Congratulations to Carlin Bates! The graduate of the show “Raising Bates” and her husband Evan Stewart had their second child on Sunday, March 27.
“Welcome to the world, Baby!” The 23-year-old reality star captioned a family photo on Instagram taken at the hospital. “Thank you all for the many messages and prayers you have sent us! We are in heaven.”
Bates married a 26-year-old electrician in May 2019 in Tennessee, eight months after Stewart got down on one knee. In September 2019, the duo announced that they were starting a family.
“We are very excited to be expecting our first child,” the couple wrote in a statement. “Spending every day with your best friend and building a life together has already surpassed our happiest dreams. We are so happy at the thought of raising children together. Three at the table sounds perfect! God is so good.”
Five months later, the couple exclusively told Us Weekly that Leila, now 2 years old, had arrived.
“How would you describe such an emotional and such a magical experience as the appearance of a brand new child in the world?” the new parents said in a February 2020 statement. “We feel that our life has become incredibly rich, but unimaginably blessed with the appearance of little Layla Ray! She has already absorbed our thoughts and intentions during these past months of pregnancy, and now no day will be the same without her! Although she came earlier than we expected, this is the best holiday we have ever experienced, and we are so in love with our new role as parents!”
The baby had breathing problems due to a “small hole in her heart,” Bates told her Instagram followers in May 2020.
“She has become much stronger. We are so proud of her,” the Liberty University graduate wrote on Instagram in February next year, noting that there had been no “fears” recently. “She is doing well, she is undergoing regular checkups.”
That same month, Bates exclusively told us she wanted “a few” kids, not 19 like her mom Kelly Jo Bates.
In August 2021, Bates and Stewart reported that Baby #2 was on the way with pregnancy photos.
“Let the children’s adventures with shopping, craving for food, morning (sometimes all day) nausea and midnight snacks begin!” The then-future star captioned an Instagram post at the time. “Every part of the child’s journey is worth it, and being parents is the best part of our story! … Our new addition to the team is, frankly, more exciting than we can put into words.”
The former UPtv personality was “ready to perform” by Monday, March 21, writing on Instagram that she “will miss [her] bumps and those tiny baby kicks.” She concluded: “I’m soaking up these next few days.”
