Bringing Up Bates' Tori Announces Exciting Family News
And then there were (or will be) three! Tori Bates, of the ever-expanding Bringing Up Bates family, is pregnant with her third child. She broke the news to Romper on Jan. 19, 2021, and followed up shortly afterward with a post on her Instagram feed, showing photos of her cradling her small bump and embracing husband Bobby Smith while holding the first sonogram image.
"We are so excited to announce that we are expecting baby number 3!" she rejoiced. Unlike other celebs who opt to keep details such as sex, due date, and name under wraps until after the birth, Tori spilled all the baby tea in one go. "It's a girl!" she wrote. "We can't wait to welcome Charlotte Raine Smith coming June 2021!"
The new arrival will make the reality TV couple the (very busy!) parents of three children under age 3; older son Robert Ellis (nicknamed Kade) is 2-and-a-half, and younger brother Kolter Gray will turn 1 in March. As People reported at the time, Kolter was born as the COVID-19 pandemic was becoming a national health crisis, and Tori's large family had to settle for meeting the new arrival via FaceTime.
Family members shared their excitement on Tori's feed. Sister Alyssa said, "Awwwwww baby girl. Congrats sis." Carlin added, "Ahh!! I'm so happy for you sister!"
2021 will be a baby-boom year for the Bates family
Parents Gil and Kelly Bates' 19 children have already given them 14 grandchildren (that is, the adult ones have). And this year, the total will climb to 18. In addition to Tori Bates' pregnancy with Charlotte, her brother Zachary and sisters Alyssa and Josie are all expecting (via UpTV). Josie's new arrival will be a much-awaited "rainbow baby" following a miscarriage she suffered last August (via Today). "Though there are still fears, concerns and uncertainties, we are taking extra precautions and praying for the safety of our little one," she wrote on Instagram.
"The more the merrier" could be the Bates family's unofficial motto. Like the Duggars — with whom they're close friends — the Tennessee clan are fundamentalist Christians who favor homeschooling, PDA-free "courtships" rather than dating, young marriages (all the married Bateses wed in their early 20s), and as many children as they believe God wants them to have.
Tori hasn't indicated whether her family will be complete once her third baby is born, but if not, she wouldn't be the first Bates child to have more than three; Erin is a mom of four, and Zachary's and Alyssa's babies will be their fourth, too. Tori told People, "It has been such a joy watching Kade and Kolter's sweet little friendship grow, and we are just over the moon to think about how perfectly Charlotte Raine will fit in with them."