And baby makes three! Nikki Bella, 36, and Artem Chigvintsev, 37, just shared the first photo of their newborn baby — and he is simply adorable! The couple revealed their little boy, Matteo, in a photo shoot with People Magazine, WHICH YOU CAN SEE HERE. The shoot also featured Nikki’s twin sister, Brie Bella, and her adorable newborn, Buddy. This was also the first time that the sisters shared their sons’ names with the world.
Nikki gave birth to her first child with fiance Artem on July 31, while Brie welcomed Buddy, her second child, just one day later on Aug. 1. Both sisters shared their exciting news on social media on Aug. 2 “7/31/2020,” Nikki captioned next to a photo of herself and Artem holding their newborn’s hand. “Our baby boy is here and we couldn’t be HAPPIER and more in LOVE! Everyone is safe and healthy.” Artem posted the same photo with an equally cute caption. “7/31/2020 please welcome our precious baby boy Chigvintsev proud of my love @thenikkibella.”
The ladies opened up more about life with their newborns during the People interview. “I’ve been up since 3 a.m. but this is what I wanted my whole life,” Nikki gushed. Brie added, “That’s what happens when you’re on an infant schedule. But like Nikki said, the love is so overpowering that even though you’re so tired, the bliss just takes over.” Of course, Brie and her husband, Daniel Bryan, are already parents to a three-year-old daughter, Birdie, so they’ve gone through this before!
Nikki and Brie made a joint pregnancy announcement in January and couldn’t believe how in sync their babies were when they popped out just one day apart from each other. “And how about that tag team!! I can’t believe Brie & I had boys less than 24 hours apart!” Nikki wrote in a series of tweets on the sisters’ joint Twitter account on August 3. “Honestly only us! lol. And that I beat her. As you can imagine everyone said it was my baby & mines competitive side that kicked in!” she joked, adding, “I can’t wait for our Bellas Boys to grow up together!”
Nikki went on to gush over her first days as a new mom. “The last few days have been truly incredible! Such a beautiful learning experience, still is, and wow a love like this!” she explained, letting her fans know that motherhood has been “everything you all have said it would be! I’ve never smiled so much with such little sleep. I’m in heaven! I’m so happy!!” she continued.
Now, nearly a month later, she’s reflecting on her labor, which came days before her Aug. 6 due date. “Artem and I were so not prepared,” Nikki admitted to People. “We barely had bags packed. I labored for 22 hours and I pushed for two hours while wearing a mask because of COVID-19. It was 118 degrees in Phoenix and our room wouldn’t get hotter than 76 degrees so I was burning hot the whole time.”
Nikki also explained that she almost needed a c-section, but was determined to push the baby out vaginally. With some help from Artem and some of their favorite music, Nikki was able to give birth without a c-section. “I have never pushed so hard in my life,” she said. “I almost tore off the handlebars!”