New Dad of Two Thomas Rhett Talks 'Intense' Parenthood with Wife Lauren: 'We're Figuring It Out as We Go'

Country music singer Thomas Rhett - who is now a proud father of two - is pretty excited about parenthood

Published on August 24, 2017 03:55 PM

Country star Thomas Rhett is pretty excited about fatherhood.

The 27-year-old “Unforgettable” singer and his wife Lauren welcomed their second daughter, Ada James, on Aug. 12 — and the couple couldn’t be happier (or busier).

“It’s pretty intense because I feel like when one of them goes to sleep, the other one wakes up and vice versa,” Thomas Rhett told Entertainment Tonight Wednesday at the ACM Honors in Nashville, Tennessee, of his two daughters: Ada and 21-month-old Willa Gray, whom the pair adopted from Uganda in May after meeting her through their work with 147 Million Orphans.

“We’re figuring it out as we go, and it’s been a fun journey thus far,” adds Thomas Rhett. “We’re both doing pretty good considering the circumstances. We’re just excited to start to learn how to be better and better parents every day and get the kiddos out on the road.”

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11th Annual ACM Honors - Backstage And Audience — Rick Diamond/Getty

RELATED VIDEO: Thomas Rhett and Wife Lauren on Their Adoption Journey

The Academy of Country Music Award winner explains how he started giving his newborn daughter music lessons early on — really early on.

“I remember playing a ton of stuff to Lauren’s stomach ’cause my dad told me he played The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin on my mom’s stomach before I was born,” he says.

“I’m convinced they hear that stuff and they come out and maybe later — when they’re 13 or 14 and they hear it — they kind of feel something because they heard it in the past.”

The son of hit songwriter Rhett Akins, Thomas Rhett admits that while he wants his children to feel connected to music, he isn’t sure if he wants them to pursue it as a career.

“I would persuade them probably not to do it,” he says, adding, “My dad told me the same thing. It’s a tough business for sure, and it’s very competitive and takes a lot of your time. But at the same time, I can’t imagine doing anything different. So if they were that passionate about it, I would be super supportive.”

Thomas Rhett and Lauren used social media to announce the arrival of their second daughter. “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 the beautiful hospital Instagram photo.

The proud family also shared cute snaps as they awaited the arrival of baby Ada.

“One more family pic from last night…especially because baby girl #2 looks like she’s about ready to party and Willa Gray is actually looking at the camera plus we NEVER take photos together so I’m milking it while I can 😍🙌🏼,” wrote Lauren for one sweet photo.

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In April, the now father of two opened up to PEOPLE about philanthropic work and how he plans to “start introducing” his children to activism.

The new face of the charity organization Outnumber Hunger, whose mission is to help feed local families, Thomas Rhett said he wants his daughters to become involved with volunteer work at a young age.

“I’m looking forward to, at a very young age, introducing my kids to our [charitable] lifestyle,” he told PEOPLE. “When they’re old enough to realize what’s happening, to bring them over to Africa or to be able to bring them to Haiti or Mexico to the City of Children and get to see how the rest of the world lives.”

“We are very fortunate, but there are a lot of people that aren’t,” added Thomas Rhett.

“Lauren’s been to Haiti three times, and between the both of us, I feel like we’ve been to Uganda eight times this year, so we’ve really seen what severe poverty and malnutrition looks like,” Thomas Rhett said. “It’s crazy to know that that exists where we live in America.”

In April, Thomas Rhett took home three trophies at the ACM Awards, including song of the year and male vocalist of the year. His aptly titled new album Life Changes will be released Sept. 8.