As we got closer to Julia’s due date, we started to get ready for the baby to come. But, we were not ready for what was coming.
Late Pregnancy
We had a beautiful Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at St. Joseph’s Toledo in Ohio. The decorations and ambience were something to marvel at.
Before the New Year fell, we visited St. Joseph Oratory in Detroit, MI.
Ready of Not, Here She Comes
Then, one night in February, Julia’s water broke, 3.5 weeks early. After almost a day of labor, our beautiful girl, Victoria Caeli, was born. But, before I could even hold her, she was rushed off to the NICU. She wasn’t breathing well on her own.
Victoria’s lungs were not fully developed being born so early. She had oxygen helping her breathe and a feeding tube helping her eat. This was not what I expected as a new, first time dad. Nothing had gotten us ready for this.
After 11 days in the NICU, Victoria was well enough to go home. We were so excited! We couldn’t wait to share her with our family. Then, COVID hit.
Life After NICU
We had a baby that already had breathing issues, and a new, unknown, illness was out there affecting people’s lungs. We decided to hunker down, and only let a couple select people into our apartment at a time. We were so lonely, but we just didn’t want to take any chances.
To make matters worse, the one thing that could have gotten us to go out, Church, was cancelled. Confession seemed to be the only thing available from one specific Church we knew of, but all Masses were cancelled. So, we waited inside.
Home Baptism
We had a wonderful priest, Father Kidd, that had visited and prayed over Victoria in the hospital come to our home to perform the baptism. We didn’t want to wait, so we had a baptism, right there in our apartment.
Victoria Meets Gramps and Tio
Eventually, I said we can’t do this anymore, Julia’s Dad and brother need to meet Victoria (Julia’s Mom was able to come up for the birth). So, we packed up the car, and drove south. As we all didn’t know what we were dealing with still, Julia’s family took precautions when dealing with such a small newborn. Victoria and her “Gramps” got to spend some much needed time together.
Victoria Meets Great Grandma
Throughout the months, we slowly relaxed more and more, as our baby girl grew and became stronger. We let more people see her, like her Great Grandma, who had been waiting patiently, yet anxiously to see her.
First Easter Mass
After a little over a year, Victoria had her first Easter Mass, as Churches were not open the previous Easter. We celebrated at a small, very pretty Church just up the road in Michigan, St. Anthony of Padua.
First Getaway
Then, Victoria had her first sleepover at someone else’s house without her Mom or Dad. Julia and I took a week long, 5 year anniversary trip to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Victoria stayed with my parents.
Julia and I saw the beautiful Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, while in Tennessee. I am still very impressed by the Cathedral. It is a relatively new construction (2018). This is the only modern example I have seen of a church built with the grand look of the churches of old. Click HERE for more information on the Cathedral.
During our time in Ohio, we took multiple trips back to Florida to see Julia’s family. On one trip, we stopped and saw the gorgeous St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Macon, GA.
After close to 2 years in Ohio, we were ready to move on, but we weren’t sure to where. We were heavily considering trying out Mexico, but right before we could start making moves to go, Julia found she was pregnant again. We didn’t want to go to Mexico with Julia pregnant, especially with what happened the last time with the NICU.
We finally decided to spend a little more time soaking up the greatness of Chicago, this time with 2 kids, one inside, and one outside the womb.