People.com Celebrity Parents Syesha Mercado Reunites with Son Amen'Ra After Months-Long Custody Battle: 'This Has Been a Nightmare' American Idol alum Syesha Mercado said that son Amen'Ra, 20 months, was taken from her custody on March 11 By Gabrielle Chung Published on October 6, 2021 08:27 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Syesha Mercado/instagram Syesha Mercado is back with her son, Amen'Ra. The American Idol alum, 35, revealed on Saturday that she and partner Tyron Deener have regained custody of their 20-month-old son after a months-long battle to bring the child home, sharing a video of their sweet family reunion on her Instagram. "AMEN'RA IS OFFICIALLY HOME!!!" she wrote in the caption. In the footage, Deener explained though Amen'Ra — who the family previously claimed was taken by the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) in March — is back with his parents, they must now go through "six months of supervision" from child services officials "to show that we're competent and able to raise our own baby." Mercado spoke in detail about the ordeal in another video posted to her Instagram on Tuesday, sharing that she and Deener must now complete "weight check-ins" for Amen'Ra as well as have the toddler attend therapy sessions. "We have to weigh our son. He's not allowed to lose weight," she said. "He has to do therapies where they monitor his play ... and he still has appointments." Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic Syesha Mercado Shares Footage from 'Refreshing' Visit with Son Amen'Ra amid Custody Battle In a GoFundMe set up in support of the family, Mercado alleged that Amen'Ra was "forcefully taken from us by CPS" on March 11 after she had taken the child to a Florida hospital for additional fluids. At the time, Mercado was transitioning from breastfeeding to bottle due to her pregnancy with her daughter, Ast. Randy Warren, a spokesperson for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, previously told PEOPLE that an investigation was launched after authorities received a tip about a child who was "suffering from severe malnutrition." "Ultimately the child, by order of a judge, was sheltered and treatment took place," Warren said. "The parents refused to cooperate." A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Children and Families previously told PEOPLE that while specific case information is confidential, the department's actions "are always to ensure the well-being of children." RELATED VIDEO: American Idol Alum Syesha Mercado Loses Custody of 2nd Child Just 5 Months After Her 1st: 'Legally Kidnapped' In her 12-minute video on Tuesday, Mercado insisted that her son has always been healthy. "When he was with us, he never had a cold. He never had a fever. He never had a runny nose," she said. "I was just a mother who needed assistance with something that is very common amongst mothers, and what has been done to my family is unacceptable. It's sickening." According to Mercado, Amen'Ra has been "unnecessarily traumatized" by the experience of being removed from his parents. 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 juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "All of this has been a nightmare, and we are still living in a nightmare," she explained, "because, right now, we are seeing for the past seven months how much our son has been through. We see it in his eyes. We see it in the way he plays. We see it in the way he tries to rest at night." While Mercado is pleased that her son is finally home, the singer said that she and her family are "still living this nightmare with the state monitoring us." "Know that this is not over," she told viewers. "A victory to us is being out of the system, to be able to live happy, healthy and free ... to not be discriminated against because we choose to live a holistic lifestyle." Jemal Countess/Getty American Idol's Syesha Mercado Tears Up as She Speaks About Losing Custody of Kids: 'It Hurts So Bad' "We don't get to parent how we want to parent. We don't get to do that, at least for now. We're under a microscope. It doesn't feel right. This is not living," she said. "We just want to enjoy our baby and be left alone, but we're forced to do weight check-ins, a bunch of therapies and people are gonna be coming to our house non-stop." "This is what life is right now, but I'm just gonna focus on my son [and] continue to instill that positivity within him," Mercado added. In August, Mercado and Deneer temporarily lost custody of their newborn daughter Ast, now 2 months. The couple were reunited with their baby girl one week later. Louis Baptiste, one of Mercado's attorneys, previously said in a press conference that the children were placed in the care of an estranged relative. "They're not where they belong, and they're not with the person that the parents would choose, and their setting is not a setting which the parents would choose," he said.