"This is what I've wanted my whole life," Nikki said. "The fact that he's here -- I'm just so in love and happy."
Nikki and Brie Bella are "honored" and "grateful" to introduce their newborn sons -- Matteo and Buddy -- for the first time.
While speaking with PEOPLE as they grace the cover of the latest issue, the "Total Bellas" stars, 36, gushed over their baby boys: Nikki's son, Matteo, her first child with her fiancé, Artem Chigvintsev, and Brie's son, Buddy, her second child with her husband, Daniel Bryan.
The former WWE stars gave birth within 22 hours of each other. Nikki welcomed her son on July 31, Brie on August 1.
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View Story"I've been up since 3 a.m., but this is what I've wanted my whole life," Nikki said. "The fact that he's here -- I'm just so in love and happy."
"That's what happens when you're on an infant schedule," added Brie, who also shares a 3-year-old daughter, Birdie, with Bryan. "But like Nikki said, the love is just so overpowering that even though you're so tired, that bliss just takes over."
Nikki then opened up about going into labor early, revealing she and Artem "were so not prepared." According to PEOPLE, the E! star, who was originally due on August 6, went to the doctor to get induced a week early over concerns about her high blood pressure. However, her water broke in the doctor's office.
"Artem and I were so not prepared," Nikki recalled. "We barely had bags packed. I labored for 22 hours, and I pushed for two hours while wearing a mask because of COVID-19. It was 118 degrees in Phoenix, and our room wouldn't get colder than 76 degrees, so I was burning hot the whole time. I had two more rounds of pushing [to go] until my doctor said, 'You're going to have to have a c-section.' I said, 'No, he's coming out vaginally.' "
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"I looked at Artem [who was allowed in the room with a mask], and I go, 'Put on the Lumineers!' And literally we 'Hey Ho'-ed and '-Ophelia'-ed Matteo into this world," she added. "I have never pushed so hard in my life. I almost tore off the handlebars!"
Brie, on the other hand, was scheduled to deliver via a c-section on August 1.
"I was trying to have a VBAC [a vaginal birth after a previous cesarean section] because I had an emergency c-section with Birdie, but I forgot I make stubborn babies, and they don't like to come out," she explained, joking that she was "a little upset" her twin went into labor before her. "When Matteo came on the 31st, I was like, 'No matter what, my baby is coming at 9 a.m. tomorrow.' We didn't know it was a boy yet."
"This experience was so different from my last -- just to walk into a c-section and be completely alert," Brie continued. "When they pulled out Buddy, they put down the curtain, and my husband was like, 'Oh, I got a boy!' We were really overwhelmed with joy."
Nikki and Brie were later placed in two new hospital rooms, which were coincidentally right next to each other. At this point, they were first introduced to their nephews. Nikki and Brie have already noticed similarities between the "Bella boys."
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View Story"What's crazy about Buddy and Matteo is, they both have the same scream-cry," said Nikki. "It's the cutest high-pitch noise and they're identical. Even their coos are identical and they're so cute. Now, Matteo, he will grunt and like punch my boobs when he's breastfeeding. Artem and I will sit and laugh because it's perfect little punches he'll do. He grunts at me, so I feel like I have a little boxer on my hands."
"Buddy loves kicking," Brie said of her son. "I actually was really nervous, because everyone's like, 'If you have a good baby, you're going to have a really bad one.' I was like, 'Well, Birdie was so good. So here comes my wild one.' He's calmer than what Birdie was. [Both babies] are calm and patient. We're the wild ones and very feisty. Our little boys don't have our personalities yet. Birdie does. Birdie is our mini."
Both Nikki and Brie took to Instagram to share their excitement over their PEOPLE cover, which featured the two holding their newborns.
'Hello World ✨ This pregnancy started unexpectedly and ended the same way too with @thenikkibella 💛 @people," Brie wrote alongside a photo of the PEOPLE cover. "More pics to come of our sweet little Buddy."
"Buddy Dessert Danielson," she continued, before revealing the meaning behind the baby's moniker. "Named after Bryan’s Dad and his middle name is pronounced Desert after my Nana’s maiden name. He came into our lives in such a special way we wanted to name him after some special people ✨"
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Nikki also posted a photo of the cover, writing in the caption: "Feel so grateful and honored to grace the cover of @people magazine with @thebriebella and our Bella Boys. 💙 It was so important for us to showcase the real and raw side of postpartum. Brie and I here are less than two weeks postpartum. Most wouldn't do photoshoots but we wanted to embrace the beauty of being new moms."
"The lack of sleep (literally have welts under my eyes from not sleeping lol), the glow, the weight gain, the excitement, the overall beauty of postpartum and motherhood! And just so grateful," she continued. "People let us showcase that! Swipe up in my IG stories to read our labor stories, hear from @theartemc and @bryandanielson. Our cover hits stands this Friday!!! So happy you finally get to officially meet our Matteo 💙 In birdie's words, our Teo 🥰🦋✨ #buddyandmatteo #bellasboys."
The twins also shared sweet close-up photos of their newborns on Instagram.
"Matteo Artemovich Chigvintsev 💙 ," Nikki captioned the pic, above. "7/31/2020 💙 7 lbs 3 oz 💙 19 3/4 in."
"Hi I'm Buddy 💙." Brie wrote alongside an adorable shot of Buddy, below.
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