Baby Balka No. 4 is a Boy!

Josie and Kelton Balka just welcomed their fourth baby. They waited until the birth to find out the gender and just announced that it's a boy! This little guy joins two older sisters and one older brother. Willow Balka is almost six-and-a-half, Hazel Balka is almost four-and-a-half, and Miles Balka turns two in February. 

Health Scare for Baby Balka

Josie Balka is 34 weeks pregnant with her fourth baby. She has antibodies that attack the baby's blood and for that reason has had extra monitoring from a high risk doctor throughout her pregnancy to make sure the baby is healthy and is not becoming anemic. Josie had a scan a few days ago that showed the baby's numbers to be elevated. She had a second scan the following day that showed lower numbers, in the intermediate level. 

Josie will have another scan soon. She and Kelton are praising God for his provision and are praying that their baby stays healthy. As long as he or she is doing well, it would be ideal to wait a little longer to deliver, in order to optimize growth and development. Baby Balka will join three older siblings. Willow Balka turned six in July, Hazel Balka turned four in June, and Miles Balka turns two in February. 

2 Bates Babies in the NICU

Yesterday, we shared about the safe arrival of Hazel Balka. Unfortunately, she was admitted to the NICU for complications following her birth on Monday, but she is stable. Hazel's bilirubin levels are high due to a condition that caused her blood to fight against Josie's during the pregnancy,

Until today, cousin Jadon Bates was also in the NICU, but he was just released to go home! Pray that Hazel will be able to go home soon, as well.