Rachel Riley has been very open about her journey into motherhood, often sharing little snippets into her life with her baby daughter Maven on social media. And this week, the new mum – who recently made a sensational return to Countdown – made a hilarious confession, where she told viewers that she once mistook a hot water bottle for her little girl. She told host Nick Hewer: "When Mave was first born and she was crying and it was the middle of the night - and you're desperately trying to get her to sleep - I was shushing her and thought, 'there's something wrong. Why isn't she going to sleep?'"
WATCH: Rachel Riley's daughter Maven makes her Countdown debut
"And then I realised I wasn't holding her," she added. "I was holding my hot water bottle." With the audience and Nick now laughing, Rachel continued: "Trying to get that off to sleep - I was patting its head. It was just a furry hot water bottle and she was still in her cot." Nick then acknowledged that she must have been "so tired," new mum Rachel quipped: "Every new parent knows that, but a furry hot water bottle just wouldn't go to sleep!"
MORE: Rachel Riley marks special pregnancy milestone in hilarious post
© Photo: InstagramRachel and Pasha Kovalev welcomed Maven in December
The confession comes a day after Rachel and her husband Pasha Kovalev introduced the Countdown family to their three-month-old baby girl. At the beginning of the episode, Nick asked Rachel how her weekend was, to which she replied: "I had a bit of a busy weekend, I made a new friend, quite literally, do you want to meet her?" Maven then appeared on set in Pasha's arms. "So yeah, a bit of a busy weekend, it feels like two and a half months have passed," she joked.
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Last month, Rachel and Pasha celebrated their daughter turning three months old. The celebrity mathematician shared a series of Instagram snaps of Maven over the past few weeks, and wrote alongside them: "The little one is three months old today. It's true what they say, it's hard to remember life before her and the cliché is true – she's the best thing we've ever done." The Strictly stars welcomed their daughter, whose full name is Maven Aria Riley Kovaleva, on 15 December, two weeks after her due date. Prior to her arrival, the couple eloped to Las Vegas in May last year, shortly after announcing that they were expecting a baby.
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