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Nova is Such a Good Baby

6/24/2016

by Richard Rowell, Privileged Father

Nova enjoying her clip-on mobile

I wrote this bit on Facebook today:

Nova is such a good baby. I mean, yeah, she's my kid and all. But there's more to it than that. She's clearly super smart, fascinated by everything. She's already watching TV with us, listens to music with us, and tries to tell us stuff. It's really awesome watching this little person slowly but surely growing before our eyes. It's really a privilege. Also, it's a great responsibility to care for such a fragile, nascent life. I feel now more than ever that I'm up to it. At least, that's how I feel for now!

Yesterday, Nova turned three weeks old. While she's still really little, she is definitely growing. It's amazing just how much she eats for such a little thing, but now she's sleeping a lot more, too. I haven't gotten to write nearly as much about her as I'd like to, but that's a result of needing to be on call to take care of her when needed. Lyn and I are trying to get work done, but Nova is quite the little distraction. It's both good and bad, but of course, our little girl is the more important thing. Money is definitely needed, but the baby has to come first.

So I've just recently gotten back to actually writing stuff. I should be getting into writing more specific things again. There just haven't been a lot of landmark things to mention just yet.

All I can say is Nova is a good baby. She's still a handful, but definitely a pleasant one.

Daddy Changed Nova This Morning!

6/8/2016

by Richard Rowell, Proud Father Who Fails At Dressing His Baby Girl :-P

Daddy dressed Nova this morning! That is, somehow... I actually spaced out a bit this morning holding her sleeping cuteness. Lyn asked me like a half hour before I actually did to get her clothes changed. But she was just too cute and I sort of just sat there. I poked at my phone a bit, but mostly I just wanted to hold her. Newborns do that to you.

Anyway, once I actually got started, the struggle was real. Nova's diaper was quite dirty, but she wasn't complaining at all. Then as soon as I took the diaper off she peed again! Fortunately, it wasn't much of a mess and I managed to clean it up. Lyn helped me wipe her off and I took care of the dirty clothes and I cleaned off the changing pad. The only time she was upset the whole time was when she got cold, wet and naked from the baby wipes.

After successfully putting on a new diaper, and calming her down, the struggle continued for me. Fortunately, while I was really struggling with her dressing, Nova was an absolute riot. She thought her clothes were quite yummy and kept grabbing them from me. Though Daddy kept failing terribly, she was happy the whole time. The end result was heart-meltingly adorable. So yet another first for this new dad. I was successful in changing her, even if it took me like ten times longer than it should have. It was great bonding time!

More cuteness below! OVERLOAD!

Rich Feeding Nova Skye!

6/7/2016

by Richard Rowell & Lyn Lomasi, Proud Parents

By special request of Nova's grandmother, we've posted this video of Rich bottle feeding Nova. It's far from the first time that he has, but the best chance we got for a video. Enjoy :)

Nova's Humorous, Yet Scary, Birth Story

6/6/2016

by Lyn Lomasi and Richard Rowell, Proud Parents of Nova Skye

Nova’s here! After being at the hospital for nearly fourteen hours, she arrived at 11:20 PM in quite a hurry. It’s been one heck of a ride these past ten months and the wait is finally over. It was well worth it.

The induction was scheduled to begin at 7 AM on June 2nd, 2016. However, due to beds being full, the appointment was pushed back an hour. Once it began, we had assumed that it wouldn’t be much past the afternoon for Nova to come. We would be quite wrong.

The first round of Cytotec (a cervical effacement and dilation medication) and Pitocin (oxytocin) wasn’t quite enough. While the contractions came on extremely strong by the late afternoon, Lyn wasn’t dilating enough. In fact, it seemed that her cervix went missing, since it was hard for the nurses to find. It took Dr. Johnson coming in after 6 o’clock to find it and break her water. After 5 more agonizing hours, the pain became so much that Lyn finally decided to go for an epidural. Really hoping for a natural birth, she reluctantly opted for the epidural to avoid stressing the baby, as the pain got way more intense at 4 cm dilation than any of her other 4 births were by completion.

Jeanne (Lyn’s Mom), Aja, and Nathan had to leave the room as only one person could stay behind other than the nurse and anesthesiologist. Being the father, it made sense that Rich was the one to stay.

It’s a really good thing that he did. Just as the doctor was preparing to numb the area for the epidural, Lyn had immense pressure. After an examination showing 7 cm dilation, the nurse and doctor felt there was plenty of time to finish the procedure. But then Lyn said there was way too much pressure for that to be the case.

Sure enough, she was already at 9 cm. So, the Dr was called (he was close by). Still, the nurse felt there was time for the epidural. Lyn again said there was intense pressure and the nurse said not to push until they determined 10 cm dilation. But Lyn knew Nova was coming and said so. She didn't push at all. However, the rest of the water broke all over Rich’s leg and Lyn said that her head was out.

The nurse had to help Lyn lay back onto the bed properly, as Nova was simply coming out on her own with immense pressure that couldn't be stopped. Rich rushed to the other side of the bed to get a better view of what was happening. Seconds after Lyn laid back, Nova came out completely, landing in the RN’s arms. Dr. Johnson was still in the parking garage as it happened.

Due to the shock of Nova’s sudden arrival, Rich wasn’t able to immediately notify Jeanne, the kids, or anyone else of what had happened. Dr. Johnson arrived and finished up the dirty parts. Rich got to cut the cord and Dr. Johnson saw that the placenta came out as well. Rich was worried that he’d be sickened by all the blood, but because Nova came out in front of everything else, she was relatively clean.

He was too happy just to see her on the outside to even really notice the rest of what they were doing. Lyn’s pain pretty much evaporated right afterwards. After months of miserable pain and pressure, she could finally relax and enjoy a baby.

Not only does it seem that she’s perfectly healthy, but Nova is perhaps one of the calmest babies ever. She only cried at the very beginning, for her first shots, for the bath later, and when they take her temperature (just under her arm). She actually smiled for the first time when they were weighing her, and Rich got a great shot of it.

We were sad that the older two kids, Amber and Tia, weren't here for Nova's arrival. They had left on vacation that morning and couldn't change their plans. So they have to see it all in pictures.

Aja has taken to her quite quickly. After being there for the entire day, sticking around really paid off. She’s already tried to claim Nova as her own baby. You’ll see from the picture that Aja is extremely tired here. She was a real trooper, insisting on coming with us from the beginning and staying for the whole thing. Her and Nathan stayed the night and passed out soon after this picture was taken.

Nova likes Nathan a lot, too. You can see him holding her for the first time here, too.

For the most part, Nova’s just been sleeping. But when she isn’t, she is extremely aware and smiles a lot. We’re just so happy to have her here with us now after nearly ten months of a crazy rough pregnancy. This is only the beginning of the Nova Skye Story. It got off to quite a dramatic start, with an insane pregnancy and traumatic (yet funny now) birth. Now it’s time to make some awesome memories!

All photos (c) Richard Rowell & Lyn Lomasi. All Rights Reserved.

Nova is Such a Good Baby

Daddy Changed Nova This Morning!

Rich Feeding Nova Skye!

Nova's Humorous, Yet Scary, Birth Story

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