Amid a cloud of professional controversy, Erin Bates can now bask in some personal sunshine.
Some very bright, beautiful and blessed personal sunshine, we should emphasize.
Meaning what, exactly?
Meaning the reality star and her husband, Chad Paine, have welcomed their fifth child into the world!
The new addition is a daughter named Finley Marie Paine and she was born on Tuesday, Januarry 18, joining an immediate family that also includes brother Carson, 6, as well as daughters Brooklyn Elise, 5, Everly Hope, 3, and Holland Grace, 2
Finley arrived at 4:51 a.m., weighing 5 lbs., 4 oz., at birth.
She's perfect, you guys!
"Our little miracle baby is doing wonderful and we can't wait to share more details soon!
"This mama and daddy are going to get a little rest now and as many snuggles as possible," Erin wrote late last night alongside a photo of the couple with their newborn, adding:
"We can't thank you enough for the prayers.
"We feel indebted, loved, and so grateful to each of you. We serve such a big God."
The singer was previously concerned that she would never get pregnant again after battling COVID-19 on two occasions and having three surgeries to remove most of her ovaries.
“I basically have one third of an ovary left, but it’s very scarred," Bates explained exclusively to Us Weekly just under a year ago.
“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.”
The happy exciting news came the same day that UPtv surprised many viewers by confirrming it would NOT be moving forward with Bringing Up Bates, which was expected to premiere its 11th season in February
Erin had played a key role on the series since its very first episode.
"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," UPtv said in a statement.
Added the network:
"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.
"Thank you to Gil and Kelly Jo Bates for welcoming viewers into your family's home over the past ten seasons."
A bunch of observers believe this cancelation is directly tied to the close friendship between many Bates family members and many Duggar family members... in the wake of Josh Duggar being convicted on two counts of child sex abuse.
"As the next year begins, our family will be experiencing a lot of new changes," the Bates have said in response to UPtv's decision.
"One of the biggest changes for us is that the network will be moving toward producing more scripted family shows and will not be renewing a contract to film new Bringing Up Bates episodes.
"We realize God’s timing is always perfect, and we are looking forward to what the future holds for our own family, as well as the network!"
Concluded the family:
The last ten seasons of filming with Bringing Up Bates have been an amazing journey for our family...
Most of all, we are thankful to God for the experiences we’ve shared together as a family and for the lessons we’ve learned along the way. We feel very blessed to have these memories.
We look forward to the next chapters of life unfolding before us with lots of new adventures.
We promise to keep you updated on our lives in the days ahead and pray that God will richly bless each of you.
Our greatest desire is that we would each strive to learn more about God and to grow in His grace.