Shawn Johnson East Welcomes Baby No. 3: Motherhood Is ‘My Favorite Thing’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Shawn Johnson East and her husband, Andrew East, have just welcomed their third little one into the world.
“The retired Olympic gymnast, 31, has welcomed her third baby with husband Andrew East, the couple confirmed via their FamilyMade newsletter on Thursday morning,” PEOPLE reported.
East gave birth on Tuesday, Dec. 12, via c-section. The couple has chosen not to reveal the gender or name of the child until they have spent a few days with their new baby.
“Our baby is healthy and that’s all we can ask for!” East said.
Keeping the baby’s gender as a surprise goes back to when the couple had their eldest. As with the new baby, the couple did not know daughter Drew’s gender until she was born.
“There was something so special with Drew about Andrew finding out first in delivery and being able to tell me,” Shawn told E! News. “It’s his little celebration moment. It was really, really special. And so we’re like, ‘Let’s just do that one more time.'”
“Recovery is always a process and I’ve learned to be really patient with my body. Not trying to rush anything and really just going to soak it all in,” she said. “The third time around feels so surreal because even though we’ve done this twice before, there’s still so much nervousness and excitement around the days leading up to the birth and then so much magic once you get to hold your sweet baby in your arms for the first time.”
“It really never gets old. You spend your whole pregnancy wondering how you could possibly love another baby just as much as your first two and then in an instant your heart expands and basically triples in size, it’s incredible. Being a mom is truly my favorite thing,” she shared.
The couple is already parents to their 4-year-old daughter Drew and 2-year-old son Jett.
“Seeing them meet their newest sibling was the sweetest thing EVER,” Shawn said about her older children’s first time with the new baby. “They’ve been so gentle with the baby, and I know they’re glad the wait is over, especially Drew.”
She continued, “We had an interior designer create our nursery and it has been completed for a while but the door has been locked so nobody could [peek] in there. I think just knowing there’s a locked door upstairs has made the suspense even harder for our kids so they’re thrilled to be able to run around in there and have another baby in the house to play with. I can’t wait to see the three of them grow up together.”
Andrew also praised his wife.
He said, “It’s been amazing to see Shawn push through another C-section with a smile on her face and love this baby with everything she has. She’s incredible. These are the moments life is all about!”
The baby’s December arrival also holds a lot of sentiment for the family, as Andrews’s father passed away in December 2022.
Andrew said, “Life is so good and we are feeling really blessed to have a third healthy baby join our family. My dad was born on December 9 and passed away unexpectedly on December 27 of last year, so December is a really impactful month for us. Having our baby born so close to my dad’s birthday feels really special and I know he would be smiling down and so proud of us.”
In the last few weeks of Shawn’s pregnancy, she posted many humorous pregnancy-related videos. One of the most recent videos related to how she felt ready for the new baby to come.
After this last pregnancy, Shawn feels like it would be better for her health if she doesn’t have any more biological children, but she is still open to growing her family. Movieguide® reported:
Former Olympian Shawn Johnson East revealed that she is open to growing her family through adoption in the future.
“I have not taken more kids off the table. I have just said to Andrew that I feel like my body is done with pregnancy,” Johnson East said during an Instagram Q&A. “I’ve been so blessed and lucky, but three full-term pregnancies, three c-sections, three BIG babies has taken its toll on my body specifically, and I want to be as healthy and active for my kids as possible.”
“So I now put adoption on the table,” she explained.
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