Thomas Rhett and Wife Lauren Welcome Daughter Ada James
And baby makes four at the home of Thomas Rhett!
The country singer-songwriter and his wife Lauren Akins welcomed their second daughter — Ada James Akins — on Saturday, Aug. 12, at 10:28 p.m., a rep confirms to PEOPLE. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Ada weighed 7 lbs., 3 oz.
“Our baby girl is here💗 sweet Ada James Akins came into the world at 10:28 last night after almost 36 hours of labor (only Jesus got me through that-& she is sooo worth it😭💛),” Lauren captioned a sweet hospital photo on Instagram.
Ada joins older sister Willa Gray, 21 months, whom the pair adopted from Uganda in May after meeting her through their work with 147 Million Orphans.
“[She] is so stinking cute I just can’t take it!” Lauren added of Ada. “We are all doing well now, just resting. Thank y’all for your prayers-she is a miracle and God is so good. Thomas Rhett and I are so I love with her. And Willa Gray is so excited to finally have a baby sister 😘 More pics to come, so get ready haha.”
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A post shared by Lauren Akins (@laur_akins) on Aug 13, 2017 at 11:31am PDT
A post shared by Macy Page (@macycpage) on Aug 13, 2017 at 11:33am PDT
Thomas Rhett used Instagram to post a heartwarming tribute to his new baby girl and her mama, sharing the same photo and captioning it, “Last night at 10:28 PM Ada James Akins was born and it was truly the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. I can’t believe that we have two daughters!!”
“My wife @laur_akins labored almost 36 hours😳She is by far the strongest human being I have ever met and I have a new found respect for moms around the world,” he wrote.
A post shared by ThomasRhettAkins (@thomasrhettakins) on Jul 12, 2017 at 5:43am PDT
“We are so excited that Willa Gray has a baby sister! Thank you Lord and everyone for the prayers🙌🏼 #outnumbered,” added Thomas Rhett, 27.
On Wednesday, Lauren documented how she was getting ready for labor. “Yes, I’m bouncing on a birth ball trying to coax my baby out,” she said on her Instagram story.
A post shared by Lauren Akins (@laur_akins) on Jul 5, 2017 at 7:50pm PDT
RELATED GALLERY: She’s (Almost) Here! Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins’ Too-Cute Pregnancy Photos
The couple were childhood friends, and married in 2012. In February, they announced they were expecting a baby and had begun the process of adopting a child from Africa.
“When we began the adoption process, we said, ‘Let’s wait, let’s give this adopted child his or her time with us and then we’ll continue our family,'” Lauren previously told PEOPLE of the moment she began to experience nausea. “So I was convinced it was food poisoning.”
A post shared by Lauren Akins (@laur_akins) on Aug 5, 2017 at 2:54pm PDT
“We tried to get pregnant for a little bit before,” added Lauren, whose own mother was adopted. “It was a good chunk of time and our family is extremely fertile, so I was expecting it to happen easily. I was like, ‘Maybe this is the Lord’s way of telling me adoption is what he wants me to do.’ And I was okay with that.”
“It’s funny to me how we tried so hard and then we didn’t try at all and it happened!” she continued. “We feel like it’s all part of the plan.”
We're so happy to announce that we are pregnant & in the process of adopting a child from Africa! Safe to say life is about to get crazy! ???? pic.twitter.com/Yhi088mPmy
— Thomas Rhett (@ThomasRhett) February 15, 2017
In April, the now father of two told PEOPLE he was excited about getting to know his second child, but that he was worried about one thing.
“[I’m] terrified about having a girl … when she turns 13, 14, 15 and starts dating, that terrifies me pretty hard, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Thomas Rhett said at the time. “Three days ago was the first kick. It was pretty surreal to me. That made it all real!”
Thomas Rhett’s appropriately titled new album Life Changes will be released Sept. 8.
