RSS 2.0 FeedThursday, February 2, 2012, Bellmore Life
Deanna Marie is Bellmore’s First Baby of 2012!
The Riomao's and Bellmore Life welcome the first baby!
Janine and John Riomao had just sat down on their plush couch in front of their big-screen TV to indulge in a dish of ice cream when Janine felt something give around 8:30 p.m. on Monday, January 2.
“Johnny,” she alerted her husband, “I think my water just broke!” The delicious ice cream would have to wait.
So began the earnest sojourn of first-time parents, as they quickly contacted their doctor, packed their bags and headed to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, where Janine was raised.
“I was in pain” as the contractions came more quickly and were stronger, she told Bellmore Life. But she would go through two hours of contractions before the doctors would give her an epidural to block the pain. “She had to be dilated enough before they could give it,” John said.
After that, it was smooth sailing as Deanna Marie Riomao made her grand appearance onto the world stage at 6:58 a.m. on Tuesday, January 3, making her the Bellmores’ First Baby of the Year. But smooth may be a surprising word, as Deanna weighed a robust nine pounds and was 20 1/2-inches long.
“It was just an amazing experience,” said mother Janine of Deanna’s birth. “She was exactly what I wanted! This is the happiest I’ve every been in my life!” Janine said that ever since she was a little girl she had wanted to be a mother, and now it had come true.
Meanwhile, John was in the delivery room soaking up every moment. “It was a numbing experience,” he reflected. “Then everything suddenly went quiet and calm as she emerged.” He even got to cut the umbilical cord.
The perfect home
Married since 2010, the Riomaos have the perfect home in Bellmore in which to raise Deanna – and perhaps as perfect a situation as new parents can have. “The baby sleeps about four hours before waking and wanting to be fed,” said Janine.
She gladly fulfills that role, as she nurses Deanna. “John can sleep,” she added, because he has to go to work.
While Janine is a pre-K teacher in the Long Beach School District who will take the rest of the season off, John, from Brooklyn, is a U.S customs officer working for homeland security in charge of border protection – and took the week off.
He travels to other countries routinely to inspect supply chains and logistics for companies that wish to ship their products in container ships in the U.S. “Countries who want to ship their products that enter our harbors apply to us to get reductions in costs,” such as port entry fees, he told Bellmore Life.
“Bellmore’s First Baby of the Year is “doing great,” mother Janine says. “She’s not colic-y, she’s content and she sleeps well.” Adds Dad, “She follows her schedule well: She sleeps, gets fed, gets changed and goes back to sleep.”
Janine skipped the family name-passing to settle on Deanna, a name “I have always loved.” Dad’s mother’s name is Marie, so a hint of heritage has remained. Should a boy appear on the horizon, they will call him Anthony because...they both love the name Anthony.
All’s well...in love.
An assortment of gifts awaits the family of John and Janine Riomao.
Gifts from local Bellmore merchants will include a $25 gift certificate from Piccolo Ristorante, a haircut for Mom or Dad at TJs Unisex Haircutters, two flats of flowers from Island Greenery, brunch for two at Hemingway’s in Wantagh, a $25 gift certificate from Zuckerman’s fine jewelry, a floral arrangement from Petite Florist, a $25 gift certificate from the Bellmore Bagel Café, a gift for baby from Stride Rite of Merrick, one free week for mother and guest at World Gym, and a one-year subscription to Bellmore Life, your hometown newspaper.
Welcome to this wonderful world, Deanna!
