Rachel Riley has celebrated her first birthday as a mum, almost one month after giving birth to her daughter Maven. Taking to her Instagram page over the weekend, the Countdown host - who turned 34 on Saturday - revealed she relished every moment of her big day with her little girl. "Birthday cuddles with this packet of gorgeousness," she wrote alongside a snap of the pair. "Thanks for all the lovely messages today from everyone, it's been an especially lazy and lovely day!"
Rachel Riley shared this snap with baby Maven on her birthday
She also tweeted: "Thanks for all the lovely birthday messages today! You're all very kind. 34 has been the wildest yet." New mum Rachel and her husband Pasha Kovalev welcomed their daughter on Sunday 15 December. However, Maven's arrival wasn't so straight-forward. Sharing a sweet snap of the three of them, the TV presenter explained: "Two weeks after we were expecting her this little one finally made an appearance! Miss Maven (one who understands) Aria (lioness) Riley Kovaleva arrived on Sunday morning weighing in at 7lbs 4.
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"After keeping us waiting she came so quickly we didn't have a chance to get to the hospital and was born in our bathroom with our amazing doula and wonderful St Mary’s midwives rushing over to be with us in the nick of time! She's absolutely perfect and Pasha and I are in newborn bliss. Couldn't be more in love."
MORE: Take a look at Pasha Kovalev and Rachel Riley's love story
It's been an exciting 12 months for Rachel and Pasha; shortly after announcing their pregnancy in May 2019, the lovebirds eloped to Las Vegas where they married in secret. In November, Rachel opened up about her pregnancy and revealed how she and Pasha will make sure their baby speaks Russian as well as English to honour both sides of the family. "We've got baby books with farmyard animals described in Russian so Pasha is going to be on bedtime story duty, otherwise they won’t be able to speak to their grandma and uncle," she told HELLO!.
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