Shawn Johnson East and family.Photo:Shawn Johnson/Instagram
Shawn Johnson/Instagram
Shawn Johnson Easthas a lot on her plate.
As a newly minted mother of three, the Olympic gymnast, 32, is figuring out what her daily routine looks like as her family transitions from two to three kids. Johnson East, who shares her daughter Drew Hazel, 4, and sons Jett James, 2, and Barrett “Bear” Madison, 3 months, with husbandAndrew East, also 32, says that it’s been “a lot.”
“Three kids is a lot, but it is the greatest blessing ever. I mean, our little guy’s amazing,” Johnson East tells PEOPLE. “Our kids are in love with him. They couldn’t be better big siblings. It’s just been trying to figure out how to do three logistically [that] has been interesting, but a fun challenge.”
Luckily, Johnson East has partnered withMorningStar Farmsto nail those early morning breakfasts for her two older kids. In April, the brand is bringing back fan-favorite MorningStar Farms Riblets, which are perfect vegan BBQ “ribs.”
“They’re delicious,” the mom of three says. “And as a mom, being able to sneak in protein for the kids is amazing. I also love that there’s a petition to bring back the riblets. They’re literally the fan favorite!”
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For Johnson East and her husband, mealtime means that everyone in the family is eating. “I try to expose my kids to as much food as possible as far as variety, but I have very stereotypical children that like macaroni and cheese and sauces and stuff,” she shares.
As far as how she deals with picky eaters? The Olympic gymnast says she’s still trying to figure that one out.
“It’s like trying to have negotiations every single day,” she laments. “I will say, for the most part, they’re good eaters. They’ll eat their vegetables, they’ll eat most everything, but they sure love the toddler carbs.”
There have been a lot of changes in Johnson East’s household recently, especially with the birth of son Bear in December. But the proud mom says her two bigger kids are handling it like champs.
“They’re doing better than I could have ever expected,” she says of her toddlers' becoming older siblings. “I understand that’s a huge transition and they’re getting less mommy time and daddy time. It is a big transition, but they are so protective and in love with their little brother, which is really, really special.”
“So we’re just trying to honor their wishes in that department. If it looks like Drew’s needing more mommy time, Andrew can take the other two and I’m going to take Drew for a couple of hours,” Johnson East explains. “We really try to cater to those attention needs, given a big transition in the family.”
The transition has also been trying for her and East, but Johnson East says that the couple has gotten good about splitting their parenting responsibilities 50/50.
“It’s more so now that we have three kids, someone kind of always has to be doing something,” she explains. “I think that’s probably the hardest transition with three for parenting with two parents is with two, there was still this ability to take two and someone can go have their time and then switch.”
Shawn Johnson East for MorningStar Farms.Shawn Johnson East for MorningStar Farms
Shawn Johnson East for MorningStar Farms
“I would love to adopt if we want to continue growing our family,” Johnson East tells PEOPLE. “I do feel like we are a family that would love to do that. I don’t know if our family’s done growing, but I am pretty sure I’m done having kids.”
For now, Johnson East is looking forward to this summer, when she’ll take her family of five to Europe together for the first time. “We’re going to the Olympics,” she shares. “It’s something that we’ve had on our bucket list and now that we have all of our babies with us, we’re really excited to do it.”
source: people.com
