Heavy/Getty Shawn Johnson talks life as a family of 5.
Season 8 “Dancing With the Stars” champ Shawn Johnson welcomed her third child with husband Andrew East in December 2023. The adjustment period to becoming a family of five was tough, Johnson admits, but they’ve all come a long way.
“I feel like we’re slowly getting into a routine. It was touch and go there for a while, but we’re finally settling in, which is feeling more manageable,” Johnson told Us Weekly.
“Honestly, the first couple weeks of three was super — it felt easy, as easy as it can be. The only hard part was he was our first kind of colicky baby. We had some things we needed to figure out, and we hadn’t dealt with that before,” she added.
On her Instagram Stories, Johnson revealed that baby Bear had a tongue tie that needed some attention from a pediatric dentist. Once that was squared away, things started getting a bit easier in the Johnson-East household.
Here’s what you need to know:
Shawn Johnson Struggles With Making Sure All of Her Kids Get Attention
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges for Johnson has been ensuring that all of her kids are given the attention they need from her.
“It’s sometimes sad because I know Drew wants it, but I’m giving it to Jett, or Jett wants it, but I’m giving it to Bear,” she told E! News. “I know it will average itself out. But we’re still figuring,” she added.
Though Johnson said that her kids “adore” their baby brother, the adjustment has certainly been different this time around — especially because her older two kids are at the tantrum age.
“My daughter’s acting out is just sad, like pouting sadness,” she told E! adding that she does her best to understand that “they’re acting out is them needing something from you, like more attention, more one-on-one time. So we’re trying to figure it out.”
Johnson and East share a great deal of their life at home on social media. They both post on Instagram often and also share details of what’s going on with their family on their podcast, “Couple Things.”
Shawn Johnson Loves Watching Her Kids Grow
Johnson and East have three kids, Drew, Jett, and baby Bear. The couple is done having biological children, however, as Johnson has said that having three large babies and subsequent C-sections has “taken a toll” on her body.
On the July 12, 2023, episode of their “Couple Things” podcast, Johnson confirmed that her third child would be her last. She and East have said that they are open to adoption, however.
Nevertheless, the former Olympian loves being a mother and has really enjoyed the
“Seeing these little kids turn into their own person is the most special thing of all,” she told NBC News. “And my job as a parent is to help foster that, whatever that is. Seeing their little interests start to come to life is really cool. …It’s just fun to see their little minds kinda develop and turn into something,” she added.