Miracle baby! One year after Erin Bates revealed health complications that could possibly prevent her from expanding her family, the Bringing Up Bates star has given birth to baby No. 5.
The reality star, 30, shared a photo from the hospital on Monday, January 17, calling it “baby day,” before announcing the little one’s name as Finley Marie Paine via her hashtag.
One day later, Bates debuted her and husband Chad Paine’s fifth child via her Instagram Story. “Madly in love,” she captioned a snap of the newborn baby girl snuggled up against her chest on Tuesday, January 18.
The TV personality also posted a photo of her husband, 34, massaging her foot as she sat in her hospital bed. “I love him. A lot,” she wrote via social media.
Their daughter’s arrival came just hours after UPtv announced on Tuesday that Bringing Up Bates would no longer be returning to the network for season 11.
“We will not be premiering Bringing Up Bates season 11 on UPtv as planned as we will be focusing our programming in 2022 on movies and a new scripted series to be announced soon,” the network said in a statement to Us Weekly. “When we premiered Bringing Up Bates, the series was focused on parents with 19 kids who were teenagers and young children. The cameras were there to capture the love, laughs and big life moments, as the family continued to grow.”
UPtv concluded: “Thank you to the fans who tuned in every Thursday night to be part of the journey. We’re looking forward to continuing to uplift you with our programming in the future.”
Bates, who appeared on the series for 10 seasons, previously announced her pregnancy news in August 2021 with an Instagram baby bump debut. “YES!!! We ARE EXPECTING … and still pinching ourselves to see if it’s real!” the UPtv personality captioned a family photo at the time. “God is so good.”
The happy couple were all smiles in the sweet shot alongside their four kids: Carson, 6, Brooklyn, 5, Everly, 3, and Holland, 2.
The following month, the expectant star revealed their fifth child was going to be another daughter.
“We wanted a little boy for Carson to have a brother,” Bates said in an October 2021 YouTube video. “At first he was like, ‘Mom, this is not what I prayed for. I prayed for a little boy.’ It didn’t really matter to either of us. I explained, ‘Carson, God knew that this sister is going to be extremely special to you.’ Of course, the girls were wanting a little girl.”
The worship singer was previously concerned that she would likely never get pregnant again after battling COVID-19 twice and having three surgeries to remove most of her ovaries.
“I basically have one third of an ovary left, but it’s very scarred,” the Tennessee native explained exclusively to Us in February 2021. “So at this point, it’s not in the question at all, which is sad because me and Chad always talked about having at least 10 children, but you never know what God has for the future. Sometimes it’s not like what you plan or how you envision it. So I don’t know what God has for us down the road, but we’re definitely open to many options.”
Bates called Paine a “hero” that same month, gushing via Instagram: “He has pampered and waited on me hand and foot all day and all night. He has been so patient and caring, and he’s not too shabby as a cook and for sure better than me at laundry, dishes and mopping. His daily love notes have made me cry and smile at the same time, and nothing is sweeter than hearing the kids belly laugh as he chases them through the house for hours or makes his stories come to life every night. I am so blessed.”