NEED TO KNOW
Kelleigh Bannen’s family is growing by one more!
The country singer, 44, is pregnant and expecting her second baby with husband Jeff Grossman, a rep for Bannen tells PEOPLE. The two are expecting another baby girl, due this fall, who will join by sister Mary Grant, 18 months.
“Our journey to parenthood involved IVF [in vitro fertilization], which means you know everything too soon!” Bannen tells PEOPLE. “I feel like I’ve known I’m pregnant for ages at this point, even though we still have a ways to go. But I’m so overjoyed we are here. So thankful.”
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Autumn Berry | @hello_miss_lovely
Now that she’s settled into her pregnancy, Bannen, who hosts The Kelleigh Bannen Show and Today’s Country Radio on Apple Music, shares that she’s had some specific cravings this time around.
“I cannot get enough carbs and sweets when I’m pregnant, so I’m baking bread all the time,” she says. “Now that summer is here, I’m experimenting with peach cobblers, trying to perfect my recipe. Baby and I both enjoy taste testing each trial recipe!”
Bannen and Grossman have started talking names for their newest little one and are hoping to use a family name.
“We are still playing with the order of the first name vs. the middle name, but we definitely plan to use a family name,” the singer says. “It’s a name I’m very excited we get to pass down to her.”
Autumn Berry | @hello_miss_lovely
As she gets ready to embark on this next chapter, Bannen says above all she’s feeling “gratitude.”
“There was a time we didn’t know if we’d ever get to be parents, so to have the chance to add another baby into the mix is just so amazing,” she shares. “But the balance of work — my shows and interviews with Apple Music — while also still working to write and make music, all paired with being a newish mom, is constantly in tension.”
“I recently spoke with Thomas Rhett about parenting and he said he lives by the mentality of ‘be where your boots are,’ which has really stuck with me,” says Bannen. “When I’m in an interview or making music, I want to be fully focused there, and when I’m home with my daughter I want to be fully focused on her as much as possible.”
“I don’t think it’s possible to have the perfect balance at all times, but I’m lucky to be able to do while also being a mom. I always hold onto that.”
