The first Bates family grandson, Bradley, now has the little brother he’s always wanted. Whitney Bates gave birth to Jadon Carl Monday, June 7 at 5:15 PM, weighing 7 pounds and 6 ounces. The baby boy is the fourth child to Zach and Whitney and the 16th Bates grandbaby — with two more due yet this month as Josie Bates Balka and Tori Bates Smith are expecting.
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Bates Family
The couple recalls how it’s been a bit a bit of a bumpy ride since the delivery, but are joyful for Jadon’s arrival.
“After months of waiting on this special day to arrive, we are rejoicing to finally meet our sweet Jadon face to face. There’s no way to describe the feeling and emotions we felt when we first held him in our arms. He is perfect in every way. Shortly after birth, his O2 levels dropped and he was transferred to NICU at East TN Children’s Hospital. As of right now, he is stable and responding well to treatment. They will continue treatment and monitoring until he is strong enough to come home. We are so grateful to God for taking care of our little boy and thankful for the doctors and nurses working hard to get baby J healthy and ready to meet his big brother and sisters. Life doesn’t always go as planned, but we’re thankful we can trust in the Lord with confidence that His plan is always perfect.”
As excited as Zach and Whitney are, perhaps their oldest son is the one who is relishing this big life moment the most.
“Our oldest child Bradley had been praying for a little brother for quite sometime. And when we found out we were pregnant, he insisted that he was going to have a little brother and prayed every night forgot to answer his prayers. He couldn’t be more excited to meet baby Jay and has a spot in his room all ready for when he comes home.”
Zach and Whitney put a lot of thought behind the name they picked for their new baby boy.
“Bradley is named after Zach’s dad Gilvin, and we always knew if we had another little boy we wanted to name it after my dad, Jimmy Carl, who goes “JC” or “J” . We chose Jadon Carl, giving him the same middle name and initials as his Papaw.”
Members of the Bates family have been checking in — many virtually due to COVID restrictions. But once Jadon gets back home, there will be a lot of loved ones ready to greet him with hugs and snuggles.
“Because of COVID restrictions, the number of guests allowed in the delivery room were limited, but we had so many family members FaceTiming and checking on us throughout the day. We will be anxious for little Jadon to meet all of his crazy big family with cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles! But we are especially excited to get to show him to his older siblings, Bradley, Kaci, and Khloe!”
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PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Bates Family
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Bates Family
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Bates Family
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Bates Family
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