Ashanti & Nelly welcome first child together

Ashanti and her husband Nelly have welcomed their first child together!

The 43-year-old singer revealed Wednesday on Instagram that she had given birth.

A representative for the couple also announced their new son’s name around the same time

‘Ashanti and Nelly welcomed their baby boy, Kareem Kenkaide Hayes, on July 18, 2024,’ they said in a statement to People. ‘The proud and happy parents are so in love with KK!’

Ashanti revealed her big news by posing in a set of Frida Mom disposable underwear and flaunting her postpartum curves.

‘Four weeks postpartum,’ Ashanti announced in an accompanying video on Instagram, before adding proudly, ‘You have no idea what this body can do.’

In the self-shot clip, she moved the camera down her figure to reveal her significantly smaller tummy as she wore a white crop top and high-waisted gray panties, along with a lovely blue-and-white patterned robe.

‘Funny how life’s plans aren’t…always on time.. lol,’ Ashanti captioned her Instagram post. ‘I’ve been waiting to be a mom for a long time now but nothing could prepare me for EVERYTHING motherhood brings!

She gushed that ‘This is what postpartum looks like,’ before praising the disposal underwear.

‘I’m so proud of my body for giving me my baby, baby, baby, baby, baby,’ she added sweetly.

In an interview published Wednesday with ET, Ashanti revealed the origin of her new son’s name.

‘His dad named him with a lot of pride,’ she said, before revealing that his middle name, Kenkaide, is a tribute to Nelly’s father, Cornell Haynes, while his first name, Kareem, means ‘generous, kind and dignified,’ which was a hit with his parents.

The songstress also revealed that Kareem arrived just shy of his due date, so the rapper, who was out of town, had to fly in at the last minute to support his wife as she gave birth.

‘Having all of us in the delivery room and seeing his face for the first time, I cried it was just so emotional and spiritual at the same time,’ Ashanti shared. ‘Having a vision of this moment for so long… it was such an electrifying feeling.’

She added that her primary concern now was meeting Kareem’s needs.

‘I don’t care what it will take, what I have to do, I’m just going to give everything and my all to my son,’ she said. ‘This little boy has my entire soul wrapped around his finger.’

She also advised other new mothers to trust their ‘instinct[s],’ and she warned that their babies are aware of their emotions at all times.

‘Your child absolutely feels your energy. Make sure that the baby feels secure and safe and you have to have space for you as well,’ she said, while also warning not to ‘get too lost into the world of the baby.

‘I think that it’s really important to create a balance,’ she added, before acknowledging that motherhood was still new for her.

Baby Kareem is the first child for Ashanti, but the fifth for her husband Nelly, who has two biological and two adopted children.

The Hot In Herre rapper shares two of his kids — daughter Chanelle Haynes, 30, and son Cornell Iral ‘Tre’ Haynes III, 25 — with his ex-girlfriend Channetta Valentine.

But after his sister Jackie Donahue tragically d!ed from leukemia in 2005, Nelly adopted her son Shawn and daughter Sydney, both of whom are now adults.