(L-R) Shawn Johnson and Andrew East attend Bohemian Rhapsody's Get Loud Extravaganza on Feb. 12, 2019 in Los Angeles.
UPDATE: On Friday, Nov. 8, Johnson East revealed her daughter's name, Drew Hazel East. Drew was born Oct. 29, weighing in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces, and 20.5 inches long. Johnson East's 2008 Olympic teammate Nastia Liukin has been named godmother.
Shawn Johnson East is the mother to a baby girl.
The Olympic champion gymnast and her husband, Andrew East, announced the birth of their first child in social media posts Monday, though they have yet to reveal the baby’s name or birth date.
“You are our everything,” Johnson East posted to her Instagram, accompanying a photo of the proud parents holding their new daughter. “Welcome to the world baby girl.”
Johnson East and East, who played in the NFL, have developed a sizeable following on social media through their candid posts about their life in Nashville, Tennessee, and their journey through pregnancy has been no exception.
In 2017, the couple announced in an emotional, 20-minute YouTube video that Johnson East had suffered a miscarriage.
“It’s not the happiest video, but we feel like a lot of people go through this, so we wanted to share it,” she said in the video. “Know you’re not the only one going through whatever you’re going through.”
The news was happier in April when the couple announced Johnson East was again pregnant.
As usual, they shared their journey through their social media channels, including some early complications and their experience going through genetic testing, which revealed their baby was healthy, she said.
More recently, alarming headlines announced that the 38-week pregnant Johnson East had been hospitalized in the ER. Alas, the mom-to-be had dropped a piece of concrete on her foot in a “freak accident,” she said, breaking her toe.
“All is good,” she posted, “just adding a little more swag to my big mama waddle these days.”
In the days that followed, the 27-year-old Johnson East bided time waiting for her daughter by showing off her baby bump in a series of photos, including one in which the 40-week pregnant former gymnast wore one of the leotards she wore at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, where she won four medals including the balance beam gold medal.
“Fits a little different these days,” she wrote.
Johnson East, the 2007 world all-around champ who retired from the sport just prior to the Olympic Games London 2012, will now have a whole new adventure to share with her legion of fans.
Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic and Paralympic movements for TeamUSA.org since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
