Bringing Up Bates: Kelly Jo Announces New Grandson, Gage

Bringing Up Bates alum, Kelly Jo Bates took to social media on Wednesday night and shared more baby news with her fans. In it, she announced the arrival of yet another grandchild. Read on to find who welcomed another baby, and more about all the grandkids in the UPtv family.

A New Grandchild

In the Bates family matriarch’s Instagram post, Kelly Jo announced the arrival of her newest grandson, Gage Turner Smith. Fortunately, the baby arrived safely on February 28. And, she let them know that he’s the son of Tori Bates and Bobby Smith. If you don’t know, Tori Layne Bates is the seventh-born child of Gil and Kelly Jo.

According to Kelly Jo’s post, the little one arrived at “10:02 pm, weighing 6 lbs 4 oz.” And the good news? The photos showed a healthy baby boy already surrounded by plenty of “love and admiration.”

A Growing Family

For those who struggle with keeping count, Gage is Kelly Jo and Gil Bates’ “19th grandson and 39th grandchild” overall. Still, the Bringing Up Bates alums never get tired of more newborns.

“He was absolutely worth the wait!” Kelly Jo gushed. “And yes, I’m feeling like the most incredibly blessed granny ever!”

Of course, UPtv fans went into the comments section and sent in their congratulations. One follower opined, “Perfect baby boy! And Tori, you look AMAZING! Congratulations guys.”

Meanwhile a few others noticed the family resemblance. One commenter said, “Looks like his Daddy and brothers to me!”

Keeping Up With The Grandkids

Because the family grows so large, so rapidly, even dedicated fans of the former UPtv show sometimes find it difficult keeping names and branches of the family tree straight. To help you keep track, here’s the current breakdown of Kelly Jo and Gil’s 39 grandchildren. At least, we hope we got it right. Please don’t kill the messenger! On the left are the names of the Bates adult children, followed by their children, who are Kelly Jo’s grands:

• Zach & Whitney: Bradley, Kaci, Khloé, Jadon, Lily, and Terra. (6)
• Erin & Chad: Carson, Brooklyn, Everly, Holland, Finley, William, and Henry.(7)
• Lawson & Tiffany: William and Theodore. (2)
• Nathan & Esther: Kenna and Graham. (2)
• Alyssa & John: Allie, Lexi, Zoey, Maci, and Rhett. (5)
• Tori & Bobby: Kade, Kolter, Charlotte, Cambree, Weston, and newborn Gage. (6)
• Carlin & Evan: Layla, Zade, and Navy. (3)
• Josie & Kelton: Willow, Hazel, Miles, and Brooks (4)
• Katie & Travis: Hailey and Harvey. (2)
• Jackson & Emerson: David. (1)

That comes to 38 grandchildren. But, either we missed the memo on one of them, or Kelly Jo included the miscarriage of at least one child. She says she has 39, but with Zach and Whitney perhaps expecting another girl in May this year, then there might be either 39 living grands or 40 in total.

Fans Lost Track

While the news of a new baby usually finds very happy Bringing Up Bates fans, the Bates family remains a constant topic of discussion on platforms like Reddit. Over there, sometimes, people raise their eyebrows as they simply forgot who was who in the huge family.

What are your thoughts on the latest addition to the Smith-Bates family? Are you impressed by Tori Bates, Whitney, and Erin all managing so many kids? Or is enough now enough? Are we missing one child that you know of? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for all your Bringing Up Bates cast news and updates.