New year, new you… For a handful of Kiwi celebrities the theme is new year, new baby.
There has been a spattering of new babies born to Kiwi celebrities – some over the summer break – and we’re delighted to celebrate their arrivals.
From the arrival of a baby boy for The Hits’ Sam Wallace to Gemma and Richie McCaw releasing first-time pics of their new baby girl Charlotte, we can’t get enough.
Let’s take a peek at these tiny boys and girls – and look back on some of the other gorgeous deliveries we’ve seen to well-known Kiwis in recent months.
Starting with Kiwi royalty, Gemma and Richie McCaw chose the very first day of 2019 to release us from our burning curiosity and reveal their very first pics of their precious new arrival, Charlotte Rose McCaw.
Charlotte Rose was born on December 13, 2018 and we’ve all been dying to get a first glimpse. Thank you Gemma and Richie. (Scroll right on the image for a second gorgeous pic of Gemma kissing Charlotte Rose’s head.)
Congratulations to Sam Wallace and Sarah Bowman! Sarah gave birth to the couple’s first baby – a healthy baby boy – on December 28 and Sam took to Instagram to show off first pics of their gorgeous new son.
He captioned the images: “What a start to 2019. He’s a whopping 8.7lbs. Both Mum and Baby are happy and healthy! And my heart has never felt so full!”
The birth wasn’t all smooth sailing though. Sam let it slip to The Hits team that he passed out during the birth, blaming it on not having enough to eat.
“I hadn’t eaten for 15 hours,” he shared. “Baby came out and I stood up and there was nothing left in my brain! So I had a little fall!”
It took a few days to settle on a name, but in the end they looked to acting royalty for inspiration: introducing Brando Archie Wallace.
One of the most compelling stories of 2018 was that of the deep friendship between much-loved broadcaster Toni Street and best friend Sophie Braggins, which led to Sophie carrying Toni and husband Matt France’s third child for them as a surrogate. Toni is mum to Juliette, five, and Mackenzie, three, but was unable to carry any more children due to a rare auto-immune condition, Churg-Strauss syndrome.
Baby Lachie was born on 9 August and Toni and Matt went on to adopt Lachie – a requirement by NZ surrogacy laws – just before Christmas.
On New Year’s Day Toni released this gorgeous pic of the couple’s new son being held by Sophie.
She captioned the photo, “My fave photo of 2018.. sums up what a special year it was for us… nothing but adoration and love right here.”
If there’s one new arrival from 2018 that’s highly unlikely to grow up apathetic about politics or social issues, it’s baby Neve. At the tender age of three months New Zealand’s First Baby had already attended her first United Nations General Assembly. And here she is, captured on camera over the Christmas holidays watching the final vote on the Child Poverty Reduction Bill in parliament – as one does.
Proud mum Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who gave birth to baby Neve on June 21, posted on Instagram a few days before Christmas, “Someone was watching the final vote on the Child Poverty Reduction Bill in parliament just now. Very proud to have this bill finally pass, and with such wide support. Now to get on with it!”
This sort of holiday snap usually features an episode of Peppa Pig, but then most babies don’t have the Prime Minister for a mum, right?
In September Nadia Lim gave birth to her second son River in an unexpected home birth. The MasterChef NZ winner, 32, and her husband Carlos Bagrie, 33, had headed straight to Birthcare when Nadia’s waters broke on September 24.
But her labour slowed dramatically so the couple returned home, only for contractions to become so intense, they couldn’t make the 15-minute journey back to Birthcare in time. Nadia had the baby at home.
Since having her first son Bodhi in 2016 Nadia has made a point of urging new parents to ease up on themselves, saying “I believe it’s important to be flexible and kind to yourself and not beat yourself up about things that don’t really matter in the big picture.
“If only I could tell you how many times I’ve resorted to toast or takeaways for dinner for us and our son, Bodhi, because I’ve been too disorganised, or how many exercise sessions I’ve missed because I had to give myself a rest or attend to something else, or how many times I’ve felt that I was letting a friend down by having to cancel a catch-up.
“Look after yourself, don’t expect you’ll be ‘good enough’ all the time.”
In keeping, in an Instagram message she posted on Christmas Day, in which she shares a gorgeous image of herself with now-four-month-old River, she says, “Hope you can relax and put your feet up now – the dishes can wait!”
Indeed they can. The time to enjoy our precious wee ones is now.
