Getty Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy.
New mom and “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Jenna Johnson opened up to her Instagram followers about the struggles she’s faced while breastfeeding including feeling like she was failing her baby.
In an Instagram Q&A session on her now-expired Stories, Johnson wrote that she’s had a hard time breastfeeding, though it has been important to her.
“I am, and I absolutely LOVE it…” she wrote on her Instagram Stories when asked if she was breastfeeding. “But it has definitely been a stressful journey. I wasn’t/still not producing an abundance of milk regardless of how many lactation supplements & tricks I do. It made me very emotional in the beginning and I felt like I was failing. I have since learned so much and very happy with what we are doing to help our little guy stay healthy and gain weight.”
She added, “I know that this can be a very sensitive and personal experience so my advice… do what works best for your baby!”
Johnson and her husband, Val Chmerkovskiy, welcomed Rome on January 10, 2023.
“Our world is forever changed,” the couple wrote alongside an image of their hands intertwined with their baby’s fingers. “1.10.23.”
Johnson Encourages Her Followers to ‘Embrace All of It’ When it Comes to Motherhood
In the same Instagram question and answer session, Johnson encouraged new mothers to embrace their time with their newborn baby.
“Embrace ALL of it,” Johnson wrote alongside a photo of herself and her son in the hospital. “This is the last time it will be your ‘first.’ There are so many beautiful moments in those first couple of weeks with your precious baby. Even during the sleepless/emotional day and nights, the mesh undies you have to change every couple of hours, the body that is yours but doesn’t feel like yours, and the outrageous hormones that make you question whether you’re capable of this new role …”
She added, “It’s all part of YOUR journey. You’ve got this!!”
Johnson Is Back in the Gym Weeks After Giving Birth
The new mom is getting back into the gym while learning to love her body again.
In a photo she uploaded to her Instagram Stories, Johnson sits cross-legged at the gym and takes a selfie in the mirror just one month after giving birth to Rome.
“And while at the gym I was confronted with many different emotions… -anxiety because I missed my baby -excitement cause my body has been craving movement -humility,” she wrote in the post. “Having to accept that I’m weak and feel as though I’m in a foreign body. slowly needing to rebuild my strength.”
She added, “I looked in the mirror and finally took a deep breath out remembering that I just gave birth and shouldn’t have ANY expectations for myself. Postpartum is a trip.”
The “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer hopes to return to the ballroom dance competition in the future, though nothing has been announced about the show’s upcoming season.
Johnson and Chmerkovskiy met on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2014 and began dating soon after. After just a few years, they got engaged and later married.
“My life has changed because of [her],” Chmerkovskiy told People magazine in 2018. “And I find myself to be the best version of myself that I’ve ever been. She’s awesome.”
“Dancing With the Stars” is set to return in the fall of 2023 on Disney+.