Oh baby! It seems forever fine R&B singer Ashanti has officially entered her motherhood era! The “Rock Wit U” singer revealed Wednesday that she’d given birth to her first child, a son named Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, on July 18.
The name, she told Entertainment Weekly, came from her husband Nelly and was partially inspired by her own father.
“His dad [Nelly] named him with a lot of pride,” she explained. “We were going back and forth for a long time on his name and he was very adamant. He was like, ‘This is what I want, I love this.’ I thought it was just so amazing and so thoughtful and so sweet. Because Kenkaide is my dad’s name and obviously my dad has only girls, so Nelly was just like, ‘I think that would be really dope.’ This was all his idea.”
But perhaps what was most admirable was the post-partum selfie she posted on Wednesday embracing her new body and her new journey into motherhood.
“Funny how life’s plans aren’t…always on time.. lol. I’ve been waiting to be a mom for a long time now but nothing could prepare me for EVERYTHING motherhood brings! This is what postpartum looks like,” she wrote in a post to Instagram posing in specially designed maternity wear.
Seeing Ashanti celebrating her post-baby “bawdy” is such a breath of fresh air in a society that tries to pressure women into “snapping back” to their pre-baby body immediately after giving birth.
After years of being a sex symbol (and she still is...don’t get it twisted), seeing her honor this new iteration of her body and life should definitely become the new norm.