"I'm thankful to be able to have three and be the best dad that I can be. It's the best title you have in this life.”
Hakeem Adeniji are officially parents after years of fertility issues and an unimaginable loss.
The 28-year-old offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys took to Instagram on Dec. 31 to share photos of his newborn son, Elijah Semiu, whom he welcomed with his wife, Kayla, on Dec. 26.
The baby news comes one year after the couple announced the stillbirth of their first son, Semiu Zade.
Hakeem and his wife had struggled with infertility for two years before embarking on their IVF journey, which resulted in a failed embryo transfer followed by a positive one.
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The couple announced their first pregnancy in May 2024.
“To our son… We’ve been waiting for you. We prayed for you, dreamt of you, always knew we wanted you. Baby Adeniji coming November,” Kayla wrote in a caption at the time.
On Nov. 4, 2024 — 38 weeks into her pregnancy — Kayla announced that they had lost their son.
“We had to say goodbye to the most perfect, beautiful boy I’ve ever seen. We will never ever be the same and we will never forget him,” she wrote in an Instagram caption.
“He was just perfect. Oh my sweet boy mommy and daddy will always smile when we think of you, I promise. Please look out for us my angel,” she added.
One month later, Hakeem took to his Instagram Story to ask for help as they embarked on a new chapter.
“Kayla and I have decided to pursue surrogacy as we think it’s probably the best way to feel somewhat normal as we don’t know when she can get pregnant again,” Hakeem wrote at the time, per TODAY.com.
Hakeem Adeniji’s friends gave him the help he needed
It didn’t take long for Hakeem and Kayla to find the help that they were asking for.
In an interview with People, published Dec. 31, the couple revealed that it was a conversation Hakeem had with his friend and barber, Darnell, that helped turn their dream of being parents into reality.
Darnell had told Hakeem that his wife, Cerise, had been wanting to become a surrogate.
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"At first it all felt like a 'this is too good to be true, no way this works,'" Kayla told People. "And next thing you know, we are all on a group FaceTime talking about how we would do this together."
On Dec. 26, Hakeem and Kayla met their two friends at a hospital in Cincinnati. Elijah was born later that day.
Kayla described it as the “best moment of my life,” according to People.
"To be honest, the moment I heard him cry was almost sweeter than the moment I got to hold him,” she told the outlet. "I never got to hear my firstborn cry, he was born sleeping.
“I never knew what he sounded like — his body was already pale and cold. Hearing life come from my son just brought back a piece of my heart I never thought would return," she added.
On Jan. 2, Kayla took to her Instagram Story to share a video of her taking her baby for a walk in a stroller “that’s been sitting for over a year.”
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“Because of two of the most selfless people in the world, Darnell and Cerise, he is here and in our arms and that is exactly why we made them the godparents to Eli," Kayla told People.
