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NEW YORK – Shawn Johnson is pregnant with her first child and nervous about “everything.”
“Being a first-time mom is probably the most terrifying experience of your life because it’s all unknown, all foreign, all new,” the Olympic gold medalist told Fox News. “[I’m] most nervous right now to get to the final stage and hold the baby in my arms.”
She and husband, Andrew East, announced they were expecting in April after experiencing a miscarriage in 2017. They opened up about the experience on social media, which Johnson revealed she was very hesitant to do because they were never “vulnerable” on Instagram before.
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“I tried to make it look like everything was perfect,” she admitted.
“But after we lost our baby, I truly didn’t have a community around me of women that I felt like had gone through something like me and that I could reach out to,” the 27-year-old explained. “I was looking for a community of people who could share their stories and tell me how they got through it and it was amazing.”
She recalled how reading other people’s messages about how they moved forward helped destigmatize the experience.
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Shawn Johnson cradles her baby bump.
(Philips Avent)
“People talk about pregnancy… but nobody talks about miscarriage. It’s such a common thing but when I went through it, I felt like I was alienated from the world,” she added. That’s why she’s partnered with Philips Avent, which allows first-time moms to navigate childcare with confidence with products like an Anti-Colic Bottle and Soothie Snuggle.
Being vulnerable was difficult for Johnson at first, she says, but as she started posting more about her personal life, her experience using social media changed. “I thought it was all haters and critics,” she admitted. Now, she has a sense of community and an open dialogue with her fans.
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So would Johnson ever consider a reality TV show about her growing family? Never say never. They have a YouTube channel, which she says is enough at the moment. “At the end of the day, we love being able to choose what we post and protect our family in certain ways. We have full control,” she said.
As for now, some of her baby questions are aimed at her former Olympic teammate, Alicia Sacramone, who has two daughters. “She’s my go-to. I always text her, ‘What does this mean? What do I do with this?’ Just random, weird questions on a daily basis,” she joked.
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But most importantly, Johnson knows that her husband “will be the most amazing dad” and is currently reading every new dad book on the market. “He’s asking all these different people what he needs to do to prepare and he’s more excited now than I’ve ever seen him,” she gushed.
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