Danielle says, \u201cWe planned the induction for the same day the team was announced, as we knew if Emoni was selected, he\u2019d have at least a couple of days to meet Nyla before he left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emoni had to bounce back from a big disappointment, after a serious injury ruled him out of 2023\u2019s Rugby World Cup. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
During her labour, Danielle had a sudden, unexpected craving for Hubba Bubba bubble gum and sent Emoni off on a mission to find some.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hospital shop didn\u2019t have any, so Emoni went to a nearby dairy,\u201d she smiles. \u201cFor me to suggest he leave the hospital while I was having contractions shows how badly I wanted it!\u201d<\/p>\n
While he was away, Danielle checked the All Blacks\u2019 Instagram page to find he had been named in the squad.<\/p>\n
He remembers, \u201cI\u2019d just come out of the shop when Danielle called me and said, \u2018You\u2019re in the team!\u2019 I was stoked.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rushed back to the hospital to start making calls to friends and family. A few hours later, Nyla was born, capping off an incredible day for the young couple.<\/p>\n
They admit to a few nerves about Nyla\u2019s birth<\/a> after a scary introduction to parenthood when daughter Milla, now 3, was born with vocal cord paralysis, which required a lengthy hospital stay and 24-hour oxygen for four months.<\/p>\n \u201cWe learnt with Milla that anything can happen and there\u2019s nothing harder than having a sick baby,\u201d Danielle says. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t really have extra anxiety with Nyla. I thought if we could get through what we did with Milla, we could get through anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Both say Nyla is the spitting image of her doting big sister.<\/p>\n \u201cMilla loves her sister and loves kindy, which makes it so much easier for us,\u201d admits Danielle. \u201cAlthough from lunchtime until around 8.30pm, it\u2019s chaos!\u201d<\/p>\n Emoni says the toughest part was leaving for Argentina just two days after Nyla was born.<\/p>\n \u201cI bawled my eyes out before I left. It was so hard. I was away for more than two weeks. It\u2019s not the same talking to your newborn on the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n One silver lining was the time difference between the two countries, which meant Danielle and Emoni could regularly FaceTime when she was up in the wee hours with Nyla.<\/p>\n \u201cThose calls helped me get through the night,\u201d admits Danielle.<\/p>\n Both are grateful to Danielle\u2019s parents \u2013 her father Leon \u201cdropped everything\u201d to move in with Danielle late in her pregnancy when Emoni was away, helping her move into the family\u2019s new home near the beach at P\u0101p\u0101moa, while her mum Tina was \u201cour godsend\u201d, staying with Danielle to help care for the girls when Emoni was in Argentina.<\/p>\nNyla is the spitting image of her doting big sister. Photo \/ Maree Wilkinson<\/p>\n