Olympian Shawn Johnson & Andrew East Reveal Baby No. 3's Unique Name

Another little East athlete has arrived and we now have a name!

Former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and former NFL star Andrew East shared first photos and their baby boy’s name on December 17. “Barrett ‘Bear’ Madison East…@bearmadisoneast. We’ve all been waiting for you,” Johnson captioned a photo of her new family of five.

While Barrett has been a solid contender among the top 500 most popular names in the US for quite some time, the nickname derived from it, Bear has only recently increased in popularity since 2006. A strong name, people propose it either has a German orgin meaning “strong and brave bear” or Irish roots meaning “bear strength” or “warlike people.”

Johnson and East first shared the news of their baby’s arrival in their FamilyMade newsletter on December 14. In the newsletter the couple confirmed their new addition arrived December 12 via c-section. “Recovery is always a process and I’ve learned to be really patient with my body. Not trying to rush anything and really just going to soak it all in,” Johson East said in the announcement.

“The third time around feels so surreal because even though we’ve done this twice before, there’s still so much nervousness and excitement around the days leading up to the birth and then so much magic once you get to hold your sweet baby in your arms for the first time,” she shared.

“It really never gets old. You spend your whole pregnancy wondering how you could possibly love another baby just as much as your first two and then in an instant your heart expands and basically triples in size, it’s incredible. Being a mom is truly my favorite thing,” she added.

Johnson first shared her baby bump and the big news of baby no. 3 on Instagram on July 12. Posing on a throne in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, the Dancing With The Stars alum wrote, “Swipe for a surprise”—the next slide featuring her proudly displaying her bump in a short black jumpsuit.

Johnson has yet to share additional details about the baby’s sex or due date. Nonetheless, her post was met with excitement and anticipation from friends and fans. “I’ve been waiting for this announcement. Been watching the strategic cover-ups for a while. Congratulations,” wrote one user in the comments. “Congratulations! Welcome to the mom of 3 club! You’re in for a wild ride” added another mom.

The 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and former Washington Commanders long snapper are already parents to 2-year-old son Jett James and 3-year-old daughter Drew Hazel. Pregnancy hasn’t always been easy for the soon-to-be mom of three kids.

Johnson contracted a mild case of COVID-19 while pregnant with her son Jett and during her pregnancy with Drew, she faced multiple complications, including dilated kidneys that were retaining fluids and a two-vessel umbilical cord. Before that, in 2016, she suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage. Amidst it all, Johnson opened up about how she was staying positive.

“The human mind does an amazing job at adapting and forgetting. Early on, Shawn and I were praying every day, just being thankful for the baby,” East said. “Then it was like, ‘Okay, she’s pregnant,’ so we got out of that rhythm and took for granted to some extent that we had this [pregnancy]. This was a rude awakening that we really just need to be thankful that we have a baby,” Johnson said in a discussion over her pregnancy complications with Drew.

“It put things in perspective for us,” Johnson said. “Everyone’s always asking ‘Are you having a girl or a boy? What do you want? Are you going to put them in gymnastics? Are you going to put them in football?’ We had those thoughts in the beginning, but now that we’ve reached this phase, we do not care. I don’t care if it’s a boy. I don’t care if it’s a girl. I don’t even care what the name is right now. I don’t care if they do sports—nothing. I just pray that the baby is healthy.”

Our best wishes to Johnson on a happy and healthy pregnancy!