RUGBY STAR’S LOCKDOWN BABY ARRIVAL
Hurricanes’ player and All Black hopeful Vince Aso and partner Nykala Toheriri are thrilled with the arrival of their longawaited little girl Arlow — two weeks early and just four days into lockdown. “Kala hadn’t previously had any labour signs and then she started getting contractions consistently around 8-9pm on March 29,‘ says Aso. “By 11pm they were coming every five minutes. At this point I was freaking out, wanting to go to hospital but Kala was trying to ride it out.” By 1.30am the couple decided that it was definitely time to go. By 2am they were at the hospital and luckily — considering the lockdown rules — Aso was still allowed to stay with Toheriri. “Kala got checked and she was fully dilated and the midwife said all she needed to do was push because she was right there, ha, ha. They said if we didn’t go to hospital when we did, Kala could’ve given birth in the car.”
“She pushed Arlow out at 3.44am and I caught her myself. I got to cut her umbilical cord too. It was such an unreal life-changing moment just going through it all and to see how it all unfolds. I was super excited and nervous at the same time but so proud of Kala being able to push bubba out naturally,” the proud dad says.
Aso said Kala was pretty out to it at that point and he couldn’t believe how much baby Arlow looked like her ultrasound images. He said he found a whole new love and couldn’t believe that he was finally able to hold her.
After a couple more hours the three of them were allowed home by 8.30am. “So again it was all so quick,” says Aso. Even though Arlow was born during Covid lockdown, they were able to spend a lot more time at home with family in a new home they have just bought. “Our lives have of course changed, but to be honest, we carry on with our lives like beforehand and all the things we were doing,” says Aso.
”I still get my training done daily and Kala is still studying and working towards her business. The biggest change would probably be the sleep. We definitely don’t get as much sleep anymore but we are adjusting well to it. I want to have six kids but think Kala needs a break first,” he says, laughing. “It’s lifechanging and being parents teaches you new things every day.”
Aso says he hopes to get a run-in with the Canes play the Blues at Eden Park in round one in two weeks and we are sure his girls will be cheering him on from home.