Jeff Bates Announces Wife’s Long-Awaited Pregnancy

After years of trying to get pregnant, Jeff Bates and his wife Kelly are excited to announce they're expecting their first child, due on April 30.

"I'm glad it's later in the month," Jeff smirks, "I was worried about it being an April Fool's baby!"

The proud parents-to-be have seen two ultrasounds so far, and they're looking forward to the coming weeks when they are able to determine the sex of the baby.

"There's a part of the both of us that wants it to be a surprise, because it's the natural thing to do," the singer tells The Boot. "But then there's another part that says you know, if you have the ability to find out if you're having a boy or a girl, then you can plan that direction of painting the room, buying what they need and getting set up for them ...The smart thing to do is to find out!"

The way Jeff found out about the pregnancy was a cute story he remembers with laughter. "Our 'baby' right now is our little 3-year-old Shihtzu, Yogie Bear Bates," the singer explains. "At 5:30 in the morning, Kelly's usually up getting ready to go to work. I was home, and she woke me up by saying, 'Daddy, come here.' Well the only time she ever says 'Daddy' to me is if Yogie's made a boo-boo in the house! She was in the bathroom, and when I walked in the door she handed me this stick. I looked at it, and I still didn't know what it was. I'm looking for teeth marks on it where maybe Yogie's gnawed on it or something! She said, 'No, ditzy ... Look at it!' So I look at it, and I was still not awake enough to read, but I see that it has one little pink line on it and a faint, second pink line beside it. Then it starts dawning on me, and I see where it says 'pregnant' or 'not pregnant.' It took me so long to realize she called me 'Daddy' for a reason. It was pretty cool, so we hugged and did the Daddy-Mommy dance!"