day right now, and miss the odd day.

For those who are interested, I tend to make my own baby food.  It's so much cheaper and it's so easy, and considering how many recalls there are on food these days, it's nice to know what they are actually eating!  All it takes is a bit of steaming of whatever I want to make for them, I throw it in the baby bullet for about 30 seconds and it's done.  

Second Babies

I just want to clear a few things up about second babies.  My entire life I've been listening to my sister, who has a serious case of the middle child syndrome, complain about how everyone else is more loved.  And now that I have 2 kids, I think I can speak to it a little bit.

I love my second baby so so much.

With Cooper, when I had him I already knew what it was like to have a baby and have them grow so incredibly fast.  With Cooper I soak in every second.  I just look at him and can't help but smile at how much love I have for him.

The more kids you have, the more your attention is divided.  This is something that can't be helped.  And I feel that at different times, each kid requires more attention, meaning the other kid gets a bit less than they maybe deserve.  (And then in comes the mom guilt...)  But the love?  The love just multiplies.

Cooper definitely gets less attention from everyone else than Parker did at the same age.  But from me the kiddo gets loads of attention.  I could just stare at him all day.  And eventually, when he's bigger and his interest in me isn't solely because I'm his food source, I know he will get lots of attention too.

I mean look at this face.  What's not to love?

Cooper at One Month

How has a month gone by already? Since Cooper is my second baby, I realize how quickly time flies and how fast babies grow.  I really disliked the newborn phase with Parker.  Mostly because I was exhausted and he didn't eat and it was really hard.  I remember hearing people say that they loved newborns and I thought, you are crazy, nobody can possibly love this stage.  But this time around I'm really enjoying it.  Sure I can't wait for those first smiles and for Cooper's personality to start developing.  But I also love the snuggles, and don't actually hate the middle of the night feedings where it's just us.  (I just prefer that those feedings are 4 hours apart instead of 2 hours apart).

So, just like I did with Parker, I want to keep track of Cooper's monthly development.  He wasn't very cooperative for his pictures.  We were having a cluster feeding afternoon and he really just wanted to eat.  Another thing to note is that Parker wore this onesie in both his 5 month and 7 month pictures...

Weight: He was 8lbs 6oz 5 days ago, and at that point he was gaining about 2 oz a day.  So he could be up to 9lbs by now!

Hair: Still dark brown.  Please never fall out adorable baby hair!

Eyes: Dark blue, so they could definitely change

Clothes: Although his weight is over the newborn clothes size, I think he's a bit short, so he still fits in some of them.  But just yesterday the sleepers all of a sudden seemed a bit snug.  I've been putting him in some 0-3 month clothes over the past week and they definitely don't seem too big for him.

Diapers: Size 1.  He would still fit in newborns technically, but I finished the box, and since newborn diapers are more expensive I refused to buy more of them.

Sleeping: He still sleeps a lot and has his wakeful periods during the day.  At night he will go anywhere from 2-5 hours.  When he wakes up after 2 hours I'm very disappointed!  But the past few days he has been a bit more consistent with the longer stretches.

Likes: Cuddles, eating.  He's a newborn, so that's about it at this point.

Dislikes: Bath time

Eating: He's a pro eater.  He ranges from 20-40 minute long feeds and eats every 2-4 hours typically.  He has his moments of cluster feeding, and it's often from about 9pm on until whenever he wants to stop.  Some nights he has gone until after midnight, which is really hard for me because at that point I just want to go to bed.

Milestones:  He rolled over at 2 weeks old from back to tummy.  Clearly it was a fluke, but we were pretty shocked by it.  He hasn't done it again since.  He really likes to work on his neck muscles when you are holding him upright, but not so much if I put him on the floor on his tummy.

Big Brother: Parker loves to give him hugs and kisses, try to smother him, and cover him in blankets.  We have to really watch him because although he's trying to be sweet, he would lie right on top of him or put blankets on his face and think that he's being helpful.  Parker is striving for attention at times, but doesn't seem to take the lack of attention out on Cooper, which is good.  It's just us who get the temper tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants.

Going from one to two kids really hasn't been as hard as I expected, but I know that a lot has to do with how easy going Cooper is.  I am super lucky!  I have only gone out with the two of them once by myself and it was to go grocery shopping, which was successful.  But I haven't figured out how I would do something with the two of them that didn't involve a cart or stroller, because Parker isn't big enough to actually walk on his own close to roads or in parking lots.  So I might just keep avoiding that for now.  Luckily I have my mom an mother in law super close by.  They have both been really helpful with taking Parker when I need them to or coming to my house to help me out and give me a chance to nap.  

"If you won't feed me I will eat my hand"

Our lives are a bit crazy now, but I feel so blessed to have two amazing children and of course a husband who has been so helpful when I'm constantly feeding Cooper.  He cooks for me, entertains Parker and the other day got up with both boys so that I could sleep in since Cooper was up a lot of the night.  I'm a lucky girl!

And for comparison purposes with the handy monkey....Here are both Parker and Cooper at 1 month!  What a difference!

36 Weeks - Meet Cooper

I guess I took my last pregnancy picture just in time.  On Saturday November 5, it was our 5 year anniversary, and I was 36 weeks 2 days pregnant.  Ryan and I went out for dinner and I had him take my picture when we got home.

The next day I went into labour.

Meet Cooper Lorne.  Born on November 6 at 8:54 pm.  7lbs 1oz, 19.5 inches long.  A full head of dark black hair.  We were surprised that he was a boy, with dark hair and was so big!

My labour, birth and first few days with a new baby have been completely different than last time.  So I hope to be able to blog about all of that in the next little bit!

A New Day

Yesterday I was feeling down and exhausted.  Last week at Parker's doctors appointment I learnt that he had only gained 2 ounces in the entire month.  Although I knew he probably didn't have a huge weight gain in the month because he had been sick, I thought it would be more than that.  Plus, for the last month he has been waking in the night and I've been feeding him.  

I've spent over 9 months focusing so much time and energy on feeding Parker and trying to get him to grow.  And I was tired.  I was questioning my decision to continue breastfeeding.  I always said that I would love to make it to a year,  but each month that Parker gets older I kind of think to myself that if we quit now, I've made it 7 months, 8 months, 9 months, and that's a whole lot longer than a lot of moms make it.  There would be absolutely no shame in stopping now.  

But there are still so many benefits to breastfeeding.  Parker doesn't take a bottle and so I felt to wean him would mean weaning completely and once you make that decision and lose your milk supply, that's it, there's no turning back.

Today I had an appointment at the hospital and so I got to have a little conversation with one of my doctors.  She has a baby who is just over a year old.  And she reassured me that Parker was fine.  He's doing great developmentally, he doesn't look malnourished and he's happy.  There are benefits to breastfeeding and he might just be a tiny little guy, and that's ok.  It was what I needed to hear today.

Being a mom is full of constant internal conversations and struggles.  I constantly wonder if what I'm doing and the decisions that I'm making are the right ones.  Talking to a female doctor, who is in the same stage of life as me and who has a tiny baby (not as tiny as Parker, but nobody is as tiny as Parker!) gave me so much reassurance that he was fine.  She told me to stick with it for just one more month, or two more months and see how things go.  

So today I'm grateful.  I'm grateful that despite his size, I have a healthy baby.  The struggles that I have had with Parker are nothing compared to what some parents go through.  And even in those moments where I'm so frustrated with him because he refuses to eat, he will then give me a little smirk, and that just brightens my day.  

Post Partum Exercise

In my pre-Parker days, I would say that fitness was my hobby.  It was part of my daily routine and I took pride in how committed I was to it.  Then Parker came along.  I said that I wouldn't let a baby change my workout ways and that I would always have that committment to myself.  Well let's just say the first few months post baby were tough.  Parker required a lot of attention and I was exhausted and working out wasn't a priority.  I was also lucky to have lost all of my baby weight by 8 weeks post partum so I wasn't super motivated, although I knew that I had lost a lot of muscle along with that weight.  

Ready to workout!

 Recently though things have gotten easier.  Parker is napping and he entertains himself.  I can find time to work out at home while he's napping or while he's playing on his mat or in his exersaucer.  

But the workouts have changed.  I don't generally even try for an hour long workout because I probably wouldn't get it done before Parker needed something.  So my goal is to have short workouts as many times in the week as possible.  For some people this maybe wouldn't be enough, but for me, anything is better than nothing.  

Just for fun, the same outfit when I was 28 weeks pregnant

Some of the workouts that I do are:

• 30 day shred
• 30-40 minutes on the spin bike
• yoga - either at home or a local class
• Tabata workouts - I like this because it's done in 4 minute increments, so if I suddenly need to tend to Parker and I've only done 6 Tabatas, I still feel like I've gotten a complete workout done
• Mutu System - Mutu is a program that I purchased before I had Parker.  It is a system to combat diastasis recti, which is when your abs separate during pregnancy.  I was told at 18 weeks pregnant that I had 3 finger widths separation already, which then stressed me out for the rest of my pregnancy.  Apparently regular crunches with diastasis recti do more harm than good and so the system gives you a food and exercise program to follow to help bring your abs back together.  So then I had Parker and checked and my separation is one finger, which is basically nothing.... So all this to say, I use the exercises because they are good short workouts, but I'm not super committed to the entire system.  

My workouts are still my me time.  I spend most of my day putting Parker first and it's important that I do something for myself that makes myself feel good even if it's just for half an hour at a time!  Sometimes I feel guilty that I choose to workout rather than clean or do laundry, but I know that fitness is something that is important to me and I don't want to lose that.  Plus I want more babies and I know that being physically fit helped me feel good during pregnancy and labour and helped me bounce back quickly.  So I figure before the next baby I should still try to be in the best shape possible!

Speaking of which, Parker is napping so it's workout time!

Things I Wish I Knew 7 Months Ago

7 months ago when I gave birth to a perfect, 5 week early, 4lb 3oz baby boy I really had no idea what I was in for.  I thought I had at least another 5 weeks to prep for this baby and the changes that he was going to bring.  But here we are 7 months later and life is different and better than I ever could of imagined it.  But those first couple of months were rough.  There are some things that I would go back and tell myself if I was able to.

It will get better.  Some day he will sleep through the night and you will sleep through the night.  Some day he will eat enough so that you don't have to pump after each and every feeding.  He will go longer between feeds (although not much).  

Soon he will smile at you and that will make everything a bit easier as you will finally have a reward for all of your hard work.

He will occupy himself.  Give him a toy and lay him on the floor and you will be able to shower and do your hair and put on make up.  Right now you are wondering how when you go back to work you will be able to make yourself presentable.  It will be possible.

Life won't get any less busy, but you will get your routines.  You will be able to get stuff done during the day and the baby won't cry every time you leave the room.  

You will only have time to paint your toe nails 3 times in the next 7 months though.  Because it never fails that as soon as you take the 2 month old nail polish off or get a base coat on Parker will wake up and need attention.

You will decide whether to change your outfit or Parker's outfit based on what type of bodily fluid is on it and how much of it there is.  A small amount of puke, pee or poop?  Ya we aren't changing outfits for that because you know that as soon as you do he will spit up all over the new outfit.

Despite spending 14 waking hours a day with a baby, you will love almost every minute of it.  You don't mind that some days you hardly have an adult conversation or you aren't able to shower or you smell like spit up.  Because you will love this baby more than you could ever imagine.

Cloth Diapering 101

Half of my pregnancy was spent reading about cloth diapering, trying to decide whether I wanted to do it and trying to figure out what diapers were best. So I thought a little update on our experience with it might be helpful.

I started out with about 15 used BumGenius diapers, 6 new bumgenius, 2 Kawaii microfibre, 2 Kawaii bamboo and 2 Kawaii heavy wetters.  They are all pocket diapers.

Because Parker was so tiny, I ended up buying 12 used Kawaii newborns (6-22lbs) for $25.

I also bought the Ubbi diaper pail and 2 Ubbi cloth pail bags, and a small wet bag for when we go out.  I also want to buy a large wet bag for when we go away, when Parker is with grandparents for the night or for future babysitters.

As it turned out, the diapers I bought used needed the elastics replaced.  Bumgenius diapers are fairly simple to do this for, but I'm still in the process of doing it.  I find that each diaper takes me about an hour to replace the elastic, so although I can do it, actually finding an hour where I'm not doing anything else has been tricky.  If you are buying used diapers, this is something to be cautious of if you have no interest in replacing the elastics.  

Anyways, so far I'm really liking cloth diapering.  Obviously, it has already saved me lots of money!  Buying diapers when Parker didn't fit into the cloth was so frustrating!  I do have some leaking issues (especially with the used Kawaiis I bought, they may have to be stripped.)  A lot of my leaking issues are just caused by not changing his diaper quickly enough.  You really have to change them every 2 hours.  I ended up buying 12 bamboo inserts from Kawaii.  Bamboo is more absorbent than microfibre and I find it makes a big difference.  However, when stocking up on diapers, bamboo takes a lot longer to dry, so I'm glad I don't only have bamboo or else I would be waiting 3 days for dry diapers!  

My routine:

• Every 2-3 days I wash diapers
• Throw diapers in wash and remove inserts.  Make sure any velcro tabs are attached so they don't stick to inserts.
• Cold rinse
• Hot wash using a small amount of Nature Clean detergent so that there is no build up
• Warm rinse (my machine doesn't rinse in warm so I run a short wash with no soap)
• You need to keep rinsing until all the soap is gone, I find with the one extra rinse it works for me as long as I don't use too much detergent
• Hang to dry in laundry room, or even better on the line as they dry faster and the sun bleaches the stains
• Sometimes I will throw inserts only in the dryer if they aren't drying quickly enough
• Once dry, I stuff the diapers with inserts so that they are ready to go

I don't find the extra laundry a big deal at all!  So far Parker is exclusively breast fed which makes it super easy as there is no pre-rinse required, I can throw the diaper straight in the wash without removing any poop!  Let's just say I'm not in a rush to get him on solids because of this!  I have purchased a diaper sprayer for when that day comes.

I find I like the Bumgenius diapers because they are trim and I actually think they are super cute.  The Kawaii diapers are a bit bulkier but they are nice diapers as well and besides the newborn ones (which have probably already been through a few kids) I don't seem to have leaking issues.  I bought the BumGenius when they were buy 5 get one free so I got a bit of a deal.  Kawaii diapers are much cheaper, so it's definitely nice to get some of those to save money.

I haven't even attempted overnight yet and always put Parker in disposables.  I also sometimes put him in disposables if we are going out as they can typically last longer than 2 hours and I know that I likely won't have any leaks. 

Parker rarely gets any sort of rash with the cloth diapers, and when he was just in disposables I found that he often had a bit of a red bum.

I would definitely recommend cloth diapering to people.  It's not as difficult as you might think it is and they are pretty dang cute, even if they give your baby a big booty.

The Nursery

So when I found out I was pregnant, I already had my nursery planned.  But then I didn't want to jinx anything by actually setting it up.

My mom and dad gave us the gift of our crib, which I am so thankful for.  She told me to just go ahead and get the one I wanted from Pottery Barn when we were in the States last August.  I was only 10 weeks pregnant! Craziness.  But I did it because not only was the crib on sale, but since we had been across the border for 2 days we didn't have to pay duty.  Plus we had the truck.  (You can buy this crib at Pottery Barn in Canada but it was like $200 more).  Then the crib sat in our basement for awhile because I refused to start the nursery until after our 20 week ultrasound!

The dresser I found used on Kijiji and saved about $70.  The room is much too small to have an actual change table, so using the dresser as a change table is perfect for us.  I know some people don't use them at all in the nursery, but I have never changed Parker's diaper anywhere but on the table.  Because we have a bungalow it's convenient to just go to the nursery for any diaper changes rather than having diapers and wipes stashed all over the house.

Luckily, we did get a good start on the nursery, so it was pretty much ready despite Parker's early arrival.  All of the furniture was in, it was just the small details such as decorations and a closet organizer that needed to be done.  Honestly I'm still working on some of the small details but I just couldn't wait any longer to share.

I fell in love with the look and price of this glider.  (I got it on sale for $350!)  But actually getting it was tricky.  I didn't want to buy it too early and then when I actually did go to buy it, it was backordered.  At one point it wasn't even on the website anymore and I was afraid it had been discontinued!  Luckily it eventually came back.

I made the mobile and am so happy with how it turned out.  

I bought the You are My Sunshine prints when we decided to start trying for a baby.  It was the one thing that I let myself give in and buy because I knew no matter how long it might take I wanted them.

I love Parker's nursery.  I find it very serene.  I wanted something that I enjoyed being in.  I'm not into all of the baby prints and bedding.  Because honestly Parker could care less what it looked like!

Crib: Pottery Barn
Crib Sheet: Target Canada
Crib Skirt: Material is from Hobby Lobby but my mom made it
Side Table: Old Soul Resale
Lamp: gift
Glider: Babies R Us
Shelf above glider: Ikea
Picture Frames with Parker pictures: Homesense
Parker's newborn pictures: JVL Photography
Owl on Shelf: Scentsy
Lion on Shelf: From Mexico
Baby Age Blocks: Indigo/Chapters
Dresser: Ikea
Change pad cover: Target Canada
Curtains: Target US
Blackout blind: Ikea
Diaper Pail: Ubbi
Book Shelves: Ikea Photo Ledges
You Are My Sunshine Prints: LilyGene Prints Etsy
You Are My Sunshine Frames: Ikea - Ribba
Crib Mobile: DIY - tutorial here
Poof Foot Rest - Target Canada

Love & Fear

I was watching About Time the other day and got this quote from Tim.  And I thought that it was so true.  The love for your child is completely overwhelming.  I can't imagine life without him now.  I look forward to watching him learn, grow and develop.  But the fear that comes along with it is completely insane.

From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was terrified.  I was worried that something would go wrong.  First that I would miscarry, then that there would be something wrong with him, then that something bad would happen during labour.  At one point Ryan asked me when we would stop worrying, I said I don't think we ever will, we will just worry about different things. 

And now we are worrying about different things.  Parker is ours.  It's our job to keep him alive.  So far so good!  And I know people raise children every single day, but it's a scary responsibility.  But beyond that, it's our job to raise him to be good, to teach him right from wrong.  To teach him not to talk to strangers and to be a team player.  To teach him money management, hope that he finds success in life, however that success may come.  To teach him how to treat a woman so that someday he finds a good wife and has a family of his own.  It's a job that never ends.  And that is scary, but also exciting.  

But luckily the love outweighs the fear, and that's why people have kids.  Because he will bring so much joy to our lives.  We're a family now and there's nothing better than that feeling.

New Mom Stuff

This being a mom thing isn't easy.  Parker came home from the hospital last Friday. Earlier in the week we were told Friday was a possibility, but then he lost more weight and it seemed unlikely.  I just wanted to be out by Sunday.  But when I showed up at the hospital on Friday morning they told me that he was being discharged that day! 

Our first night at home was terrifying.  I'm not sure if it's like this for all parents, or if it was scarier for us as preemie parents.  It's so important that he gain weight and not get sick.  For the first two weeks of his life there was the constant presence of nurses who could check that his vitals were ok and that he was actually breathing.  Now it was just us, and that's really scary.  I called the midwife the first night because he sounded congested and I was afraid that he was sick within hours of leaving the hospital.

Besides the fears, the first day and night were super exhausting.  Although my baby was two weeks old, I hadn't had to do 24/7 care yet and so bringing him home was a totally different story.  Not only did I now have to pump in the night, but I had to feed him as well.  So my half hour pump sessions turned into a minimum of an hour long ordeal.  I say ordeal because getting him to eat is sometimes a struggle.  With a preemie you can't just take their lead on when they are hungry.  I need to feed him at least every 3 hours whether he knows he's hungry or not. 

It's funny because I don't have anything to compare this to.  I know that all new moms are overwhelmed and exhausted, but I don't know how my experience compares to theirs.  Every day we get a bit more settled, I'm able to accomplish a little bit more and I kind of figure out the routine a bit more.  (Except for now he's eating every hour and a half to 2 hours so basically I'm feeding him all the time!)  I'm still worried about him although not as worried as I was when we first brought him home.

And most days I wonder why I even bother wearing a shirt.  I gave up on putting Parker in clothes.  He eats better naked and spits up if I jostle him by putting clothes on too quickly and by the time I can put clothes on him it's almost time to eat again.

But that face, it makes it all worth it.

I don't have the energy to proofread this so hopefully it makes sense...

Chicago Babymoon: Top 10

Last week we went on a 4 day babymoon to Chicago.  We took the train there from Port Huron, which is about 2 and a half hours from our house.  If you are from Canada, that's honestly the way to do it.  The train was cheaper than what it would of cost us to park our car at the hotel, and once in Chicago you really don't need a vehicle.

We stayed at the Chicago Essex Inn.  (By the way, I'm a deal finder when it comes to trips and booked pretty much everything in advance through Group On, including the hotel.)  The Essex Inn was right on Michigan Ave, close to Museum Campus.  A bit further away from the Magnificent Mile, but still walkable.  We walked multiple times!

So here are my top 10 recommendations:

1.  You need to try Chicago deep dish pizza.  We went to Lou Malnatti's, but I have heard good things about a number of chains.  There was a Lou Malnatti's 2 blocks behind our hotel, but they are all over the place as well.

2.  The Shedd Aquarium.  This is probably personal preference, but this is the one museum that I would highly recommend you do.  They have dolphins, belugas and penguins and a total of 32,000 fish and other animals in total.  

This Beluga was chatting away

3.  Second City.  We did their Dinner and Show where you book a dinner reservation with a price fixed menu through them.  Dinner was great and very filling.  However, once at the show, you can order a variety of appetizers and small plates and their prices are very reasonable.  So I would suggest you go early and just order food and drinks at the show.  The show was hilarious and we both had a great time.

4.  Check out the view from the John Hancock Building lounge.  You can pay to go up to Chicago 360 observatory right on the Magnificent Mile.  It's $19 per person.  Or, you can wait in what is probably a shorter line and go to the lounge or the restaurant.  We literally walked right in (to the elevator of course).  You could go to the lounge and not order anything, nobody is checking that you actually get a table.  But we ordered a beer for Ryan, a smoothie for me and an appetizer.  They were expensive, but it was still cheaper than going to the observatory, plus we were able to relax and enjoy the view.  Oh an check out the view from the women's washroom.  Sorry men, apparently there aren't windows in your washroom.

My Strawberry Smoothie

5. Take a Chicago Architecture Cruise.  People say that if you do one thing in Chicago, this should be it, and I 100% agree.  We went with Chicago Line Cruises because I got a Group On and it included free coffee, tea and muffins and cookies.  I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be as good as the Architecture Foundation cruise, and of course I can't compare the two, but our tour guide was extremely passionate and knowledgeable.  She talked for the entire hour and a half!  Our cruise also wasn't full, so it was nice because you could wander freely around the deck without getting in anybody's way.

The Sears (or Willis) Tower - from the river

6. The Lincoln Park Zoo.  This zoo is a bit further north and takes longer to get to, but it's free!  And it's actually a decent sized zoo.  I was very impressed with the wide variety of animals they had there.  The gorillas are always my favourite!  The kangaroos were a bit lazy that day.

7. Food, food, food.  Besides the pizza, there is lots of other delicious food in Chicago.  I suggest Al's Italian Beef, for huge beef sandwiches that are dipped in gravy.  We also had a sandwich at Potbellys, which are all over the city.  I had chicken salad and it was unbelievable!

8.  You need to get some Chicago Mix at Garrett's Popcorn.  You know when you mix cheese popcorn with caramel popcorn?  That's called Chicago mix and it was created at Garrett's.  I think the line ups can get pretty long, so we were there right at 10am when it opened.

9.  Walk out Navy Pier.  Ok so we didn't walk all the way to the end.  But that's because we stopped to play a game of mini putt (I lost badly) and by the time we were done we had to get moving because we had places to be!  

10.  Go to Cloud Gate, aka The Bean.  However silly and overly touristy it is, you have to do it when in Chicago.  We went twice, and I suggest going on a weekday if you can.

We had an amazing trip and it was so nice to get away with just the two of us before the little one comes.  I can't wait to travel with kids, as it will be a new and exciting experience, but Ryan and I really enjoy travelling with just the two of us as well.