‘Bringing Up Bates’ Star Has a Baby on the Way

The Bringing Up Bates family is growing! Josie Bates and husband Kelton Balka are currently counting down the days to the arrival of their third baby, the couple, who married in October 2018, announcing back in August that they are pregnant and continuing to document their journey to parents of three in the months since.

The happy couple shared the exciting news of their little one on the way via an adorable Reel shared to Bates’ Instagram back on Aug. 14. In the short clip, simply captioned, “Balk, Party of Five,” the reality TV, her husband, and their two daughters – Hazel, 2, and Willow, 4 – announced the pregnancy by holding up a series of sonogram images. In a voiceover, little Willow told viewers, “I have a surprise! Mommy has a baby in her belly. This is a picture of it. Hazel’s a big sister now. I can’t wait to see it! Love you, bye!” Bates returned to the platform just a day later to post a gallery of family photos, sharing, “Baby Balka coming early March.”

In the months since, the soon-to-be mom of three has continued to document her pregnancy journey, including plenty of bumpdates and trimester recaps. In a September post, the reality star shared a video documenting the moment she told Balka she was pregnant. Calling her husband to the bathroom, who hilariously asked, “do you need toilet paper,” Bates held up the positive pregnancy test. Balka reacted to the news by first inspecting the test before embracing his wife. In an update in November, Bates shared that “Baby 3 is growing quickly, currently measuring in the 87th percentile and much bigger than my other babies.”

One thing the couple hasn’t shared, however, is the sex of their little one on the way. When someone asked in the comments section of that November update if they were going to find out the sex, Balka responded with, “were waiting till birth to find out.” In the caption, Bates added that “the anticipation to meet this sweet baby and find out if it’s a boy or girl is building! We cannot wait.”

Bates and Balka tied the knot in October 2018 in a romantic outdoor ceremony in overlooking the Tennessee mountain. They welcomed their first baby, daughter Willow, in July 2019. They went on to welcome Hazel in 2021 after revealing in September 2020 that they suffered a miscarriage.