NEED TO KNOW
- Sanya Richards-Ross became a mom of three on Monday, July 1
- The proud boy mom welcomed her third son with her husband, Aaron Ross, announcing the news on her Instagram Stories
- The track legend and her husband are also parents to Asani, nearly 19 months, and Aaron Jr., 7
Sanya Richards-Ross is enjoying every second with her baby boy.
While chatting exclusively with PEOPLE, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star, 40, says that the first few days with her newborn son, Air Zion Ross, have been “amazing” and “somewhat of a whirlwind.” The newly minted mom of three adds that welcoming her son, born Monday, July 1, just feels “right.”
“It’s been amazing. Somewhat of a whirlwind because my babies are only 18 months apart, so I totally wasn’t planning to have them back to back like this, but it just completely feels right,” she tells PEOPLE. “My eldest son, Deuce, who wanted to be a big brother for so long, he said today, ‘I was an only child for six years and now I’m a big brother of two. It doesn’t get any better than this.'”
“This is what life is all about,” she says. “He was exceptional the last couple of days, just being there for me, being there for the baby, just such a great big brother, so I’m really excited.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After going through what she described as a “traumatic” pregnancy loss, Richards-Ross tells PEOPLE that welcoming her third child is a constant reminder that “we’re always evolving.”
“It’s just a constant reminder that we’re always evolving and we got to give ourselves grace and space to do that, because if this was like three, four years ago, I wouldn’t imagine being a mom of two, much less three, and so I’m just so grateful,” she says.
“After we had the loss when we tried to have our second child, that, for me, made it even more real that they truly are blessings,” she continues, referring to having children. “It doesn’t have to happen. It’s just been a really wonderful full circle moment for me of always striving through all of these things and putting family — I wouldn’t say on the back burner, but thinking, ‘Okay, I had already done it,’ but now, to go back and say, ‘Man, it’s been a priority for me and it’s been so rewarding.’ It’s hard to put into words.”
Richards-Ross reveals to PEOPLE that she and her husband didn’t officially land on a name until the baby was born. The one thing the newly minted parents of three knew for sure was that they were keeping the unique tradition of their son’s names.
“We definitely wanted to keep the As going, and we actually hadn’t decided on what his name was going to be until he was born. We wanted to see him,” she explains. “I had two names that I really liked. I had Air and Amari.”
“This is crazy, because once again, my eldest son has been playing such a big role in all this. The three of us were talking about it and kept saying the names. I told my oldest, I said, ‘Air is such a big name. It could potentially put a lot of expectations on him,’ ” she continues. “My son says, ‘Well, don’t we want him to be great? Don’t we want him to dream big?’ I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s so right.'”
Richards-Ross said that her oldest son, Aaron Jr., 7, whom they affectionately call “Deuce,” ultimately was the deciding factor when it came to choosing her little one’s name. She also shares with PEOPLE that the name also has a special and unique double meaning that plays on the sound of the name.
“He’s also like the final one, [so] the final heir of our family, so just a lot of meaning, and certainly felt like he was able to breathe more life into our family,” she tells PEOPLE. “I feel like there’s a lot of reasons why Air fits, and hopefully, he’ll love it. Hopefully, he’ll be able to embody it as he grows up.”
The new addition joins the couple’s other two sons, Asani, who’s nearly 19 months, and Aaron Jr. Richards-Ross tells PEOPLE that her sons, especially her oldest, are excited and adjusting well to being big brothers.
“Deuce is over the moon,” she says. “He was literally in the hospital with me both nights. He stayed with me and his dad and was there, and they both won’t stop kissing the baby.”
The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!
“Asani can’t stop kissing him. Of course, he doesn’t quite understand at the level that Deucey understands what it means to be a big brother, but there’s just so much love,” she adds. “Asani, I think, is so excited for this little baby. Although, like I said, I don’t think he fully understands what it means, but I can feel the love and excitement from him as well.”
Now that she’s officially welcomed her little one, Richards-Ross says that she’s looking forward to “lots of things,” but there’s one thing she really is excited to do.
“The first thing I thought about when he was born was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to take him to Disney World,’ ” she explains. “There’s something about Disney World that there’s just so much amazement.”
“We experienced it as kids, and then to be able to share that with your children. Deuce loves Disney and now he gets to experience it with his brothers, so that was kind of the first thing I thought about,” she adds. “I can’t wait till Air is a little bit older and we can go to Disney World. Just one of the few things that I think about once they start to explore the world and do really fun things together. [I’m] looking forward to seeing them grow up together, and be there for each other, and support each other.”
Read the full article here
