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Shawn Johnson Shares the Tearful Moment She Welcomed Daughter Drew After 22 Hours of Labor

Eric Todisco
Updated

Shawn Johnson East is giving her followers a look into the emotional moments from the birth of her first child.

Johnson East, who welcomed daughter Drew Hazel on Oct. 29, shared a video on her and husband Andrew East‘s YouTube channel on Sunday that continued to document their experience in the hospital.

In the video, East, 28, comforted the Olympic gold medalist, 27, who was still in the hospital bed 22 hours after she went into labor. “What’s going on babe?” the football player asked his pregnant wife, who explained to the camera that she was going to have a C-section.

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“Let’s go meet our baby,” Johnson East said while giving her husband a high-five.

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RELATED: Shawn Johnson Reveals She Was in Labor for 22 Hours Before Welcoming Daughter Via C-Section

East then went on to explain why his wife was unable to give birth naturally.

“Alright guys, so that baby was not moving,” East said to the camera. “Shawn’s body was a little too small and her hips are too tight because of her past athletics. After they broke the water, they could only wait so long until she went back into the operating room to get a C-section. I’m realizing it’s a pretty significant surgery and I’m just sitting here praying for her. I know she is going to do great like she always does.”

The video then cut to the couple in tears as they welcomed their first child in the delivery room. “I told you you were gonna cry,” Johnson East told her tearful husband as he stood beside her.

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East also documented the tearful moment that Johnson East gave birth to their daughter on Instagram. “This was wild,” he wrote.

On Friday, Johnson East revealed their newborn daughter’s name and birth date in a sweet Instagram post. In the shot, captured by Teale Photography, a snugly swaddled Drew appeared to be smiling as she got kisses from both her parents.

“Drew Hazel East / 8lbs 8oz / 20.5 inches long / 10/29/19,” Johnson East captioned her post. “Named after the most incredible person I know … her daddy.”

Shawn Johnson East, Andrew East, and Drew | Teale Photography @tealephotography
Shawn Johnson East, Andrew East, and Drew | Teale Photography @tealephotography

RELATED: Why Pregnant Shawn Johnson East Felt Her Miscarriage Was ‘Payback’ for Gymnastics Career

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Shortly before giving birth, Johnson East also recorded an episode of Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner‘s Hot Marriage. Cool Parents podcast, where she opened up about losing her first pregnancy two years ago and how she blamed herself at first even though the doctor that the miscarriage was not her fault.

“I felt so sad and guilty that I had done something wrong to lose this child,” said the then-mother-to-be, adding of her doctor’s comments, “I remember that just bringing me to tears because I was like, ‘How can you say that? ‘Cause I must’ve done something wrong.’ “

Shawn Johnson East, Andrew East and Drew | tealephotography.net/@tealephotography
Shawn Johnson East, Andrew East and Drew | tealephotography.net/@tealephotography

And the guilt went even further than just short-term actions Johnson East thought could’ve caused the loss. In her mind, the blame went as far back as her gymnastics years, when she competed as a child and teenager before retiring from the sport in 2012, at the age of 20.

“I had had testing done and blood work done and [doctors] said everything was good, which was a good reassurance. But again, at that time of miscarriage, I couldn’t help but think I did enough damage to my body at a young age that it was almost, like, payback,” she said.

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